Sergio Agüero
File:Kun aguero.jpg | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo | |||||||||||||
Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)[1] | |||||||||||||
Position(s) | Striker | |||||||||||||
Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Manchester City | |||||||||||||
Number | 16 | |||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||
1997-2003 | Independiente | |||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
2003–2006 | Independiente | 54 | (23) | |||||||||||
2006–2011 | Atlético Madrid | 175 | (74) | |||||||||||
2011– | Manchester City | 1 | (2) | |||||||||||
International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
2005–2007 | Argentina U20 | 7 | (6) | |||||||||||
2008 | Argentina U23 | 5 | (2) | |||||||||||
2006– | Argentina | 30 | (13) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:28, 15 August 2011 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 July 2011 |
Sergio Leonel "Kun" Agüero del Castillo[1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈseɾxjo aˈɣweɾo]) (born 2 June 1988 in Quilmes, Argentina) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester City in England's Premier League and the Argentine national team. On 5 July 2003 he became the youngest player to début in the Argentine First Division at 15 years and 35 days, breaking the record previously established by Diego Maradona in 1976.[2] Agüero represented the Argentina under-20 team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2005 and in 2007 winning both tournaments. In the 2007 tournament he scored six goals in seven games to win the Golden Boot and was also awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament. Agüero played at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he scored two goals in the 3-0 semi-final win against Brazil as Argentina went on to win the gold medal.[3] Agüero was selected to represent Argentina in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2011 Copa América.[4] He is married to, and has a son with, Giannina Maradona, Diego Maradona's daughter.[5]
Club career
Independiente
Sergio Agüero started playing for Argentine first division team Club Atlético Independiente, becoming the youngest player to début in the Argentine First Division at 15 years and 35 days (on 5 July 2003 against Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro), breaking the record previously established by Diego Maradona in 1976.[4] His first goal for the club came in a 2–2 draw against rivals Estudiantes de la Plata on 26 November 2004.[6] Agüero soon became a regular in the first team, earning a place in the Argentina squad for the U-20 World Cup in 2005.
Agüero's most famous goal for Independiente came on 11 September 2005 in a 4–0 win against Racing Club de Avellaneda, where he ran from inside his own half before finishing with his left foot.[6] His outstanding performances during the 2005 Torneo Apertura attracted interest from a number of big name European clubs, and after months of speculation, Agüero announced to television cameras in April 2006 that he intended to leave the club at the end of the season.[6]
Atlético Madrid
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Sergio_Ag%C3%BCero.jpg/150px-Sergio_Ag%C3%BCero.jpg)
In May 2006 Agüero signed for Spanish club Atlético Madrid for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around €23 million, breaking the club's previous transfer record.[7][8] He caused controversy early in his Atlético career by using his hands to score the winning goal against Recreativo Huelva on 14 October 2006, it was only his second goal for the club, the first coming in a 4–1 away win against Athletic Bilbao on September 17.[9] In the 2007–08 season, Agüero finished third in scoring in La Liga, behind Dani Güiza and Luís Fabiano, with 19 goals, and was runner up in the Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano award.[10] Kun won many plaudits for his man of the match display against Barcelona in March 2008, scoring twice, assisting a goal, and winning a penalty for Atlético in a 4–2 win.[11] He also scored important goals against the likes of Real Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla and Villarreal to help Atlético finish fourth and qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over ten years.[12]
Agüero was once again a regular goalscorer for Atlético in the 2008–09 season, forming a partnership with Uruguayan striker Diego Forlán, also a former Independiente striker. On September 16, he scored his first Champions League goals in a 3–0 away win at PSV Eindhoven.[13] In March 2009, the duo of Forlán and Agüero scored a brace each in a 4–3 win over league leaders Barcelona.[14] Agüero finished in the top ten runners for the Pichichi Trophy while his teammate Forlán won the trophy.[15] Atlético finished fourth in the league, qualifying for the following season's Champions League.
