Rio Olympics 2016: 5 footballers whose careers kickstarted at the Olympics

#1 Carlos Tevez

Tevez rose to international fame after his 2004 Olympic performances

Carlos Tevez came into limelight in 2004 with his outstanding performance at the Athens Olympics. He was the highest scorer of the tournament with 8 goals, three more than second-placed Paraguayan Jose Cardozo. He propelled the Argentina team, managed by Marcelo Bielsa, to the first ever Olympic Gold medal which was also the first gold for Argentina in any sports in the Olympics since 1952.

Europe knew little about the mercurial striker in the making then. Tevez plied his trade for Argentinian side Boca Juniors and was touted as the heir to Diego Maradona because of his similar stature, pace and an eye for goal.

He scored almost half of Argentina’s goals in the Athens Olympics when he was just 20, and two years later English side West Ham United came calling for the signature of the forward, which kickstarted his European odyssey.

After just one year with the Hammers, Tevez signed for Manchester United where he scored 34 goals in two seasons. The best of Tevez, however, was seen in his time at Manchester City, scoring 73 goals in four seasons at the club. He then had a successful couple of seasons at Juventus before returning to Boca Juniors where he now plays and where it all began.