The nightmare of 2011 is over for Carlos Tevez, who closed the loop on one of his most painful football memories by putting Argentina into the Copa America semifinals after a dramatic penalty shootout against Colombia.
The striker came off the bench in the second half and netted the decisive 14th spot-kick, sealing a 5-4 win after the match finished 0-0 in Chile on Friday.
It was announced during the game that Tevez will return to Argentina to play for his hometown club Boca Juniors, having negotiated his release from European Champions League finalist Juventus.
The 31-year-old has long felt homesick since moving to Europe in 2006 — four years after that he put in a transfer request while playing for English club Manchester City, because he was missing his Argentina-based family.
The following year he suffered the ignominy of missing a penalty as Argentina lost to Uruguay in a shootout on home soil in the quarterfinals of the Copa — and his country’s smaller neighbour went on to win the title.
“This is for my teammates, it’s not just for me,” Tevez said in a post-match TV interview after Friday’s drama in Vina del Mar.
“Football always provides the opportunity for revenge, but what happened four years ago is over.”
In the semifinals, Argentina will face either Brazil or Paraguay, who clash Saturday. Brazil — missing suspended star striker Neymar — will be seeking revenge after losing to “La Albirroja” on penalties in the 2011 quarterfinals. There is no extra-time at the tournament, so matches go straight to penalties if the score is level after 90 minutes.
Tevez made his name at Boca Juniors before switching to Brazil’s Corinthians in 2005.
The three-time South American footballer of the year made a surprise move to English side West Ham in a complicated part-ownership deal, which ultimately led to such transfers being banned in the Premier League.
His heroics in helping the London team avoid relegation earned him a move to Manchester United, where he won two domestic titles and a European crown before a controversial move across the city.
Tevez helped Manchester City end its long wait for an English title in the 2011-12 season, during which he fell out with manager Roberto Mancini after refusing to come off the bench during a Champions League match at Bayern Munich. He took three months off but apologized and returned to action for the title run-in.
In 2013, Tevez moved to Italy where he won two league titles and a domestic cup with Juve, being the club’s top scorer in both seasons.
Juventus, already resigned to the fact the 31-year-old would not fulfill the final season of his contract, signed Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic from Spanish club Atletico Madrid this month.
Colombia striker Jackson Martinez revealed after Friday’s match that he will be joining Atletico from Portuguese club Porto for a reported fee of €35 million ($39 million).
Tevez’s return to Boca was predicted by Argentina’s football legend Diego Maradona, who posted an image of a Boca-era Tevez on his Facebook page last week, with the caption “Welcome back!”
The Argentine players wore black armbands against Colombia in respect for Maradona’s father, who passed away during the week.