beachesl Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 A very interesting and unusual development. Haven't sorted out the cosmic ramifications, if any, yet. -------------------------------------------------------------- Tevez move sends Brazil into state of shock RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Brazilian football appears to be in a state of shock over the record-breaking $18 million transfer of Argentina forward Carlos Tevez to Sao Paulo club Corinthians. Brazil has exported more than 800 players to countries ranging from Indonesia to Portugal this year, making it very surprising that Corinthians should snap up the most exciting player from the country's biggest footballing rival. Boca Juniors president Mauricio Macri confirmed the sale of the 20-year-old Argentina international had been completed following late on Thursday night. Until last month, Corinthians, like most other top Brazilian clubs, were swimming in debts and forced to sell their best players to survive. Their Brazilian championship challenge collapsed last season after they dismantled their team halfway through the competition. Four coaches resigned or were fired in a year, with former World Cup player Junior leaving the club after just 10 days. Another low point came in May when Corinthians were hammered 5-0 at home by Atletico Paranaense and, almost inevitably, coach Oswaldo Oliveira was fired. Angry fans literally turned their backs on the team, a large section of the crowd choosing to face the terraces for the last 15 minutes of the game. Oliveira was replaced by Tite who has steered to Corinthians to a comfortable mid-table position. The sudden change has been brought about by a deal with London-based investors Media Sports Investments, who signed a multi-million dollar partnership last week. MSI agreed to provide an immediate cash injection to reinforce the team and pay off debts of around 60 million Real ($15.95 million). Euphoric president Alberto Dualib said: "This partnership with MSI represents the return of foreign capital to Brazilian football. Our economy had been stagnant. An injection of cash such as this is good for everyone." Corinthians officials are promising that there is more to come. Vanderlei Luxemburgo, who led Corinthians to the 1998 Brazilian championship title, admitted this week that he had been approached about a return to his old hunting ground. Luxemburgo is currently coach of Santos, who are second in the championship with three games to play. There are also plans to repatriate Brazilian players who are currently in Europe. The idea is to mount a superteam which will run away with next year's Brazilian championship and take Corinthians into the 2006 Libertadores Cup. WIDESPREAD SCEPTICISM The deal was met with widespread scepticism elsewhere, however. Critics, including members of the Corinthians board, have repeatedly criticised the part of the deal which gives MSI 51 percent of all future profits. They say that not enough is known about MSI and point out that previous partnerships between Brazilian clubs and foreign investors have left unhappy memories. Corinthians's recent problems began when an earlier partnership with a U.S. based group of investors ended. Flamengo, Palmeiras and Gremio also ran into trouble when their deals broke up. Arch-rivals Sao Paulo were especially unimpressed. "Grafite is a much better player, he's faster, stronger, he's got a more powerful shot and is not afraid of tough defenders," said Sao Paulo director Juvenal Juvencio, referring to his club's much cheaper leading striker. Sao Paulo coach Emerson Leao added: "I'm not interested in Argentine players. I prefer to give the chance to Brazilians." "Because he's hounded by the press, Tevez often hides his identity when traveling." Updated on Friday, Dec 3, 2004 6:19 am EST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devioustrevor Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 Frankly I expected Boca to sell him to a European club, not a Club that they could end up facing in Copa Libertadores (or whatever it's called, not too familiar with SA club soccer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 It's insane. In Brasil you could get 10 impact players for $2M each and be pretty much guaranteed to be in contention for the championship. How much can one player help? Anywho, its a 5-year deal but rumour has it Tevez will be sold to Chelsea after 2006 World Cup. [}] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SABuffalo786 Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 He'll be off to Europe in less than a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 quote:Originally posted by SABuffalo786 He'll be off to Europe in less than a year. Very difficult to see how that would happen. If Tevez really hates life at Corinthians and they don't qualify for Copa Libertadores next year maybe he'll get out in Jan, 2006. But that's the earliest. Keep in mind this is just the beginning for Corinthians in their signing of new players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted December 6, 2004 Author Share Posted December 6, 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_football/4071367.stm Tevez - an Argentine in Brazil By Tim Vickery Tevez has been branded 'the new Maradona' Some 65 years ago Bernardo Gandulla left Boca Juniors in his native Argentina and headed for Brazil. He arrived at the Vasco da Gama club with considerable prestige - which he failed to live up to. He left an impression, but not for reasons he would have wanted. The only thing of note he did was to throw the ball back when it went out of play. Even today, 'gandula' is the term used in Brazil for ballboy. Brazilians delighted in the failure of Gandulla then, and many will delight now if history is repeated. Another Boca Juniors player is coming to Brazil. 