Sergio Agüero

Independiente

Sergio Agüero joined the youth system of Independiente at the age of nine. He started playing for the side, becoming the youngest player to debut in the first division at 15 years and 35 days (on 5 July 2003 against San Lorenzo), when Independiente's coach, Oscar Ruggeri sent Agüero onto the field as a substitute for Emanuel Rivas in the 69th minute of the match. His performance was well received by the press. Despite his early debut, he was not selected again by Ruggeri, and his replacement Osvaldo Sosa, for the remainder of 2002–03 season, having made only one appearance in the Torneo Clausura. Following the arrival of coach Jose Omar Pastoriza, seven months after Agüero's first match he returned to the club's first-team in 4–2 win against Peru's Cienciano during the group stages of the 2004 Copa Libertadores. This meant that he also became the youngest player to participate in the Copa Libertadores, a record that he held for three years. One month later, Agüero again featured in a Copa Libertadores fixture against Ecuador's El Nacional. On 19 June, for the first time, Agüero played a full 90-minute match for Independiente against Atlético de Rafaela during the Torneo Clausura. He scored his first goal for Independiente in a 2–2 draw against Estudiantes on 26 November, with a 22nd minute shot from outside the penalty area. Agüero became a regular in the club's first-team, being selected for the Argentina U-20 squad for the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup,…

Youth teams

Agüero was selected for the Argentina U17 team to participate at the 2004 U-16 South American Championship in Paraguay in September. He participated in all of Argentina's group stage matches, scoring in a 2–1 win against the United States and a 3–1 win against Ecuador to help Argentina finish top of their group. Agüero scored in the 47th minute of Argentina's 1–0 quarter-final victory against Peru, setting up a semi-final match against Colombia which Argentina lost 2–0. Agüero represented Argentina at two FIFA World Youth Championships, winning back-to-back world titles. He was part of the team that won the 2005 edition in the Netherlands, alongside his future 2008 Olympics squad teammates Fernando Gago and Lionel Messi. At the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, held in Canada, Agüero scored twice and helped set up three goals in a 6–0 win over Panama in the second game of the group stage of the tournament. He then scored the only goal in Argentina's third match against North Korea from a free kick. Having qualified to the round of 16, he scored two of the three goals against Poland that would eventually give them a 3–1 win to advance to the next round. Argentina defeated Mexico in the quarter-finals and Chile in the semi-finals, and faced the Czech Republic in the final, a team they drew 0–0 in the group stage. Agüero captained and scored the equaliser in the 62nd minute, leading to a 2–1 victory. In addition, Agüero won the Golden Boot of the tournament, scoring…

Often considered one of the best strikers in the world during his playing days, Agüero is regarded as an all-out centre forward, although he is a versatile player, who can also play as a second striker off another striker, which he often did at Atlético Madrid with Diego Forlán, due to his passing ability, link-up play, tactical intelligence, and vision, which made him a capable assist-man. Although naturally right footed, he is also capable of striking well with his left foot, and can finish well both inside and outside the area with his powerful and accurate shot. A prolific goalscorer, Agüero's playing style is characterised by agility, acceleration, excellent movement off the ball, and strength, being described as "sharp and clever" by former Argentine player Osvaldo Ardiles; a view which is shared by his international captain Messi, who believes Agüero possesses "immense power, strength and an incredible work ethic". Combined with his close control, quick feet, dribbling skills, and strength to keep the ball, he has been described as "a menace in the box". Agüero's goalscoring and collective achievements with Manchester City have led to debates over whether he is the greatest foreign player in Premier League history, alongside Manchester United's Eric Cantona and Arsenal's Henry. In Shearer's view, the Premier League's all-time leading goalscorer, Agüero is "the best foreign player to have played in the Premier League." In a 2016 article, ESPN labelled Agüero "the most…

Agüero was formerly married to Gianinna Maradona, the youngest daughter of Diego Maradona. On 19 February 2009, Giannina gave birth to their son, Benjamín, in Madrid. Diego Maradona was there for the birth of his first grandson, while Agüero, then 20, missed Atlético's training session earlier in the day. Atlético offered their congratulations in a statement on their official website. Agüero and Giannina divorced in 2012 after four years of marriage. Agüero's nickname "Kun", which features on his shirt, dates back to his childhood. It was first given to him by his grandparents, due to a resemblance to the character "Kum-Kum" from the anime Wanpaku Omukashi Kumu Kumu which was Agüero's favourite television programme as a child. He said "I have grown to appreciate it because it's unique. It's not every day an athlete is nicknamed after a cartoon character!" Agüero has a tattoo on the inside of his right arm inscribed in Tengwar—a form of writing invented by J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings—that transliterates roughly to Kun Agüero in the Latin script. He also has a tattoo on his left arm of his son's name and date of birth. Agüero holds Spanish nationality, after being granted citizenship in 2010 whilst playing for Atlético Madrid. Gastón del Castillo and Mauricio del Castillo are brothers of Agüero. Agüero shares a close friendship with Messi, his regular roommate during outings for the national team since 2005. He described Messi as being "like a brother" in his…