Sergio Aguero : King of the Strikers
By David Crook
It is coming up to 7 years since Sergio Aguero scored the most famous goal in both Manchester City and Premier League history, yet he is still writing the history books now with his current performances.
At just 30 years of age Aguero seems to have been around forever, an almost ever present talisman in our Manchester City side who has consistently broken our goal scoring records. Operating under three different managers at City and many different playing formations and systems. Despite all of these changes he has just continued to do what he does best – score goals.
There are three things you notice about Aguero which probably help to define him as the greatest striker in the modern Premier League era. Firstly he is made of solid muscle. Built for power and speed over 5 yards. It is this physical condition which sustains his performance level and makes him the kind of striker which he is. He hits the ball sweet and sharply. He has a low centre of gravity so cannot be easily dispossessed. He has technical skill and precision but it is not always on display because he has already scored the goal in his head.
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Secondly he saves all of his ability for the game. His training regime may make managers wince and in the pre match warm up he seems nonchalantly disinterested. Seemingly making no effort to hit the back of the net with any shots. It is as though he is saving his goals for the game. It is that singular vision which underpins his success too. He knows when to make it count and how to manage his body. It does not seem to matter how many supermodels he parties with in LOs Angeles, he seems to be in perfect condition for the match day.
Finally, considering he is without doubt a dedicated and committed athlete he is also full of light relief and humour. He seems to always be on the verge of messing around. There are countless videos of him on City TV showing this side to his personality. Yet this light hearted approach seems to allow him to recover quickly from the anxiety of missing shots. Simply because he takes nothing too seriously he does not dwell on the misses. They never seem to get in his head. He simply moves on.
Right now under Pep Guardiola, Aguero has been reinvented. He has added some more running and pressing to his game rather than goal hanging for opportunities. This season has seem some concerted tracking back and ball recovery, showing an improved dedication to the team.
The results this season and Aguero’s statistics in particular are very impressive. Since the start of last season he has been involved in 50 goals – scoring 38 and assisting 12. Since joining City he has had a hand in 31% of the goals in the games in which he has played. Against the top six Premier League sides he has amassed a stunning 43 goals in 64 games. He has scored 11 Premier League hat tricks – 9 of them at the Etihad Stadium. And right now he is sitting as joint top scorer in the Premier League with 17 goals.
Sergio Aguero is the best goal scorer I have had the pleasure of watching and we will look back on this current golden era of City and identify him as the most central figure. The good news for City fans is that Aguero has two years to run on his current contract which expires in June 2021, meaning he really does have the opportunity to set scoring records which may never be caught.