Wayne Rooney Calls Carlos Tevez an ‘Absolute Disgrace’ in Manchester United Training
Rooney revealed why United tolerated Tevez’s dreadful training and recalled their unlikely airport conversations.
Wayne Rooney has described Carlos Tevez as an “absolute disgrace” in Manchester United training—but revealed why his teammates were willing to accept it.
Rooney made the admission while discussing United’s formidable collection of attacking options alongside former teammate Dimitar Berbatov on Stick to United.
‘The Worst Trainer I’ve Ever Seen’
Rooney explained that the forwards competing for places under Sir Alex Ferguson possessed very different personalities and approaches.
He said: “If you look at Tevez in training, he was an absolute disgrace. He was the worst trainer I’ve ever seen in my life.
“But then, as a teammate or the manager, we’d accept it because he’d go on the pitch and he’d put all his energy on the pitch, which was great.”
Tevez spent two seasons at Old Trafford between 2007 and 2009, helping United win consecutive Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League.
His intensity during matches made him a popular figure among supporters and helped establish an effective partnership with Rooney, despite his apparently less convincing performances on the training ground.
Rooney has previously named Tevez as his favourite strike partner and said defenders hated playing against the pair because of their aggressive and unpredictable approach.
Rooney and Tevez’s Unlikely Friendship
Rooney also recalled how the language barrier did not prevent the pair from forming an unusual friendship away from the pitch.
“There was competition between us all to play,” he said. “Berbatov was quite quiet, Tevez couldn’t really speak much English.
“It was interesting actually. I used to pick Tevez up from his house and sometimes we’d go to the airport for Champions League games because it was nearby, but somehow we managed to have a conversation. It was weird.”
Rooney admitted he enjoyed more conventional dressing-room banter with Cristiano Ronaldo, but the relationship with Tevez evidently required fewer words.
The conversations may have been difficult to explain, although their understanding on the pitch rarely needed translating.
