Carlos Tevez, the Argentine striker who won two Premier League titles and a Champions League title with Manchester United and one Premier League title with Manchester City, who has since set the Serie A alight with current club Juventus, has said that a striker’s job is much easier in England where the midfield plays a very small role.
“It's much easier to score in the Premier League, where the ball doesn't stop moving, the action is everywhere and the midfield is non-existent”, said Tevez. The 31-year-old spent 8 years in the Premier League with West Ham(7 goals), Manchester United(34 goals) and Manchester City(73 goals).
He won many titles and broke many records in his time in England, but had troubled relationships with many of his managers – the most famous being his refusal to come on as a substitute for Roberto Mancini.
The time the striker had to spend on the benches of the Manchester clubs meant that he was shunted out of the Argentina national team, a squad not short on attacking firepower.
Tevez has scored 36 goals in the Italian league since arriving at Juventus in the summer of 2013, and claims all his goals in Italy have come at a higher price than all his goals in England. He has incidentally earned an Argentina recall since moving to the Serie A.
“Here you see a striker up against five defenders, it's much more difficult than in England. The Italian league is of a high standard”, says Tevez.
2015 Juventus are more rounded than 2008 United: Tevez
The striker said that his Juventus side have the potential to win the Champions Trophy this year, and that he can add to the winners’ medal he won with Manchester United in 2008.
Saying his current team are a more rounded unit than the 2008 champions, Tevez recalls, “There were some amazing players then. Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes. I think that now there is a team instead. We are very hard to beat.”
Juventus play Monaco for the first leg of their Champions League quarter final match on Wednesday, with a place in the last four at stake.