Sergio Agüero
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sergio Leonel Agüero | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Atlético Madrid | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 August 2007 | |||
Sergio Leonel "Kún" Agüero (born on June 2, 1988 in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province) is an Argentine football forward, who plays for Atlético Madrid.
Footballing career
Independiente
Agüero started playing for Independiente of the Argentine First Division becoming the youngest player to debut in the Argentine First Division at only 15 years and 35 days (On July 7, 2003, against Club Atlético San Lorenzo), breaking the record previously established by Argentine legend Diego Maradona.
After the 2005-06 season Kun Agüero transferred to Spanish club Atlético Madrid, and is considered by the world press an up-and-coming talent, having been the top goalscorer for the Argentina national under-20 football team, in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He made his senior debut for Argentina in a friendly with Brazil national football team played at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on September 3, 2006.
His nickname comes from his resemblance to boy anime characters, with -kun being the relevant Japanese honorific.
Transfer to Atlético Madrid
Due to his performance, especially during the 2005 Torneo Apertura, the young star attracted the interest of several top European clubs.
In April 2006, it was reported that Atlético Madrid had "pulled off a stunning transfer coup in the signing of Independiente striker Sergio Agüero"[1]. That same day, Independiente denied the reports, but the player himself later told Argentinian television, "Although I still don't know what's going to happen to me, this could have been my last goal and my last game for Independiente"[2].
On May 29, 2006, it was announced at a news conference that Atlético Madrid had completed a deal to sign the striker for an unknown fee, which is believed to be a figure close to 20 million Euros.[3]. Other clubs interested in signing the player included Bayern Munich, Palermo and Liverpool.
On 31st May 2006, Atlético Madrid confirmed that Sergio Agüero has signed a six year contract with the club after negotiating a transfer fee of 20 million euros with Independiente[4], thus making Agüero the club's most expensive player of all time.
On the 13th of December 2006, Atlético played a Copa Del Rey match against Levante. They had lost the first leg at home 1-0. Until the 91st minute it looked like disappointment for Atlético, but then Agüero shot past Levante's goalkeeper from a difficult angle, scoring his first Copa del Rey goal. As a result of that goal, Atlético proceeded to extra time which ended in a draw, and then won the penalty shootout 4-2, where Agüero also verified the victory by scoring the last goal to 4-2.
However, Agüero's greatest moment in the Atlético shirt was an equalising goal in the Camp Nou against big rivals Barcelona, in a match which finished 1-1. "Kun" made an excellent run across Puyol and received a through-ball, before slotting past Valdes in the Barca goal. That was his fifth goal for Atlético, number four in La Liga.
After an inconsistent debut season with Atlético, where he was used sparingly to partner the now departed Torres, Aguero has started the new 2007-08 season in style. His new partnership with Diego Forlán has already as of October 27th brought 16 goals in all competitions, becoming the second most prolific attacking partnership in Europe for the 2007-2008 season.
International career
At the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, he scored twice and helped setup 3 goals in a 6-0 win over Panama in the second game of the group stage of the tournament. Agüero 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 2 of the 3 goals against Poland that would eventually give them the win (3-1)to advance. Argentina defeated Mexico in the quarter finals and Chile in the semis, and faced the Czech Republic in the finals. Agüero captained and scored the equaliser in the 62 minute, leading to a 2-1 victory. In addition, Agüero won the Golden Boot for the tournament with his 6 goals, and the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament.
Titles
| Season | Club | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 |  Argentina |
FIFA U-20 World Cup |
| 2007 | Argentina |
FIFA U-20 World Cup |
Personal Honours:
- Golden Ball: FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2007
- Golden Boot: FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2007
- Tuttosport Golden Boy: 2007 [5] [6]
- FIFA's Young Player of the Year: 2007
References
- ^ Tribalfootball.com - "Spanish News"
- ^ Clrín - "Agüero admitió que pudo haber sido su último partido en el fútbol argentino"Template:Es icon
- ^ ESPN - "Atlético agree fee for Independiente starlet"
- ^ ESPN - "Atlético sign Argentine prodigy Aguero"
- ^ Tuttosport 'Golden Boy' award winner
- ^ Sergio Agüero, Golden Boy
External links