Manchester City powered past Tottenham with a 4-1 win at the Etihad Stadium in Saturday's early kick-off with Sergio Aguero netting all four. City's quiet assassin continues to make the difference but Sarah Winterburn wonders whether he should be more appreciated than he is...
Sunday 19 October 2014 23:51, UK
"Who are better than me? The two extra-terrestrials, Ronaldo and Messi, Ibrahimovic, Ribéry and Robben. They make the difference almost every game."
Those were the words of Eden Hazard this week when asked to name the five players in the world he rates even higher than he rates himself. None of those players grace the Premier League so we can assume that Hazard believes he is equal to anybody in England.
He's wrong; Sergio Aguero is the finest player in the Premier League. And yet he is only the seventh favourite to be named PFA Player Of The Year this season. And you can get a massive 100/1 on him winning the Ballon D'Or. And he was ranked only 35th in the Daily Telegraph's list of the 100 greatest players in the Premier League this week.
This is a man who has now scored 61 goals in just 95 Premier League appearances, giving him a games-per-goal ratio close to that of Thierry Henry (1.55 narrowly 'worse' than 1.45). Aguero's intelligence, guile, poise, strength, pace and near-faultless finishing should put him in the same bracket as Henry and yet he has never even been named in the PFA Team of the Year.
"Aguero is among the best players in the world. Now it is up to him to make it and fight for the Ballon d'Or as best player, because he has all the qualities you can ask of a football player," said Manuel Pellegrini last month, before comparing his artistry to Mozart ahead of his symphony against Tottenham.
Pellegrini recognises his luck in inheriting one of the world's greatest players but does England know how fortunate we are to be graced by the presence of a truly brilliant footballer? Or are we going to have a Big Yellow Taxi moment when he eventually leaves for Spain? Why is Aguero so rarely mentioned in the same breath as Ronaldo, Henry or even Luis Suarez?
Is it because he goes about his quite phenomenal business with such little fuss and zero arrogance? The cliche about 'letting your football do the talking' clearly translates to Spanish as it's difficult to recall ever hearing him speak. Do we give more credit to those who credit themselves?
Is it because he plays for a club outside the traditional triptych in terms of the volume of their support? Will he never be lauded like Ruud van Nistelrooy, Henry or Suarez because he is not held aloft by a large enough crowd?
Whatever the reason, there is a risk that Aguero Will leave these shores one day without ever truly being appreciated. Indeed, he may well leave still comfortably the deadliest striker in Premier League history; his goals-per-minute ratio is better than any that of Henry, Van Nistelrooy, Van Persie, Rooney or any other superstar you care to name.
On Saturday against Tottenham, Aguero was irresistible. Manchester City won 4-1 largely because they have one of the greatest strikers in world football while Spurs have Roberto Soldado. The City fans streaming out of the Etihad Stadium loved Aguero even more on Saturday afternoon than they did on Saturday morning. But do the rest of us love him enough?
Give us your view on Sergio Aguero in the comments below...
