On the evening of December 15, Beijing time, Argentine star Aguero held a press conference to officially announce his retirement.
Fate is sometimes really tricky. Originally, the "last journey" of his career could play with his best friends on the same team, which was also a struggle for many years, and he could find a good beginning and a good end at the end. But the renewal of the friend's contract suddenly changed, and the agreed meeting became you come and I go. What is even more lamentable is that once you arrive at your new home, you can't stop injury, you can't heal easily, and you encounter sudden irregular heart rhythms, which makes people have to make difficult decisions in advance.
And that's the end of Sergio Aguero, the 33-year-old Argentine who failed to finish the 2021-22 season and was forced to say goodbye to the field once and for all. The reality is cold and cruel, it is impossible not to feel sad, and it is difficult to see this super shooter dancing on the turf. But don't be too sad, "Kun Ge" will not completely leave us, after all, he has already written his own chapter in football.
When you think of Aguero, what's the first shot that comes to mind? Or, what do you think he should be in world football? Regarding the former, presumably many people's answer is the same, that is, the "93:20 miracle", the foot when the Argentine won the first Premier League title for Manchester City. In the 2011-12 season, the Premier League was arguably the most exciting title battle ever staged, and it was not until the last minute of the league finale that the winner was revealed between the manchester city duo of the same score. The Red Devils had already begun to celebrate because by the time their game was over, the Blue Moon had not yet won, but the jubilant atmosphere lasted less than a minute, and another venue sent them bad news: Manchester City completed a stunning reversal in 125 seconds, and it was Aguero who scored the winning goal in the 93rd minute and 20 seconds of the game.
That goal determined the ownership of the league championship that year, and even completely changed the development trend of the Premier League: on the one hand, Manchester City broke through the cocoon, sitting on the league championship, they were no longer the "bottomless local tycoons" despised by the old forces, and began to officially step into the class of the Premier League giants; on the other hand, according to the rumors in the British media that year, Ferguson was angered by missing the trophy, so he also refused the suggestion that people around him wanted him to take a back seat in the summer of 2012. The old man persevered for an extra year, taking back another Premier League title for the Red Devils, but it was also United's last league title so far. In a sense, Aguero's winning goal also influenced the reconstruction of the "most successful club in the Premier League".
In such a "change of history", the Argentine's highlight of that goal alone is enough to occupy a high position in the annals of the Premier League. However, when it comes to his football status, Aguero has also received higher evaluations: in 2016, Alain Shearer, the holder of the Most Goals scored in England and the Premier League, once said that Aguero was "the only real world-class player in the Premier League" at that time. In other words, in the mind of the legendary marksman, the Argentine striker is not only the number one in the Premier League, but also the only one, although the latter has never actually won the best individual award such as Mr. Premier League.
At that time, many experts also refuted Shearer, citing Arsenal's Alexandre Sanchez, Manchester United's Ibrahimovic, Pogba, as well as Hazard, De Bruyne and Kane, etc., but england's sharp edge was unmoved, emphasizing that his judging criteria were years of high-level performance and influence on the game, "players who can stand in the world's top five teams are world-class."
In those years, La Liga was strong, and Premier League teams were difficult to find in the Champions League quarterfinals, and Shearer's judgment can be said to be "limited by a certain era". But looking back now, there is nothing wrong with "years of high-level performance": since the 2013-14 season, Aguero has scored more than 20 Goals in the Premier League for five consecutive seasons, and it was not until the 2019-20 season that he became less productive due to playing time and injuries. As for "influence on the game", To this day, Shearer still relished the talent of the Argentine: "Strong thighs, perfect timing, and excellent killer instincts." "Aguero is still the most ideal forward leader in the minds of his predecessors.
In addition, don't look at Manchester City just made a big killing, no positive Indian center can also wash Leeds United 7-0, in the hearts of most Blue Moon fans, the years of having an Argentine striker may be easier to reassure. This season, City have scored a lot but the distribution is very uneven, with wild wins and one more person only winning 1-0 against Wolves. When the siege is ineffective, people will surely still miss the one who can best grasp the opportunity.
With a total of 260 goals in 390 appearances at Manchester City, including 184 in the Premier League, Aguero is also the top scorer in The Blue Moons history and the top scorer in the league. And don't forget that he also left more than 100 goals in all competitions in atletico Madrid in five seasons. Before moving to the Premier League in 2011, he was also second only to Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, ranking third in the La Liga top scorer list in 2010-11.
However, don't think of argentines as pure opportunists. In fact, when Guardiola entered Manchester City in 2016, there were also many doubts that Aguero might not be suitable for the new manager of the Blue Moon, because the latter's tactical style pays attention to the full participation of the ballless running position and does not need a "pure penalty killer". But as a result, the Argentine was quickly integrated into the new tactical system, although the gossip has always been there, but the indisputable fact is that Aguero has received more honors and recognition under Guardiola - in addition to the 3rd, 4th and 5th Premier League title medals, the Argentine has also been selected into the Premier League's best team twice, in 2017-18 and 2018-19, and the Premier League Golden Boot in 2015.
What is clear is that Aguero not only has killer instincts, but also has strong adaptability, otherwise he would not have become the decision-maker of the Premier League title from Atletico to Manchester City. Of course, the Argentines themselves have a high starting point. In 2006, at the age of 18, he moved from Argentina to La Liga and won the Europa League with Atletico in 2010. In 2008, Aguero also won the men's gold medal for Argentina at the Beijing Olympics. Earlier at the 2007 World Youth Championships, he won the title for Argentina for the second time since 2005 and won the top scorer and best player awards of the tournament.
It was also during that time in the Argentine youth team and the Olympic team that Aguero and Messi gradually became good brothers who talked about everything. Unfortunately, in the following ten years, the two did not form the best partner in the world on the green field. In the national team, they have experienced the pain of being runners-up in the World Cup; at club level, Aguero, who has transferred freely to Messi, has also saved a hole because of Barca's sudden change. Fortunately, in this summer of 2021, Argentina still won the Copa America to make the two superstars realize their long-cherished wishes, even if Aguero is no longer an absolute main force in the national team.
Now that his body has been eroded by time, an accident has occurred, and Aguero can only say goodbye to his beloved football. But I believe that outside the arena, argentines can also quickly find new happiness, just like his nickname "Kun". In the past, there was a widely circulated saying that Aguero gave himself a new name according to the translation of the protagonist Big Empty Wing because he loved to watch the Japanese manga "Captain Wing" (also translated as "Football Boy") when he was a child. However, this is not true, Kun is indeed derived from the animation that the Argentine striker loved to watch as a child, but the Spanish name of that work is "Kum-Kum", the original name is "Naughty Ancient Times", and the protagonist is a group of cute cavemen.
However, "Kum-Kum" is also an animation work produced in Japan, and after becoming famous, Aguero also loved "Captain's Wing", and even showed a special legging board printed with large empty wings on social media. In addition, Argentines who love to play football also love to play football games. During the 2010 World Cup, there were rumors that he and Messi were hiding in their bedrooms playing Pro Evolution Soccer, only to be criticized by his former father-in-law Maradona. After the epidemic in 2020 led to the suspension of the Premier League, Aguero quickly became a popular game anchor, involving football "FIFA20", shooting "Fortnite" and "Fearless Contract" and so on.
Is this not doing the right thing? Of course not, it only shows that Aguero is versatile. And after hanging up his boots, such talent will also allow him to continue to maintain a close distance from the fans.
Wen | Yan Yu
Edit | Fat Cat