Just as Maradona did not make the cut as a 17-year-old for the 1978 World Cup finals, even though they were held in Argentina, so Aguero, who turned 18 just before this year’s tournament, was ignored by the national coach, Jose Pekerman. It was all the more surprising, since Pekerman had made his name as a coach to Argentina’s junior teams.
Cesar Luis Menotti, who managed Argentina when they won in 1978, figures prominently in the careers of Maradona and Aguero. As the mentor of the teenage Maradona, he was widely expected to include him in the World Cup squad even at the tender age of 17. He didn’t, instead preferring the more experienced but more conventional Norberto Alonso.
Since Argentina went on to win the trophy, it could be argued that Menotti was vindicated. But how much more effective and exciting would they have been had Maradona played? Menotti also initially managed Aguero at Independiente in Buenos Aires, a well- established team without the glitter of Boca Juniors or River Plate. He praises Aguero’s acceleration, comparing him not with Maradona but with the marvellous Brazilian hero of the 1994 World Cup, the ever-dazzling, ever-dissident Romario.
Aguero should get the chance to pit his wits against Brazil today, when Argentina play their South American rivals at the Emirates stadium. Among those he is likely to face is Vagner Love, a 22-year-old Brazilian who is making a name in Moscow with CSKA.
It should be a fascinating match. Aguero is a small, stocky man, powerful in the legs like Maradona, and he possesses supreme ball skills to complement his power and speed. He can leave opponents standing with his pace and trickery, or, if necessary, can function as a target man, shielding the ball until reinforcements arrive. We may see him in tandem with the equally remarkable Messi, another boy wonder. Messi was signed by Barcelona at the age of 13 and was nurtured by the club. In the World Cup quarter-final in Germany, Pekerman seemed to lose his nerve, never getting Messi on the field.
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Aguero has been a phenomenon, making his first-team debut for Independiente soon after he turned 15. He was not picked for last year’s South American Under-20 Championship, but he was chosen for the Under-20 World Cup in Holland. There he played four times only as a substitute, but that was sufficient for him to gain the penalty from which Messi, then his roommate, scored to secure victory for Argentina in the final against Nigeria.
Aguero was initially an attacking midfielder, but his dynamic qualities have led to his being pushed forward into a striker’s role, where his pace and control bring him formidably nearer the action.
Julio Cesar Falcioni, the current manager of Independiente who was forced to let him go to Spain, says Aguero has improved hugely even in recent months, describing him as a player who can change a game with a single solo run. Which is why Atletico were prepared to pay so much to sign him. Aguero said he wanted to win something in Argentina before moving to Europe, but the financial imperative spoke louder.
It was sad that he and Messi could not have pursued their partnership in Germany. But, as with Maradona in 1978, caution reigned.
The rebuilt Brazil squad which Dunga, once the driving captain of a World Cup- winning team, brings to London has no prodigy to compare with Aguero or Messi, although Ronaldinho was precocious enough in his time. What is interesting about the squad is that Dunga, for the first time, has brought in players who have decamped, somewhat surprisingly, to play their football far away in Russia.
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This would have been unimaginable even in the recent past, but is possible now, given the limitless wealth of the Russian oligarchs.
So it is that we could see two Russian-based teammates line up alongside each other for Brazil at some point this afternoon: Vagner Silva de Souza, alias Love; and Daniel da Silva Carvalho. Both have been to London before. A couple of seasons ago they were in the CSKA Moscow team that gave Chelsea a good run for their money at Stamford Bridge.
Small, at 5ft 6in, but sturdily built, Love is quick, incisive and adventurous, with accomplished ball control. Carvalho, playing a little deeper, is always ready to break forward and shoot for goal. Beginning in Brazil with the Campo Grande club, Love went on to bigger and better things with Palmeiras in Sao Paulo. He has been in Moscow since the summer of 2004, the year in which Brazil capped him against Costa Rica in the Copa America (although Brazil did not send a full-strength squad).
Love hasn’t always felt happy in Moscow. At one point he returned to Brazil with the apparent intention of remaining. CSKA, however, persuaded him back to the colder climate of Moscow.