'The new Maradona' - Carlos Tevez - is joining Corinthians for nearly $20m in a strong candidate for the strangest move of the year. Corinthians - or the London-based company who have just entered into partnership with them - appear to have paid well above the odds for Tevez. It is particularly strange as - until last week - Tevez was not even an especially big name in Brazil, where the Argentine Championship is not shown. Presumably there is some financial logic behind the move. What is harder to work out is why Tevez should be interested in heading north, rather than across the Atlantic. Argentina's brightest new star hit top form in August as he spearheaded the charge towards the Olympic gold medal. But the subsequent months have not been easy for Tevez. Boca re-signed Martin Palermo, forcing Tevez to vacate his favoured centre forward role. And off the pitch he gave the press plenty to report - Atletico Madrid gave up on him after declaring his private life to be 'disorganized.' Hounded by the press, Tevez grew tired of his life in Buenos Aires. So now he says that he is heading for Corinthians in search of 'tranquillity.' Anyone acquainted with the city of São Paulo will relish the nonsense of this declaration. Brazil's biggest city is a sprawling, ugly, restless metropolis. Once it shared with Buenos Aires the same melancholy air of a city of Italian immigrants. But that world now lies buried under skyscrapers. The most turbulent place in this frenetic city is Sport Club Corinthians. It is the most passionately supported club in Brazil. Pelé scored reams of goals against them, reasoning that unless he did something special the Corinthians fans were capable of winning the game on their own. That passion can also be turned against the team - especially nowadays, when the level of urban violence gives a hysterical edge to life in Brazil's big cities. Corinthians fans have invaded the dressing room or ambushed the team coach to attack the players. Tevez, then, can kiss tranquillity goodbye. He can also say farewell to the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League. Corinthians have not qualified. Indeed, he will have a long wait for a worthwhile match. Next year's Brazilian Championship only gets underway at the end of April. Until then he will have to make do with the foolish São Paulo State Championship, an appalling waste of his talent. There will be matches in small towns on poor pitches with plenty of defenders keen to kick him all the way back to Argentina. Like so many of the top South American players, Tevez has the gift of being able to surprise - to feint right and go left, to pass when he was expected to dribble, to shoot and catch the goalkeeper unawares. But his choice of destination is the biggest surprise of all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck in Boston Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 From todays Globe Plot thickens in Tevez transfer By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff | December 7, 2004 The transfer of Carlos Tevez from Boca Juniors to Corinthians of Sao Paulo for $19.5 million is among the most expensive deals between South American clubs, and is a relatively mysterious move, since clubs in Argentina and Brazil seldom transfer players among themselves, preferring to sell to Europe. There was speculation that Tevez, 20, wanted to leave Argentina because of the media scrutiny of his relationship with 26-year-old model Natalia Fassi. Since becoming involved with Fassi, Tevez has substituted his longtime friend and former agent, Roberto Tessone, with Adrian Ruocco, who works with Gaston Fassi, agent and brother of Natalia. But there is even more intrigue involving Corinthians' new financial backer, Kia Joorabchian of Media Sports Investment. Joorabchian's identity has been questioned by Brazilian journalists, who have described him as American, Canadian, English, and/or Iranian, listing three birth dates and several aliases. Joorabchian emerged on the international financial scene in 1999 with the acquisition of the newspaper Kommersant, at the time the most prominent independent media outlet in Russia. Joorabchian's company, American Capital, was suspected of being a front for oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who rose to financial power along with Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, and was bidding for control of Russian media. Then, Joorabchian gave his age as 27 and said he had graduated from a British college, but declined to name the school. A Moscow Times reporter visited the midtown Manhattan address listed on Joorabchian's business card and reported seeing a barren office on the top floor of a building that was undergoing reconstruction. According to the St. Petersburg (Russia) Times website, "Two secretaries said they had just moved into the office and that they worked for Joorabchian and his partner. They appeared frightened and threatened to call security unless the reporter left." The money involved in the acquisition of Tevez has already caused problems at Boca Juniors and Corinthians. Corinthians has been operating on an individual salary cap of $100,000 monthly -- Tevez would receive a five-year, $10 million deal -- and several players have asked for raises. After Tevez refused to practice, claiming he was injured, Boca Juniors coach Jorge Benitez threatened to leave him out of the lineup when the Xenizes meet Bolivar in the Copa Sudamericana finals tomorrow in La Paz and Saturday in Buenos Aires. Corinthians is an attractive investment proposition because of the enormous popularity of the club in Sao Paulo, the financial center of South America. Dallas-based investment firm Hicks Muse was heavily involved in Corinthians until two years ago. Joorabchian has announced a commitment to buy several more players, among them striker Reinaldo of Paris St. Germain. Tevez becomes the fifth-most expensive transfer involving Argentine players. The most expensive sale was Javier Saviola from River Plate to Barcelona for $28 million in 2001. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted December 7, 2004 Author Share Posted December 7, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Canuck in Boston From todays Globe But there is even more intrigue involving Corinthians' new financial backer, Kia Joorabchian of Media Sports Investment. Joorabchian's identity has been questioned by Brazilian journalists, who have described him as American, Canadian, English, and/or Iranian, listing three birth dates and several aliases. Joorabchian emerged on the international financial scene in 1999 with the acquisition of the newspaper Kommersant, at the time the most prominent independent media outlet in Russia. Joorabchian's company, American Capital, was suspected of being a front for oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who rose to financial power along with Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, and was bidding for control of Russian media. Then, Joorabchian gave his age as 27 and said he had graduated from a British college, but declined to name the school. I'm, wondering if this guy is really Canuck Oranje. Why does the Oranje keep making all those trips to Sao Paulo? Why does he decline to answer direct questions put to him concerning his activities? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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