How Carlos Tevez Made the Carling Cup Exciting Again

[vid via TVGolo]
We used to think the Carling Cup needed some serious tinkering to make it interesting again. Turns out we were wrong. All the cup needed was:

1. A Manchester derby in the semi-final,
2. An in-form Carlos Tevez with a point to prove, and
3. Gary Neville being very unhappy that an in-form Carlos Tevez had a point to prove.

Then we just sit back and let the drama unfold.

Man Utd took the lead through Giggs, but City rebounded with Tevez scoring twice to make it 2-1. Remember how Tevez wasn’t going to celebrate goals against his former employers? Well, that’s not happening now.

Any lingering good will between Tevez and his former teammates seems to have been jettisoned too. Rooney made a valiant attempt to distract Tevez as the Argentinean prepared to take the equalizing penalty, and Tevez celebrated by giving Gary Neville the international hand gesture for “keep talking, fool” (because Neville had said Man Utd were right to let Tevez go). Neville himself responded with a one finger salute from the sidelines which may get him in trouble with the FA.

All of which sounds very silly, but it was actually fantastic drama. Just what the Carling Cup needed in fact. So much so that part of me suspects the whole Tevez leaving Man Utd for Man City and then bearing a grudge thing was just an elaborate marketing campaign, dreamed up by someone at Carling Cup headquarters. Or maybe not.

What I do know is that there’s a second leg at Old Trafford still to come next week, on Wednesday 27th January. I’ll definitely be watching.

- More on Man City at Man City Offside
- More on Man Utd at Man Utd Offside

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Category: England