Why did Tevez not want to learn English when he played in the Premier League?

Former Argentina striker Carlos Tevez looks back on his time in the Premier League between 2006 and 2013, where he tried hard not to learn English. He invokes the consequences of the Falklands War to justify himself.

Despite making 276 appearances for West Ham, Manchester United and Manchester City between 2006 and 2013, Carlos Tevez never wanted to learn English. “I had a cultural problem with them and I wanted them to learn Spanish,” he explains on the Arriba Carajo radio show. T game1982 sparking the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

“My uncle was called up for the Falklands war and he didn't play in the River first team”

“My uncle played for Rivers, he was the only Rivers fan in the family, he even played in the reserve team,” explains the former Argentina striker. “Just as he was about to play for the first team, he was called up for the Falklands War and he couldn't play for the first team.”

“He became an alcoholic after the war, and then he was very bad,” he explains later. We were very close and that influenced me.” In seven seasons spent in England, Tevez scored 114 goals and won nine trophies, including the Champions League with the Red Devils (2008) and three Premier Leagues (2008, 2009, 2012). “I didn't adapt to the English culture,” she says, adding, “I didn't like learning English because of my uncle and the culture shock it caused.”

“Playing in England for seven years was for work, but I didn't adapt to the English culture”

“Carlitos” emphasizes this traumatic period: “I saw a situation where my uncle gave a gun to one and bullets to another, where they were cool and when the British caught them, they had the best moment. Crazy. Told by him in the first person. I experienced it very young, it was marked my childhood.”

Between April 2 and June 14, 1982, the Falklands War resulted in a total of 907 casualties and ended in victory for the British, who were able to assert their sovereignty over all of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It is placed in the Atlantic Ocean near the coasts of Argentina.

“Playing in England for seven years was for work, but I didn't adapt to the English culture,” reiterates the current Independent coach. “I don't want to learn English for my own reasons. My daughters speak English and they study in English. At United they cheer you saying 'Argentino, Argentino' is very strong for Argentina, it's really crazy.”