Former Man City and West Ham striker Carlos Tevez has sent his Independiente players back to school after discovering that some of them couldn't answer simple maths questions.
Tevez, 39, who has seen his team Independiente storm clear of the relegation zone in his first few weeks as coach of the Argentine club, was shocked when he asked his squad to add two plus two as part of a training ground exercise to discover how they coped under pressure.
Tevez explained: “We do speed exercises in training that have a neuroscience element to them. When a player is physically drained, I ask him to solve a problem.
“I did an experiment by asking our players to solve simple addition and subtraction problems under physical stress.
“At the end of one intensive exercise, I asked them to tell me the answer to two plus two - and three of the kids didn’t know how to add or subtract. These are players from the first division!
“This is the definition of poverty. We can give people food and material help, but it is only through study that you can truly emerge from poverty.
“To live with dignity it is essential to study, know how to read and know what paperwork you are signing. This is the only way for these kids to defend themselves.
“We have now put together a project with the club to give them a teacher and the working space to do two hours of study after training so that they can fill the gaps in their education."
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