Seven Years of Sergio: Aguero Took the Premier League by Storm After His Debut On This Day in 2011
Manchester City fans have enjoyed seven years of Sergio Aguero in their team, with the Argentine superstar making his debut for the club in a memorable game against Swansea on this very day (15th August) back in 2011.
Aguero had arrived at City from Atletico Madrid earlier that summer for what was then a huge new club record fee of £38m, having earlier cost Atletico a club record €20m when he first moved to Europe from boyhood club Independiente at the age of just 18.
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Concerns over his fitness meant that City boss Roberto Mancini left Aguero on the bench for a pre-season friendly against Inter and against Manchester United in the Community Shield.
By the time of City's opening game in the Premier League, Aguero was nearing full fitness and Mancini was finally prepared to use him.
In what was the first time that City had faced Swansea since a Division Two game in 1984, Mancini opted to start Edin Dzeko as a loan striker supported by a trio of David Silva, Yaya Toure and Adam Johnson.
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Under manager Brendan Rodgers, Swansea were certainly not scared of playing the passing football that had got promoted to the top flight for the first time in their history. But when Dzeko broke the deadlock just shy of the hour mark, Mancini handed Aguero his chance.
Replacing defensive midfielder Nigel de Jong, the Argentine ran on to the field for his first appearance in City colours. And just eight minutes later his name was on the scoresheet.
Already having stung the palms of Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm, Aguero found himself in space at the back post to turn in a low cross from surging right-back Micah Richards.
Within three minutes of that, Aguero created City's third of the night for Silva, taking a loose ball around Vorm and hooking back into the middle of the penalty area on the stretch for his new teammate to calmly dispatch a first time finish.
His second goal and City's fourth in the closing stages was a moment of individual brilliance as he fired a long range effort past the outstretched fingertips of Vorm, needing just two touches to set himself and letting fly with the third to seal a landmark win for the club in what would eventually turn into a landmark season.
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Those were the first two of 30 goals in all competitions that Aguero would score during the 2011/12 campaign - his 30th that season won the Premier League title in the historic 3-2 win over QPR on the final day, capturing the club's first league trophy since 1968.
They were also the first two of 200 that he has now scored for City in total - a club record that he broke with his 178th strike last season and continues to grow.
"Sergio is a photocopy of Romario, they are the same player. He is not 100% yet but he is going to be fantastic for us," Mancini predicted after the Swansea game. Lord knows, he was right.
