WHZ View: The controversial tale of Carlos Tevez at West Ham – his best bits
Yesterday was the 37th birthday of West Ham cult hero Carlos Tevez.
He joined the Hammers under unusual circumstances from Corinthians in 2006, along with the not as greatly remembered Javier Mascherano.
After failing to score in his first 16 appearances for the Hammers, the Argentinian bagged seven goals in the last ten games of the season to keep us in the Premier League.
Despite only spending one season at Upton Park, it was one the fans will never forget. Tevez went on to have a fantastic career, winning everything at club level playing for Manchester United, Manchester City, and Juventus.
In honour of his birthday, West Ham Zone decided to look back on his best moments in claret and blue.
His first goal and that celebration
March 4th 2007, the Hammers hosted Spurs in what many consider to be the greatest match in the history of the Premier League. West Ham led twice in the game but ultimately lost 4-3, and remained rooted to the foot of the table.
Tevez was fouled by Michael Dawson after 41 minutes on the edge of the box. The striker converted his freekick off the crossbar, a moment worth waiting 16 league appearances for.
He spontaneously took off his shirt and ran towards the home crowd before leaping over the advertising board into the arms of the Upton Park faithful. He remained in the crowd for some time.
He also assisted goals for Mark Noble and Bobby Zamora in the game, but ultimately Spurs ran out winners.
Double against Bolton
Tevez scored twice and assisted again for Noble as we moved out of the bottom three for the first time since December.
He cooly converted another freekick, very similar to his one against Spurs, before slotting away his second eleven minutes later from inside the box.
Before the game kicked off, Tevez had been named the Hammer of the year for his efforts in the 2006/07 season. He sure celebrated in style.
Heroics at Old Trafford
On the final day of the season, we travelled to the champions. West Ham needed to take three points to pull off the greatest of all escapes, against a United side who had already won the league.
Tevez scored what turned out to be his final goal for the club in our famous 1-0, which ultimately was enough to beat the drop.
The striker played a one-two with Bobby Zamora which was deflected into orbit. He chased it down and slotted between the legs of Edwin Van der Sar to give us the unlikeliest of victories.
Despite all the controversies that followed, and his departure to Manchester United that summer, we wouldn’t change a thing. We’ll always love you, Carlos.
In other West Ham news, is Carlton Cole deserving of legend status at West Ham?