Despite not being as prolific in front of goal, Agüero had another good season in 2009–10, and was praised for his influential performances as Atlético enjoyed their most successful season in over a decade.[16] On 3 November 2009, he scored twice against Chelsea during a 2–2 draw in the Champions League at the Vicente Calderón. Atlético were knocked out of the competition, but went on to reach the final of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, where Agüero assisted both goals in a 2–1 extra time win against English club Fulham.[17] He also helped Atlético reach the final of the Spanish Cup, although this time they were not victorious, losing to Sevilla in the Camp Nou on May 19.[18] On 27 August 2010, Atlético Madrid captured the UEFA Super Cup by beating favorites Inter Milan by a score of 2–0. Agüero assisted José Antonio Reyes for the opening goal and then secured the win by scoring the second.[19] On 4 January 2011, Atlético Madrid confirmed via their official website that Agüero had signed a new contract with the club, keeping him at the Vicente Calderón until 2014.[20] The following day he was named as the new vice-captain of Atlético, along with strike partner Diego Forlán.[21]
On 23 May 2011, Agüero announced on his official website that he desired a move away from Atlético Madrid.[22]
Manchester City
On 28 July 2011 Manchester City confirmed that Agüero had signed a five-year contract with the club.[23] The fee was not disclosed, but was reported as £35 million[24][25] with add-ons taking it to £38m.[26] Aguero has been issued with the number 16 shirt for his first season at City.[23] He was an unused substitute in the loss to local rivals Manchester United in the 2011 FA Community Shield.[27]
Sergio Aguero made his Manchester City debut on the 15th August 2011 in a 4-0 win over Swansea City. Aguero came on as a substitute in the 59th minute and scored Manchester City's 2nd goal in the 68th minute, before setting up David Silva to score in the 71st minute. Aguero followed this up with a spectacular strike from just outside the box.
International career
Agüero made his senior début for Argentina in a friendly with Brazil, played at Emirates Stadium, England on 3 September 2006.[1] As a teenager, he represented Argentina at three FIFA World Youth Championships. Together with future 2008 Olympics squad teammates Fernando Gago of Real Madrid and Lionel Messi of Barcelona, they won the 2005 edition in the Netherlands.
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
At the 2007 U-20 World Cup in Canada, he 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. 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 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 finals, 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 six goals in seven games, and the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament.
2008 Summer Olympics
As a member of the Argentine squad for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Agüero scored two goals in the space of five minutes in the semi-final 3–0 win over Brazil on 19 August 2008.[28] Argentina went on to win the gold medal, a second in a row at the Olympic tournament.
2010 FIFA World Cup
He was chosen for the 2010 World Cup squad, and made his World Cup début in Argentina's second group match against Korea Republic on 12 June 2010, replacing Carlos Tévez in the 75th minute. Agüero's impact was immediate as Argentina scored in the next minute. He assisted on Gonzalo Higuaín's hat-trick goal late in the game. Argentina won the game 4–1. However Argentina subsequently lost to Germany in the quarter finals.
2011 Copa América
Agüero was named in the 23-man squad for the 2011 Copa América where Argentina had been drawn into Group A with Bolivia, Colombia and Costa Rica. On 1 July in Argentina's opening group stage match against Bolivia he was substituted on to the field for Ezequiel Lavezzi on 71 minutes and scored an equaliser on 76 minutes to secure a 1-1 draw.[29][30][31][32] On 6 July he was substituted onto the field for Ezequiel Lavezzi on 64 minutes as Argentina drew 0-0 with Colombia in their second group stage fixture.[33] On 11 July in Argentina's third group stage match against Costa Rica, Agüero scored a goal in each half as Argentina won 3-0 and finished in second position of their group.[34]
Personal life
He is married to Giannina Maradona, the youngest daughter of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, who he started dating at the end of 2007. On 19 February 2009, Giannina gave birth to a son, Benjamín, in Madrid.[35] Maradona was there for the birth of his first grandson, while Agüero, 20, missed Atlético's training session earlier in the day. Atlético offered their congratulations in a statement on their official website.[36] His father is of Lebanese descent.
