Thursday 29th September 2011
Aguero "sad" for banned Tevez
Sergio Aguero admits he feels "sad" for fellow countryman Carlos Tevez as Manchester City slapped a two-week ban on the controversial striker.
With Tevez pledging to report for training, in line with a stated aim of "fulfilling the terms of his contract" as outlined in the statement he released on Wednesday, City chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak acted quickly, confirming the 27-year-old would not be at Carrington this morning.
"Manchester City can confirm that striker Carlos Tevez has been suspended until further notice for a maximum period of two weeks," said a short statement released by City.
"The player's suspension is pending a full review into his alleged conduct during Tuesday evening's 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich.
"The player will not be considered for selection or take part in training whilst the review is under way."
Manager Roberto Mancini stated immediately after Tuesday's game that, as far as he was concerned, Tevez is "finished" at City.
He clearly had no wish to see Tevez quite so soon after the South American's apparent refusal to play.
Munich Mayhem: A play-by-play
According to reports in the Sun, this is what happened at the Allianz Arena that fateful Tuesday night.
- Man City manager Roberto Mancini had instructed both Nigel de Jong and Carlos Tevez to warm up
- After De Jong went on, the Italian instructed Tevez to continue warming up, but the Argentine simply sat back down in the dug out, and shouted "No", and "Why" when instructed to do so.
- One of City's fitness coaches then tried to get Tevez to warm up, but the striker refused, to the point that Mancini gave up and said: "Forget it."
- After the match, when the City players had all trooped back into the dressing room, Mancini had addressed the squad as a whole, telling them what they had done wrong against Bayern Munich.
- It was after that, when the Italian then turned to Tevez angrily and told the Argentine he was finished at City.
- The star simply shrugged, but soon panicked after Mancini left the dressing room and revealed all that had transpired live on TV.
- Tevez then grabbed a junior member of City's squad and made him a translator, telling Sky reporters that he had not refused to play.
- The Argentine then got involved in an argument with one of City's press department who was trying to pull his translator away from him.
- On the flight back to Manchester, Mancini, his staff, and the club's hierarchy decided that there would be no way back for Tevez at Eastlands.
It all adds to a sense of unease around City, which even Aguero is not too happy with despite his own recent impressive form.
"Roberto is in charge," he said, before news of Tevez's suspension became known. "He puts through his opinions and ideas, and obviously makes his decisions. We just have to go with it. "Carlos is a great player but obviously I am not inside his mind, to know his thoughts and opinions. "It does make me sad. But they are two grown men and maybe they will sort it out."
That seems impossible, with City taking advantage of a planned day off for their first-team squad to give the whole furore some breathing space. The gap was used to try to change Mancini's mind. Instead, the club are ensuring any action they take will not be the subject of appeals by Tevez, as prima-face as the evidence appears to be.
Most likely is a January sale, although that would leave Tevez hanging around for another three months, bringing with it huge potential for disruption. However, given the vast Abu Dhabi wealth bankrolling the entire City operation, it cannot entirely be discounted that the man who skippered the Blues to their FA Cup triumph in May, the club's first silverware since 1976, will have his contract cancelled, or that he will be left to fester until the end of his deal in 2014.
Compromise is not on the agenda. For all the finance lavished on a player who became a City hero the instant he opted to join the club for whom he now earns in excess of £200,000 a week and the emotional investment spent talking him into staying when his first transfer request was submitted in December, Tevez has wrecked his legacy.
"He (Mancini) has dealt with it in the way he thinks is right," said assistant manager David Platt. "I think he is right. "The pictures are on the TV. What do you want him to do? Come out and lie? He has told it as it is. Full stop."
