Vinnie Kompany will now be stepping into Carlos Tevez’s shoes, as Tevez is no longer a Manchester City skipper. Earlier, there were talks about possible shift of the player to other clubs altogether after he expressed his desire to leave City however no deal has materialized since summer. So while Tevez will stay with the club, he will do so without his armband.
Tevez had earlier stated that he wanted to leave the club due to family issues but there has been no final talk with any of the clubs finalized yet. The striker’s expected next game of the season is expected to be against Wigan Athletic on Saturday where the defender, Kompany will play as captain and in the same position.
There were talks of the player leaving earlier for Corinthians and then to Inter Milan however none of those deals settled.
“He’s a fantastic player for us, someone who can score 20 goals a season, but I decided in the summer that Vinnie was the captain,” Robert Mancini, the club’s manager, told reporters.
Mancini also said that Tevez has always trained hard and put in his best of performance in all the games. He thus accepts and acknowledges his decision to leave the club. He still expects for the 27 year old Belgian to keep playing as he is known to- with complete dedication and integrity in each game until a suitable deal and club is finalized.
The captaincy title is perceived as been stripped off Tevez more than a cordial pass-over due to his “disloyalty”’ to the club. It was allegedly reported that Tevez was in the team against his will and that he dislikes the fact that he is still there. The issue simmered in the summer and since no alternative was found, Tevez will stay with City until a deal is signed.
Tevez said that he has had a “love-hate” relationship with Mancini and that he had thought of playing as captain until he was part of the team. “I’m the captain and the symbol of a big club”, he said. However this did not change anything. Tevez was also reportedly unhappy with the singing of some players into the team. He also did not like the volatile in and outs of games. He however has no choice now but to stay in the team.
Mancini was happy with his decision to place Kompany as the captain. He said that the defender practices hard, even though he has his down days. Nevertheless, he was confident of the decision.
“Carlos is a clever man. He trains very well, Carlos works very well. Sometimes maybe, like all the other players, it’s impossible that all the players train very well every day.”
Playing as captain one day and playing as almost a ‘standby’ player waiting for a deal to finalize is the situation that Tevez finds himself in. But in all cases, the game goes on!
Tags: Carlos Tevez, EPL, Manchester City, Premier League, Skipper, Vinnie Kompany, Wigan Athletic