In 2006, Agüero moved to Europe to play for La Liga side Atlético Madrid for a fee of €23 million from Independiente. He made a name for himself, attracting attention from Europe's top clubs by scoring 101 goals in 234 appearances while winning the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup in 2010. Agüero moved to Premier League club Manchester City in July 2011 for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £35 million. On the last day of his debut season with the club, Agüero scored a 94th-minute winner against Queens Park Rangers that earned City its first league title in 44 years. At the end of the 2014–15 season, of players who have played two seasons in the Premier League, Agüero had the highest goals per minute ratio in the history of the competition since its formation in 1992, averaging a goal every 109 minutes. He also holds the joint-record for the most goals scored in a single Premier League match, five, and the fastest to do so, in 23 minutes and 34 seconds of match time.
At international level, Agüero represented the Argentina under-20 team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2005 and in 2007, winning both tournaments. Agüero played at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, scoring two goals in the 3–0 semi-final win against Brazil as Argentina went on to win the gold medal. Agüero was selected to represent Argentina in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2011 Copa América and the 2015 Copa América.
International career
See also: List of international goals scored by Sergio Agüero
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 of Valencia and Lionel Messi of Barcelona. 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 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, and the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament.
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. Argentina went on to win its second consecutive gold medal at the Olympic tournament.
Senior team
At age 18, Agüero made his senior debut for Argentina in a friendly with Brazil, played at Emirates Stadium, England on 3 September 2006. A year later, he scored his first international goal in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Bolivia, and went on to score three more times as the Albiceleste successfully qualified for the finals in South Africa.
Agüero was chosen for the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, and made his FIFA World Cup debut in Argentina's second group match against South Korea on 12 June 2010, replacing Carlos Tevez 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. Argentina, however, subsequently lost to Germany in the quarter-finals.
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 came on for Ezequiel Lavezzi on 71 minutes and scored an equaliser on 76 minutes to secure a 1–1 draw. 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.
Agüero was named in Argentina's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 15 June, he started alongside Lionel Messi as a forward in Argentina's 2–1 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Estádio do Maracanã.
He was named in the Argentine squad for the 2015 Copa América, and in a warm-up game on 7 June against Bolivia in San Juan he scored his first international hat-trick in a 5–0 victory. On 13 June, he scored Argentina's opening goal of the tournament in a 2–2 group stage draw with Paraguay. Three days later at the same ground, he headed a cross from Manchester City teammate Pablo Zabaleta for the only goal of a 1–0 win against holders Uruguay. At the semi-final stage, Agüero headed in Ángel Di María's cross as Argentina defeated Paraguay 6–1 to reach the 2015 Copa América Final. Agüero started the final against Chile, but was replaced in the 74th minute for Gonzalo Higuain in an eventual penalty shootout loss.
Style of play
Often considered to be one of the best strikers in the world, Agüero is regarded as an all-out centre forward, but 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 and vision, which made him a capable assist-man. Agüero has a diminutive figure with a stocky build, which has led to comparisons with former Manchester City teammate Carlos Tevez and past strikers such as Romário, Del Piero, and Diego Maradona. When both were on the same team, some pundits called Agüero Tevez's heir apparent at City and others said that he was superior to his compatriot. His ex-manager at Manchester City, Roberto Mancini, has compared Agüero to former Brazilian striker, Romário, due to his goalscoring ability and technique.
Agüero is characterised by agility, acceleration and strength, being described as "sharp and clever" by former Argentine player Osvaldo Ardiles. A view which is shared by his international captain Lionel Messi, who believes Agüero possesses "immense power, strength and an incredible work ethic." Combined with his close control, dribbling skills, and strength to keep the ball, he has been described as "a menace in the box".
Personal life
Agüero was married to Giannina Maradona, the youngest daughter of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona. On 19 February 2009, Giannina gave birth to their son, Benjamín, in Madrid, Spain. 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 separated in 2012 after four years together. Agüero shares a close friendship with Lionel Messi, his regular roommate during outings for the national team since 2005. He described Messi as being "like a brother" in his 2014 autobiography, Born to Rise, which contains a foreword written by Messi.
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 Agüero's favourite television programme as a child. He stated, "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 Tengwara form of writing invented by J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings that transliterates roughly to Kun Agüero in the Latin alphabet. 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.
At least two children from Manchester have been excluded from school for copying Agüero's hairstyle as a homage to him.
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