Carlos Tevez Move to Boca Juniors Would Be Biggest Argentina Transfer in History

Even while Carlos Tevez continues training and playing alongside his Argentina colleagues in the Copa America, speculation keeps linking the Juventus forward to a permanent move back to South America. This time, there may just be a little more substance to the reports. 

Should the 31-year-old Boca Juniors icon finally put pen to paper and seal a return to his first club, it would no doubt be the most spectacular transfer in the history of the country's venerable Primera Division. Could it all be true? 

The story was set in motion this Monday, when Argentina received an unexpected guest at their training base in Chile's La Serena. Boca president Daniel Angelici turned up in the city with the specific aim of talking with Tevez with a view to a transfer at the end of the Copa, as revealed on Twitter by Calcio Mercato and other reputable news sources. 

From there, the world-class forward—used sparingly so far by the Albiceleste in their opening two matches, a draw and win over Paraguay and Uruguay respectively—has been drawn ever closer to the Argentinian giants. Goal reported that Tevez had already informed the Old Lady that he wanted to move back home, but Angelici told TyC Sport (via the same medium) that there was still some way to go in negotiations with the club. 

"You have to respect Juventus, the club where he still has a contract, but I'm sure Tevez will stay at Juve or return to Boca," the president explained. 

"We spoke to Carlitos about his future, but at the moment we're leaving him in peace to concentrate on the Copa America. Afterwards, he'll decide with his club where his future lies, but I'm sure, if not now, it'll be next year [that he returns]."

Leading Argentinian journalist Juan Pablo Varsky went even further on Twitter. According to the writer, Tevez would have to promise in a legal document that if he rescinds his contract in Turin it would be to go to Boca, and not another European club (the disparity in financial situations between Italian and Argentinian football obviously discards the chance of the Xeneize buying the player outright). 

So what would this mean for both Boca and Argentina? To put it simply, it would be a transfer almost without precedent in the last 50 years of the nation's local league. That is not to say, of course, that players with cult followings in the Primera do not return. Juan Sebastian Veron left Europe to guide Estudiantes to the Copa Libertadores in 2009, while Racing Club idol Diego Milito lifted his own silverware last year in winning the league just six months after returning from Inter.

From Humberto Maschio in the 1960s to Claudio Caniggia, Diego Maradona and Ariel Ortega in more recent times, there is a long tradition of overseas Argentinian stars coming back to the clubs that brought them into the game. Indeed, the last match before the Primera Division went into recess for the Copa America saw Pablo Aimar finally make his long-awaited second coming in River colours, alongside another prodigal son in Fernando Cavenaghi. 

The Tevez move, however, is different. This is not a player well into his 30s, in the twilight of his career. Carlitos remains one of the best strikers in world football. A Serie A title with Juve this year, 29 goals in all competitions and a run to the Champions League final gave ample proof of his quality. The nearest comparison would be Juan Roman Riquelme coming back to tread the Bombonera turf in 2007. 

But the enigmatic playmaker always looked more comfortable in his own backyard. Tevez, on the other hand, has had almost unbroken success since leaving Argentina for Corinthians in 2005 and yet is seemingly ready to throw himself once more into the hurly-burly of the Superclasico and other fierce local clashes. Right now, only the return of Sergio Aguero to Independiente or a dream move for Lionel Messi to Newell's Old Boys could come close to matching this transfer for impact. 

The news also comes at an extremely sensitive time for Boca themselves. The club, and Angelici's reputation, was severely damaged by the disgraceful scenes that marked a derby Libertadores clash with River last month. Several River players, the Buenos Aires Herald explains, were left needing hospital treatment when Boca barra brava hooligans carried out an attack with a potent homemade "pepper spray."

The shameful scenes meant that Boca were kicked out of the South American competition, and this piled pressure on Angelici.

Defending his presidency in December's elections, the chief needs a big statement to rehabilitate his reputation—and who better to deliver this than the People's Player, the man most closely associated with the toughness and the unbreakable spirit synonymous with Argentinian football? 

Constantly weakened by the exodus of its best players to Europe and the rest of the world, Argentinian football needs the presence of an icon like Tevez to shake it out of the current malaise. The Juve man would be taking a great risk in leaving behind the comparative security of Italy to enter back into the chaos of the Primera, but it would be a gigantic coup for the country and its millions of football-mad fans who crave to see the best of their compatriots week in, week out.