Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez clearly had a point to prove against his former club Manchester United in the Carling Cup semi-final last week. The little Argentine employed his trademark hustle-bustle approach to the striker’s art and scored both City goals.
Yet where high-profile derbies take place controversy is sure to follow. Depending on your football color of choice City’s goals, one a penalty, the other from a corner kick, were either bad decisions from an incompetent referee (you wear red) or righteous calls so richly deserved (you wear blue). In fact City’s goals seemed very soft decisions by referee Mike Dean
Soft decisions aid City
The penalty came when Craig Bellamy was pulled back on the edge of the box by one of Manchester United’s boys from Brazil, Rafael. The initial tug was clearly outside the box, but a fleeting secondary contact, best described as enigmatic, seemed to have occurred inside the box and Bellamy descended to the turf in what may have been more the result of momentum than actual contact. A penalty kick? Doubtful!
Tevez didn’t care that the ref may have awarded the penalty erroneously; he had a shot from the spot waiting for him. He bashed it with authority high and straight into the center of the goal, right past where United ‘keeper Edwin van der Sar had been standing a nanosecond before.
The corner kick that resulted in City’s second goal seemed a soft decision too, and could easily have been awarded the other way if the ref had just squinted a bit or cocked his head a millimeter or so. Nevertheless, Tevez was there to head the ball home.
Good or bad, the quality of refereeing seems a plague to Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. But of the various controversies emanating from this match none compare with Tevez’s goal celebrations and their aftermath.
Tevez and Neville communicate through sign language
Having scored, Tevez ran to the sidelines and cupped his ears in a mock listening pose, then was
seen to display a kind of sign language that appeared to mimic the alleged verbosity of some in his former club. Manchester United’s Gary Neville, apparantly unimpressed with Tevez’s celebration, expressed his opinion through sign language of his own, a middle finger being the medium of the message. The little South American later responded in a Spanish-language interview by accusing Neville of being a “sock-sucker,” which sounds a curious behavior, and one not commonly mentioned in northern latitudes.
Such is the atmosphere surrounding the 2nd leg of the tie, which takes place on Wednesday at Old Trafford.
United’s injuries healing,…mostly
Although they are slowly recovering from numerous injuries that felled one after another of their defenders, United nonetheless got more bad news this week when it was revealed that John O’Shea will miss the remainder of the season due to a blood clot. However, Sir Alex must be comforted to have van der Sar, his number one goalkeeper, back between the sticks, and Rio Ferdinand is said to be ready for a return too.
Meanwhile up front Wayne Rooney has been United’s main weapon, and his four-goal rampage against Hull at the weekend shows that he is taking his role as primary striker seriously. United’s Bulgarian International forward Dimitar Berbatov, from whom so much was expected, hasn’t really lived up to the expectations. On the other hand he hasn’t been that bad either. Seven goals may not justify his 31 million pound transfer fee, but he is a clever player who can put the ball in the onion bag with aplomb, or lay it off elegantly for a teammate to score. Exploratory surgery may be in his future because of an undiagnosed knee problem, but word has it that Sir Alex doesn’t want the Bulgarian going under the knife before the end of the season unless he has to.
City’s Adebayor may be back
City manager Roberto Mancini got a taste of the Mancunian rivalry last week and will undoubtedly look forward to the experience at Old Trafford. Emmanuel Adebayor should be available following his lay off after the deadly violence his Togo team was subjected to in Angola at the African Cup of Nations. "It will be difficult for him to be ready for United but if he is okay after he gets back and he trains well, it's possible he will be on the bench" said Mancini.
Shaun Wright Phillips should be available, as well as Craig Bellamy.
Recent transfer Patrick Viera could come in handy for Mancini. The big Frenchman is getting on in years but Mancini knows him well and his abundant Premier League experience with Arsenal should serve him well in the atmosphere of a Manchester derby.
But the atmosphere won’t be quite the same if Carlos Tevez isn’t on the pitch. He should be ready. And if Gary Neville gets into the game expect the observational fun quotient to expand exponentially.
Who’s your daddy?
Nominally this match is about which team gets the privilege of meeting Aston Villa in the Carling Cup Final at Wembley. In reality, however, it is about becoming Kings of Manchester. Not in many decades has City contested seriously for the title, but they now have a squad with the talent to mount a serious challenge to United. More importantly, they have money backing them up.
