We gave Carlos Tevez a little bit of grief yesterday because we were perplexed by his comments about being too tired to play. His complaining yesterday treaded on pitiful and blatantly ridiculous because it’s as if he doesn’t understand the rep involved with being a five-star athlete. That, or Crisitano Ronaldo’s pretty boy attitude has rubbed off a bit. When you’re making millions, and your new club risks scrutiny for bending the rules to acquire you, there’s no excuse for complaining. So when Tevez was sent off against Colombia yesterday after only 25 minutes of play, we suspected it was deliberate. Screw that. We knew it was.

But no bother. Eventually, we thought it was clever. Tevez hasn’t scored a goal in international play since June anyway, so Argentina weren’t missing much. But after he declared he needed some extra siesta time, his red-card makes complete sense. Unfortunately, the Argentine press didn’t really see things that way considering Colombia ended up winning the match.

…Said the Buenos Aires daily El Clarin, “Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez both had key roles in the night of the defeat. One made us laugh. The other made us cry.” “Messi, once more, was Argentina’s high point and scored a Maradona-inspired goal. Tevez, going the other direction, was irresponsible.”

We’re sure Man Utd. head coach Fergie won’t be disappointed with an energized Tevez after he finds the net against Bolton this weekend in Premiership play. So, it makes us wonder. What is more important to a player: club or country?

Soccer-Messi hero and Tevez villain in Argentina defeat [Reuters]
Image [BBC]