Sergio Aguero is... Diego Maradona

“So Sergio! How are you lad? Tell us a little bit about who you’re going to be performing as tonight”

“Well, I’m keeping it in the family tonight Matthew.”

“Oh yes? You’re from the rural part of Argentina are you?”

“No, I’m from Quilmes. What’re you trying to say? I’m from Bueno Aires” Sergio Aguero stands up, sees that he’s even shorter, and jumps back on his stool.

“Ok keep rolling chaps. Sergio, Sergio! Camera two – over there.”

Sergio follows the finger and smiles at the camera. “You know what Sergio, you look like that cartoon character.”

“Oh, Kun? Yeah I get that a lot” Aguero keeps smiling.

“Sergio. Who are tell us about who you’re going to be”

“Diego Maradona”

“OH for fuck’s sake boy! You’re supposed to give us clues! We’re supposed to guess who you’re going to be. Don’t just blurt it out man, you’ve ruined it.”

“But you already knew who I was going to be. What’s the big idea here, you trying to make me look stupid?”

“Don’t get bloody shirty with me son – oh you’re doing the face again! You look like a cartoon when you get angry. Awww”

Sergio Aguero flinches as a hand extends and pats him on the head. He relaxes and smiles again.

“No, do the angry face. I like the angry cartoon face.”

“Kun”

“Well fuck you then – no need to be rude.” The host flashes a prissy look at a runner. He straightens his jacket and faces the camera. “Never work with children or animals they told me. Mmm. I’ll do it myself then shall I? Tonight ladies and gentlemen, Sergio Aguero is…. Romario!”

Sergio Aguero jerks his head in surprise as the stage smoke envelopes him, he emerges wearing a Brazilian national team shirt. He looks angrily into the camera. The host nods his head.

“There it is.”

The new Maradona, the new Romario, the new Tevez even. Sergio Aguero is the latest in a long line of young talents to find himself compared to some of the greats of the game. He was born in Quilmes, a province of Buenos Aires not for from Lanus, where Diego Maradona was created by scientists. He’s short, stocky, a great dribbler and Argentine – must be the new Maradona! I actually think that the Romario comparison is perhaps the closest. Romario was never particularly fussed with build-up play, tracking back were two dirty words in his opinion. A clinical finisher, Selfish and gifted.

Aguero actually took a record way from Maradona – that of youngest ever player in the argentine top division, aged just 15 years and 35 days. He was probably at full height back then. A low centre of gravity and good strength on the ball are characteristics shared by the two. The relationship gets personal once you consider that Aguero is married to Maradona’s daughter. I’m guessing that when Maradona was national coach, Aguero kept the domestic rows to a minimum – might have made things a bit awkward.

To put it shortly, he’s a very very good player. Thirty eight million Euros shows Mancini’s faith in him, as he continues to assemble what he hopes to be an invincible squad. Aguero has got City really pumping early on in his career. For most of the summer City fans worried themselves sick about how big a loss Tevez would be, given that the other remaining strikers would be the pedestrian Dzenko and the downright insane Balotelli. Now it looks as though Tevez might be staying, and they’ve got this little beaut to combine with him.