Reborn Aguero on the brink of City sainthood
With Pep won over, scoring record beckons
LONDON — On the verge of becoming Manchester City’s all-time leading scorer, Sergio Aguero has won over Pep Guardiola to reestablish himself as one of the world’s most feared strikers.
Just seven months ago, Aguero’s Eastlands future appeared bleak after he lost the trust of City manager Guardiola.
While Aguero’s scoring heroics had made him a huge favorite of City fans, he found it much harder to convince Guardiola of his worth in the Spaniard’s first season in charge.
Guardiola wanted a more mobile forward capable of contributing to his possessionbased philosophy and he was quick to deploy Gabriel Jesus as City’s central striker once the Brazilian sensation signed in January.
By the time Guardiola had left out Aguero for a clash with Swansea in February — the fifth time he had been dropped that season — there seemed no way back for the Argentine.
Yet, aside from his prolific penalty-box exploits, Aguero’s most crucial characteristic might well be a bloody-minded determination to bend any narrative to his favor.
That tenacious attitude brings back memories of Eric Brook, whose City goal record Aguero is about to eclipse.
Brook was a blunt Yorkshireman who was so committed to the City cause he didn’t miss a game for 11 seasons after joining from Barnsley in 1928.
It took a car crash that left him with a fractured skull to bring a premature end to the England international’s career — but not before he helped City win the title in a triumph that carries echoes of Aguero’s story.
On its way to becoming champion, City won 5-0 at Liverpool, with Brook claiming a hat-trick.
It was a scoreline City wouldn’t repeat against Liverpool until Aguero started its demolition of the Reds earlier this month.
Having earned his way back into Guardiola’s good books by refusing to complain publicly about his treatment last term, Aguero has made himself indispensible with a barrage of goals.
Showing he can thrive alongside Jesus or as the lone fulcrum of Guardiola’s attack, Aguero’s goal against Liverpool made him the highestscoring non-European in the history of England’s top flight.
Not content with that landmark, Aguero hit his 10th City hat-trick in a 6-0 rout of Watford last weekend.
If he scores twice against Crystal Palace on Saturday, Aguero would equal Brook’s 78-year-old City record of 177 goals in 494 appearances.
Aguero’s tally of 175 has taken only 259 games.
Netting once against lowly Palace would also give Aguero 300 career club goals.
Given the 29-year-old’s current form — five goals in his last three games — both those milestones should fall sooner rather than later.
That will cap a remarkable renaissance from a player who hasn’t been deterred by any challenge that has come his way.
“He’s a legend, and it’s a part of history in the club,” Guardiola said.
“Aguero’s numbers speak for themselves, he is amazing.”
Signed from Atletico Madrid for $51 million by then City boss Roberto Mancini in 2011, Aguero wasted little time announcing his arrival on the Premier League stage.
He marked his City debut with two goals in a 30-minute appearance off the bench against Swansea.
By the time City reached the final game of the season, Aguero had scored 29 times to leave his club on the brink of becoming champion for the first time in 44 years.
Fittingly, it was Aguero who netted City’s title-clinching goal — one of the Premier League’s most iconic moments.
He fired home in the closing seconds against Queens Park Rangers to clinch a dramatic 3-2 win that ensured City lifted the trophy at the expense of arch-rival Manchester United.
Aguero’s goals were a key element of his side’s next topflight triumph two years later.
He has also won the League Cup twice and finished as the Premier League’s top scorer in the 2014-15 season.
Incredibly, Aguero has never been included in the PFA Team of the Year, voted for by his fellow professionals.
But, like Guardiola, Aguero’s peers should be revising their opinions of his unique qualities now.