There are certain things everybody knows about Sergio Aguero; his dribbling ability, his low centre of gravity, his sheer knack for scoring goals. Off the pitch, however, very little is known.
The Argentine is now Manchester City’s all-time leading scorer, with his goal against Napoli taking him past Eric Brook’s tally of 177. It is a record that stood for 78 years and took 11 years to set. Aguero has broken it in little over six.
He has responded to all the challenges set for him by Pep Guardiola over the last year or so, adding new dimensions to his game while scoring even more goals in a single season than he managed under either Roberto Mancini or Manuel Pellegrini.
Yet for all his talent and his position as one of the game's very best players, he is in something of a unique position: he neither seeks nor is afforded much attention.
“Many players concern themselves with being recognised as one of the world’s best, and he doesn’t,” Fernando Signorini, who has worked with the striker throughout his career, tells Goal .
“And that’s fantastic to me because despite that he still keeps looking for new things, coming up with new things, he keeps challenging himself to be better every day, not necessarily to be the best, but to be the best that he can be. That’s the primary objective that anybody in any discipline should have.”
He has an elite mentality but at the same time is shy and retiring. The Argentine has a playful sense of humour but City sources say Guardiola was surprised by his quiet nature around the dressing room when the Catalan arrived last summer, and Kyle Walker has said the same publicly. Both, though, have recognised his leadership qualities.
Daniel Fresco, who wrote Aguero’s biography and knows him well, says he is deceptively astute.
“Even if sometimes he looked absent-minded, he’d always register what his coaches were telling him,” he told Goal .
“Sergio is a good listener and never stops learning.
“As his team-mates say, he’s taken on a role whereby he can share his experience with the younger members of the team, a type of silent leadership.
“Throughout each stage of his life he has proven to be an exemplary pupil, taking lessons as he goes. Now, at 29 years of age, he’s a bit of both – a student and a teacher."
way from football he is just as quiet and it is unfortunate that one of the few times he went out to enjoy himself he ended up in a car crash. The fact he posted about the Amsterdam trip so freely on Instagram suggests he felt he had nothing to hide, though normally he spends his time at home, either on the Playstation (GTA Online is a favourite) or watching films.
He is more than happy to live his life out of the limelight, and very rarely gives interviews at all. On Wednesday night he gave his first in English, proof that he has been able to speak the language for years, but hasn't wanted to encourage any more media activities than are strictly necessary.
Maybe that desire to keep himself to himself is part of the reason why he has never been named player of the year by his peers or the media, and why he has never made a team of the season.
That is something that City fans often point to in amazement and something that he has noticed, too. Sources close to the player say that while he is not necessarily annoyed, he is somewhat baffled by the lack of recognition.
His calm nature means he is happy to do his talking on the pitch, however, and why he is usually able to get the better of the world's best defenders no matter what is, or isn't, said about him.
Source: goal
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