Carlos Tevez’s spell at West Ham is remembered for a variety of reasons, his goals in the 2006/07 season which helped West Ham clinch survival, as well as the controversy which surrounded his and Javier Mascherano’s arrival in East London. Speaking on the Football Daily podcast former Hammers striker Bobby Zamora recalled some memories of the Argentine and his time at West Ham.

Zamora paints the picture of how Tevez arrived into a West Ham dressing room composed mainly of English players who were early on in their football careers. Despite the language barrier and Tevez not knowing any English, Zamora detailed how Tevez found himself thrown straight into the dressing room banter on his first day.

“I remember, day one, Carlos coming in with crazy hair.” recalled Zamora, adding: “All the lads were like: ‘Mate, your hair is horrendous, like, what? You are gonna have to get this sorted out.’ He obviously had no idea, smiling away. That was a bit of an introduction for him to the changing room !”

It took Tevez time to adjust to English football, on the pitch, it was a while before things began to click for the Argentine in Claret and Blue. In an incredibly challenging season, the Hammers needed a figurehead to drag them away from their relegation battle. Tevez’s goals in the second half of that campaign, which included a winner against Manchester United on the final day of the season, famously helped West Ham clinch survival.

“The great escape was memorable,” said Zamora to BBC Sport. The former Hammers striker continued: “Going down to the last game of the season of course, which was Manchester United away. To come away with a win there, and obviously Carlos scoring. I’m claiming an assist on that.”

Tevez’s goal secured another season of top flight football for West Ham, however the goal was seen as controversial. This was not only because the signings of Tevez and international teammate Javier Mascherano was in breach of the rules around third party ownership, but because Tevez’s goal which sealed West Ham’s final day victory helped relegate Sheffield United.

Sheffield United took legal action against West Ham, alongside the legal disputes, there were suggestions at the time that the Hammers may be hit with a points deduction. West Ham were fined £5.5 million by the Premier League and eventually ordered to pay Sheffield United £20 million.

From Zamora’s perspective, he and the rest of the Hammers squad were naturally aware of the whispers at the time but did not really know what was going on behind the scenes. “Obviously towards the back end of the season there was talk of court cases and points deductions.” Zamora added: “There was obviously the paper talk about what could happen, but we had no idea really.”

Although Tevez’s time at West Ham was short lived, the Argentine certainly made his mark in East London. His goals that helped secure survival have become part of the Club’s folklore and those memories clearly still stick in the minds of those who shared the pitch with him almost 20 years later.