Agüero has a tattoo on the inside of his right arm, inscribed in Tengwar—a form of writing invented by J. R. R. Tolkien that was used by the Elves in his works. It translates roughly to Kun Agüero in the Latin alphabet. He also has a tattoo on his left arm with his son's name and date of birth.[37]
Career statistics
Correct as of 21 May 2011[38]
Club | Season | League | Cup[39] | Continental[40] | Total | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
Independiente | 2002–03 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
2003–04 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |||
2004–05 | 12 | 5 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 0 | |||
2005–06 | 36 | 18 | 4 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 18 | 4 | |||
Argentina | 54 | 23 | 4 | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 23 | 4 | |||
Atlético Madrid | 2006–07 | 38 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 7 | 3 |
2007–08 | 37 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 50 | 27 | 8 | |
2008–09 | 37 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 47 | 21 | 10 | |
2009–10 | 31 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 54 | 20 | 10 | |
2010–11 | 32 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 27 | 6 | |
Spain | 175 | 74 | 21 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 39 | 20 | 12 | 234 | 101 | 37 | |
Manchester City | 2011–12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
England | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
Career totals | 230 | 99 | 26 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 41 | 20 | 12 | 291 | 126 | 42 |
International goals
Argentina's goal tally first
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 17 November 2007 | El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ![]() |
1 – 0 | 3–0 | World Cup 2010 Qualifying |
2. | 26 March 2008 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | ![]() |
1 – 0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
3. | 4 June 2008 | Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States | ![]() |
4 – 1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
4. | 6 September 2008 | El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ![]() |
1 – 1 | 1–1 | World Cup 2010 Qualifying |
5. | 11 October 2008 | El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ![]() |
2 – 0 | 2–1 | World Cup 2010 Qualifying |
6. | 28 March 2009 | El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ![]() |
4 – 0 | 4–0 | World Cup 2010 Qualifying |
7. | 12 August 2009 | Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow, Russia | ![]() |
1 – 1 | 3–2 | Friendly |
8. | 24 May 2010 | El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ![]() |
5 – 0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
9. | 7 September 2010 | El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ![]() |
4 – 1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
10. | 20 June 2011 | El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ![]() |
3 – 0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
11. | 1 July 2011 | Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina | ![]() |
1 – 1 | 1–1 | Copa América 2011 |
12. | 11 July 2011 | Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba, Argentina | ![]() |
1 – 0 | 3–0 | Copa América 2011 |
13. | 11 July 2011 | Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba, Argentina | ![]() |
2 – 0 | 3–0 | Copa América 2011 |
Olympic goals
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 19 August 2008 | Beijing Worker's Stadium, Beijing, China | ![]() |
1 – 0 | 3–0 | Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics |
2. | 19 August 2008 | Beijing Worker's Stadium, Beijing, China | ![]() |
2 – 0 | 3–0 | Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics |
Honours
Club
- Atlético Madrid
- UEFA Intertoto Cup (1): 2007
- UEFA Europa League (1): 2009–10
- UEFA Super Cup (1): 2010
- Copa del Rey
- Runner-up (1): 2009–10
International
- Argentina
- FIFA U-20 World Cup (2): 2005, 2007
- Summer Olympic Games (1): 2008
Individual
- FIFA Young Player of the Year (1): 2007
- FIFA U-20 World Cup Top Scorer (1): 2007
- FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament (1): 2007
- La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year (1): 2008
- Don Balón Award (1): 2007–08
- Tuttosport Golden Boy (1): 2007[41][42]
References
- ^ a b c "Football Database – Agüero".
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | Europe | The rise of Sergio Aguero
- ^ Argentina 3 Brazil 0: Argentina in final after routing arch rivals - Olympics, Sport - The Independent
- ^ a b "The Rise of Sergio Aguero". BBC Sport. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
- ^ Gray, Ashley (November 30, 2009). "Meet Chelsea target Sergio Agüero - the next, next Maradona who is ready to leave Atletico Madrid". London: The Daily Mail. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Biografia (Spanish)". Retrieved 20 November 2010.
- ^ "Atlético agree fee for Independiente starlet". ESPN Soccernet.
- ^ "Atlético sign Argentine prodigy Agüero". ESPN Soccernet.
- ^ "Atlético Madrid 2–1 Recreativo Huelva". ESPN.
- ^ "Marca names the Madridista captain the best player of the league". Real Madrid.
