Football
Adriana Garcia 6y

Carlos Tevez eyes World Cup with Argentina after Boca Juniors return

Carlos Tevez says he is determined to make Argentina's World Cup squad after returning to play for Boca Juniors for the third time in his career.

On Saturday, Tevez was released by Shanghai Shenhua, with whom he had one year left on his contract, and joined Boca as a free agent soon afterward.

The 33-year-old has put pen to paper on a two-year contract with Boca.

Tevez -- who has not featured for the national team since October 2015, when he made his 76th appearance -- said during Tuesday's unveiling: "I haven't got many years left of football and I need to enjoy it.

"It doesn't matter whether I left and I came back. The important thing is now. I want to enjoy these two years that I've signed with Boca.

"If one does things well on the pitch, who knows? For a player of my age it would be beautiful to be in a World Cup."

Tevez was a part of Argentina's 2006 and 2010 World Cup squads but was not considered for selection in the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

He left Boca in December 2016 for Asia but injuries and a lack of fitness limited the former Manchester United player to just 16 league appearances for Shenhua. He scored four goals and set up five more at the club.

"I don't regret leaving," he said. "When I took the decision, I knew what the consequences were. One has to do the talking on the pitch and off it I have nothing to say. I want to prove on the pitch to the fans that my commitment is the same as always.

"I'm physically well because I've been working out and I'm ready to play, but it will be up to the coach to decide when I can play."

Boca have won 10 and lost two of their opening 12 league games and are three points clear of San Lorenzo at the top of the Superliga standings.

Tevez wants to help the club lift the Copa Libertadores, a trophy the outfit has not captured since 2007.

"One of the reasons I came back is to win the Copa Libertadores," Tevez said. "We are all obsessed with this. The time has come for us to take that weight of our shoulders and win it -- that is what we all desire."

Tevez played for Boca from 2001 to 2004 before embarking on a successful career in the Premier League and in Serie A.

He returned to his boyhood club in 2015 and scored 25 goals in 56 games.

Tevez said he missed playing at La Bombonera.

"I really missed the adrenaline that you get before you play," he said. "The butterflies you feel in the tunnel before you step onto the Bombonera pitch."

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