Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez angered by exclusion from Argentina’s Copa America plans

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Manchester City star Carlos Tevez has hit out at Argentina boss Sergio Batista for shunning him this season.

The 27-year-old has been in excellent form, scoring 20 goals to take the Citizens into the Champions League, and lifted the FA Cup as captain last Saturday.

For his national team, however, it has been a different story. The former Manchester United forward has not featured in Batista’s squads since dropping out against Brazil in November, and was pointedly snubbed in a European tour taken by the manager in which he met almost all the players expected to play a part in the Copa. The coach has denied that Tevez is out of the running, but the striker sees it somewhat differently.

Tevez told Ole: “I have known for a while that there will be no Copa America for me. Seeing the coach go to all those countries to chat with players and not going through England makes it clear. On top of that he hasn’t called, I called him and he didn’t pick up… a lot of things make me think I will not be there.

“I was hoping though, and I am still hoping, to be given a reason. Only that, because you have to respect the coach’s wishes. If it is for football reasons, that is fine with me. I cannot do anything, but I want to know why.”

Tevez was most upset that the coach has refused to talk directly with him, something he thought outrageous for the head of a national team.

“It has to be done that way,” he said. “You are the national team coach… Call me and tell me ‘you are not there because you didn’t want to play against Brazil’. I would tell him, ‘knowing who I am you know that I would never do that, but OK I respect your decision, thanks for calling and best of luck’.

“But he is the Seleccion tecnico. This has never happened to me with any other coach in all my career.”

Tevez finishes his domestic season this Sunday, when Manchester City visit Bolton Wanderers.