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At this point, watch Carlos Tévez do awesome things in a Juventus jersey isn't a foreign concept. In fact, the way he's going these days, it's almost like the complete opposite. It's almost like if Tévez doesn't do something great to help Juventus win, then it's a big deal. Kind of the opposite of what you'd expect from some, right?
Basically, being awesome is Tévez's version of simply staying at status quo. Must be nice.
And that brings us to what Tévez said after Juve's 3-0 win over Lazio on Saturday night:
"I expected this performance, although it was the first game after the international break and we couldn't afford to get this wrong after last time.
"I am at a great club, I am happy playing my football and I am giving my all on the field. I do agree, this is the best form of my career."
(Source: Football Italia)
Watching the way he has played this season, there's no reason to think he's not 100 percent serious about his current season and performances. To be honest, ti's hard to disagree with him, too.
Tévez has had a good number of incredibly productive seasons before he arrived in Italy two summers ago. He scored 20-plus goals twice during his time with Manchester City, sign he knows what the heck he's doing. But ever since he's put on the Juventus jersey and donned the No. 10 on his back, it's been one of the best starts to a career with the Old Lady we've seen in awhile. That's especially true this season, where Tévez has scored nearly a goal a game in Serie A.
9 - Goals in his last 10 @SerieA_TIM games for @carlitos3210. Lethal. #LazioJuve pic.twitter.com/ZHtivbStF0
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) November 23, 2014
So, when you see Tévez say that this is the best season he's ever had, it's easy to understand why.
Think of it this way: Juventus has scored a Serie A-best 28 goals this season. Individually, Tévez, who has scored nine goals and dished out five assists in 11 league games, has played a hand in exactly half of those. Officially. As in what the stat sheet actually picks up and recognizes. As we know when it comes to Tévez, so much of his value comes from more than just scoring and/or setting up goals.
But, of course, the headliner is the fact that he's scoring of goals these days. At this rate, Tévez is going to blow past the 20-goal mark with plenty of room to spare before the end of the season. As Juve headed toward the final week of November a year ago, Tévez had seven goals through 13 games, so he's already ahead of the 18-goal tally he had in his first Juventus season.
And here's this stat, just for kicks: In all of Serie A this year, there are 10 teams who haven't even scored 15 goals all season. And yet, Tévez — who is one of the many players that are rumored to be in line for a contract extension in the not-so-distant future — just continues to roll, scoring three goals and recording two assists in his last two games.
Maybe what's more impressive is that he is just continuing where he picked up last season as the tactics and identity of Juventus is changing under first-year manager Max Allegri. And it hasn't mattered where Allegri has lined Tévez up, he's produced. If ti's alongside Fernando Llorente, he scores goals. If he's behind Llorente in a Christmas tree, he scores like he did — twice — in the 7-0 dismantling of Parma before the most recent international break.
Heck, before Allegri changed the formations for the absolute better, Tévez was all of Juventus' offense at times. He scored six goals in Juventus' first five games of the season, including a brace against Malmö to break his long-standing Champions League scoring drought. It was a point in the year where Juve were anything but convincing, with every Tévez goal playing a huge role in the outcome of Allegri's first handful of games at the helm.
Simply put, this is Tévez at his best. He knows it, and we can see it. When Beppe Marotta went out on his famed quest for a 'Top Player,' this is the kind of person Juventus wanted and desperately needed.
So, and I don't think anybody would disagree, you give him the contract extension. Don't tell me he doesn't deserve it. We can postpone his inevitable return to Boca Juniors a little longer. I think he'd be okay with it based on how things are going and how happy he is with his life in Turin.
And when you get a chance, remind yourself that the original transfer fee €9 million fee Juventus paid to Manchester City looks better and better with each goal that is scored.
Like I said the day he officially signed, Carlos Tévez is a Juventus player — and that's a very, very good thing.