- ^ Lowe, Sid (3 March 2008). "A masterclass from Atlético Madrid's Sergio Agüero dented Barcelona's title hopes and made several Catalan headline-writers look very foolish indeed". London: The Guardian.
- ^ "Atletico de Madrid confirm return to Europe's elite". soccerway.com. 2008-05-12.
- ^ "PSV Eindhoven 0–3 Atlético Madrid". Sky Sports.
- ^ "Atletico stun Barcelona as Real close up". CNN. 1 March 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ "El uruguayo Forlán ganó el 'pichichi' y la 'Bota de Oro'" (in Spanish). Eurosport. 1 June 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Quique Sánchez Flores and Diego Forlán prefer Sergio Agüero to Lionel Messi (Spanish)". Marca. 2010-04-07. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
- ^ "Forlán double gives Atlético glory". UEFA. 2010-05-12. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
- ^ "Atlético Madrid 0–2 Sevilla – Match Report". London: Telegraph. 2010-05-19. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
- ^ "Atletico Madrid Goal Heroes José Antonio Reyes & Kun Agüero Praise Team After Inter Win". Goal.com. 2010-08-27. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Agüero agrees Atlético stay". Sky Sports. 2011-01-04. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
- ^ "Agüero named Atlético vice-captain". Atlético Madrid Official Website. 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ^ "La Hora de Partir (Time to Leave)". Sergio Agüero Official Website. 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
- ^ a b "Sergio Aguero joins Manchester City". 2011-07-27.
- ^ "Sergio Aguero completes £35 million transfer to Manchester City". Daily Telegraph. 28 July 2011.
- ^ "Manchester City move 'felt right' says Sergio Aguero". Independent. 29 July 2011.
- ^ "£85m Aguero! Man City complete amazing deal to land Argentina striker". Daily Mail. 28 July 2011.
- ^ "Man City 2 - 3 Man Utd". bbc.co.uk. 7 August 2011.
- ^ Nick Harris (20 August 2008). "Argentina 3 Brazil 0: Argentina in final after routing arch rivals". London: The Independent. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ Super-sub Sergio Aguero rescues Argentina as Lavezzi, Tevez & Messi combination fails to ignite - Goal.com
- ^ Ficha del partido
- ^ AFP: Argentine media round on Copa America flops
- ^ Match Report | Argentina v Bolivia - 2nd July 2011 | Sky Sports | Football News
- ^ Ficha del partido
- ^ Ficha del partido
- ^ "Maradona a grandfather thanks to Atletico's Agüero". Reuters. 19 February 2009.
- ^ "Benjamín Agüero Maradona is born on Thursday 19 February and weighs 3.660 kilos". Atletico Madrid.
- ^ "Sergio Agüero Tattoos". Vanishing Tattoo. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ ESPN (26 October 2008). "Sergio Agüero's stats, News – Atletico Madrid". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
- ^ Includes Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España
- ^ Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Intertoto Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Copa Libertadores
- ^ Tuttosport 'Golden Boy' award winner El Mundo
- ^ Sergio Agüero, Golden Boy
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official site
- Futbol360 profile
- Footballdatabase.com profile
- Profile at FutbolPunto with maps and graphs (Spanish)
- News, Photos and videos Sergio Agüero
- The rise of Sergio Agüero
- FIFA.com Profile
- UEFA.com Profile
- Sergio Aguero News & articles SergioAguero.net
- Heir to the throne? Teen Agüero may become Argentina’s next Maradona Southamericanfutbol.com
- Agüero's World Cup chances ride on his return to form Southamericanfutbol.com
- Profile at SoccerSurfer.com
- 1988 births
- Living people
- Argentine footballers
- Argentina international footballers
- Club Atlético Independiente footballers
- People from Quilmes
- La Liga footballers
- Premier League players
- Atlético Madrid footballers
- Manchester City F.C. players
- Expatriate footballers in Spain
- Argentine expatriate footballers
- Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- 2010 FIFA World Cup players
- Olympic footballers of Argentina
- Olympic gold medalists for Argentina
- Primera División Argentina players
- Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Olympic medalists in football
- 2011 Copa América players