Forever City's Hero: The Immortal Sergio Aguero

Amar Zukancic 

    There are certain types of footballers that just make you fall in love with the game. Players who play for the badge, consistently play at a high level, always show up for the big games, break records, and score a load of goals, and Sergio Aguero was just that. Sergio Aguero was a truly special footballer whose regen we still are yet to find, a truly one of one footballer.

    There is a common misconception when it comes to Sergio Aguero and his time in Manchester. Everyone remembers him for what he did in a sky blue shirt, but people seem to forget that even though he was only 23 years old Aguero was already a world class footballer when he signed for City in 2011. Aguero burst on the scene in the 2007 Fifa u20 World Cup leading Argentina to the title and, winning the Golden Boot alongside the Player of The Tournament. His time at Atletico Madrid was amazing, where from 2006-2011 he played 234 games scoring 101 times. He was regularly scoring over 20 goals a season, helped lead Atleti to a Europa League and Supercup title alongside Diego Forlan, and assisted both goals in their Europa League Final win. This turned the heads of every club around Europe, and in July 2011 City splashed 35 million on the Argentine.

    Everybody knew Aguero was going to be a star for City, and that was seen right from his debut. He came off the bench against Swansea and scored a brace, including a beautiful long range effort. The rest of the entire 2011/12 season he lit up England scoring goals left and right, and on the final day against Queens Park Rangers, we all know what happened. With the last kick of the season Aguero took the title away from right under the rags noses, won us our first league title in decades, and created one of the most iconic moments in sporting history.

    

    The next few years were much the same from the striker. The 2012/13 season was a let down as we let the title go back to the dirty side of Manchester, but he still performed well. The 2013/14 season was arguably his best as he spent much of the season injured, but when he did play he was always scoring. His minutes per contribution that season were some of the best in prem history as we regained the Premier League title. The 2014/15 was the season he finally stayed healthy enough to get his hands on the Golden Boot. He was by far our best player that season, and should've gotten his hands on the PFA Player of the Year. He single handedly dragged us to a second place finish, and scored that hattrick to dismantle Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The period of 2014-16 which is after our Prem win but before Pep was arguably Aguero’s best time at the club. It was probably his athletic peak, and was the part of his career when he took on the biggest role and had to do the most heavy lifting. He didn't have the help that Dzeko and Tevez once gave him, and Sterling and Sane weren't at the club yet so Aguero was our only real source of goals. 

    The first half of Aguero’s City career was amazing, but when Pep came things went to another level. At first there seemed to be a large rift between Pep and Sergio and it looked like he may be on the way out. Pep saw Aguero as lazy, complacent, arrogant, and brought in Gabriel Jesus to replace him. But Aguero wasn't going to let that happen, he knew this was his club and he wasn't going to let down the fans that propped him up for so long. The next 4 years under Pep were nothing short of footballing perfection. 20 goals guaranteed every year in the league, trophies galore, hattricks on the regular, liquid football, and big game moments everywhere. In the two title winning seasons he had under Pep as a starter, Aguero was mercurial. He scored 21 Premier League goals in back to back seasons while winning 6 trophies, was Mr. Clutch whenever we needed him, and cemented his legacy as City’s greatest ever player. In the 2017/18 season we took a trip to Naples for a Champions League match, and in the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Aguero became the top scorer in club history. 

    In my opinion, Aguero’s best season was the 2018/19 season. While his 2011/12, 2013/14, 2014/15, and 2017/18 seasons were all world beaters, in 2018/19 he was simply unplayable. Every week he was doing something we'd never seen before. He started off the season by scoring both goals in our 2-0 win vs Chelsea in the Community Shield. He then scored a beautiful hattrick in our opening home match against Huddersfield. A few months later he blasted the ball into the roof of David De Gea’s net to help us win the derby. The second half of the season is where he came alive. On January 3rd he scored one of the best goals of his career to open up the scoring against Liverpool in a must win match in the title race. Then a month later he scored two hattricks in a week starting off the week by scoring all of the goals in a 3-1 win against Arsenal, then a week later he scored another hattrick in a 6-0 win against Chelsea to fully stake his claim as owner of London. He scored important goals in cup games against Swansea, the penalty shootout vs Chelsea to win the league cup, and in the Champions League against Schalke and Tottenham. He had many decking contributions in our 14 match win streak to win the Prem with his match winning assist for Phil Foden’s first Premier League goal, the winner at Turf Moor against Burnley, and the equalizer on the final day in Brighton to win the prem. That season he was genuinely unplayable as showed up for City every time we needed him. 

    The next two seasons were Aguero’s last, and they were an emotional rollercoaster. He started off the 2019/20 season so strong, and it looked like he was en route to get another Golden Boot. He was leading the Golden Boot race in March despite our terrible form as a team, and then Covid shut everything down. Those 3 months on the couch ended his career, and as soon as we came back in the summer he suffered a long term injury. The 2020/21 season was plagued with injuries, and it seemed like he aged a decade in the span of a season. He was constantly getting injured and never got the chance to get started, and that caused Pep to infamously switch to the false 9. Thankfully for his legacy he managed to squeak in a few goals at the end with a vintage finish at Selhurst Park and then an iconic brace in his last ever match at The Etihad. Even though his last match and season ended on a sour note, he left Manchester as a footballing icon.

    390 matches, 260 goals, 65 assists, 15 trophies, and one GOAT status is what Sergio Aguero left behind in Manchester. There is no other way to describe him other than simply the greatest to ever do it. City’s greatest ever player, the greatest striker in Premier League History, and one of the best players of the generation. What made him so special was the way he played the game. He was a smaller player who was shifter, but played with the precision and dominance of a big man. Aerial ability, dribbling, long range shots, volleys, skills, balance, strength, and the clutch gene, there was nothing he lacked. His consistency was what won him over by the fans, he averaged 26 goals a season over the span of a decade, and that was with major injury issues. The thing that made him so special was that he was a big moment magnet. The goal vs QPR, Derby goals, title race goals, Champions League Hattricks, and goals against the Big 6 came on the regular. He was the face of the club for a decade, dominated England, and cemented himself as a Premier League legend. Aguero is undoubtedly the greatest striker in league history, bar none. He has the most hattricks ever, best minutes per goal amongst all the great, has the numbers with 184 goals, and also has the intangibles…the aura. He has the look, the moments, and the reputation. Everyone dreaded playing City because they knew Aguero was going to score a couple of goals and embarrass your favorite defender. A true footballing legend. 

    He was such a unique player who had such an unfortunate but great career. He could've left us for Spain to have more European success and recognition, he could’ve been healthier and played more football, and he could've been luckier with his national team. Listing all of these “ifs” you never think that this player was unanimously the best striker in the premier league the last 15 years, but of course Sergio was. Aguero just has something about him that's different, that's special. There's a feeling you got when watching him that you even still get now rewatching highlights a decade later that make you love the game. It gives you a childlike wonder and a warm feeling in your stomach. Every part of his game oozed footballing brilliance and he just played the game the right way, a truly unique superstar.