Buenos Aires, Jun 21 (IANS): Former Argentina striker Carlos Tevez, who recently retired from football, has been appointed as manager of Argentine top-tier side Rosario Central, the club said on Tuesday.

Having decided to hang up his boots at the age of 38, Tevez is taking his first steps into a senior coaching role and has signed a 12-month contract with the club.

Rosario are currently 22nd in Argentina's top flight, which contains 28 clubs, after four games in the second phase of the season.

Tevez announced his retirement from playing earlier this month, following the death of his father. At that time, the footballer revealed that he had offers to continue his career, during which he featured for some of Europe's biggest clubs, including both Manchester clubs and Juventus, while he also had three spells with Boca Juniors.

"I've retired, it's confirmed. I had offers from many places, but as a player I had already given everything I had," Tevez had told Argentine talk show Animales Sueltos.

"My last year playing [at Boca Juniors] was very hard because he (Tevez's late father, Segundo Raimundo) was brain dead. I woke up one day and told Vane (Tevez's wife, Vanessa): 'I don't want to play anymore'.

"I called Adrian (Tevez's agent, Adrian Ruocco) in the afternoon and told him: 'Look, I'm not going to play anymore. I'm retiring'," he added.

Tevez made his international debut for Argentina in 2004 against Ecuador, earning a total of 76 caps and scoring 13 goals.