Johannesburg: Only World Cup victory will be enough for Argentina, the country`s "man of the people" Carlos Tevez said on Tuesday.
Tevez said he would give all his titles to win the World Cup with coach Diego Maradona`s team who will stick to the attacking game that gave them a 1-0 win over Nigeria in their opening match."A good World Cup for Argentina is to be champions, there`s nothing else," Tevez told a news conference two days before their second Group B game against South Korea.
"We can`t be satisfied with a second round, a quarter-final, a semi-final," the 26-year-old said.
"Argentina will be criticised at some point if they don`t win. This team, so as not to be criticised, must become champions," he said of their demanding fans and media who slammed the side for their poor qualifying campaign.
"I would give all the championships I have to be world champion," said Tevez, who has titles with three clubs in three different countries under his belt.
"This sensation (of playing for Argentina), I haven`t felt before, it`s an incredible sensation," said one of Argentina`s most popular and committed players.
Maradona said in the final days leading up to the finals that he could not leave the charismatic Tevez out.He fielded an attacking side with three men up front -- Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Tevez -- and sacrificed a fourth all-out defender, playing Jonas Gutierrez as a right wing-back.
"This is a team that goes forward, we have very good attackers. We won`t sit back and wait for any team ... This shows in the kind of players Maradona picks," Tevez said.
Tevez hinted Argentina would play South Korea at Soccer City on Thursday (1130 GMT) with the same side that beat Nigeria on Saturday provided Juan Sebastian Veron recovers from a leg muscle injury.
Asked about the Koreans` captain Park Ji-sung, his former team mate at Manchester United, Tevez said: "I`ll talk to Jonas and I`ll tell him how (Park) moves."
"He`s very good at losing a player, he`s always unmarked, it surprises me a lot how he does that."
It appeared from Argentina`s practice at their University of Pretoria camp that should Veron fail a late fitness test, Maxi Rodriguez, his substitute for the last quarter of an hour against Nigeria, would be drafted in.
South Korea lead the group on goal difference from Argentina after beating Greece 2-0.
Bureau Report
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