The story of the ‘other’ Sergio Aguero – the Malaysia international who beat Man Utd | OneFootball

You might have heard that Andros Townsend and former Fulham hothead Aboubakar Kamara took on a new challenge in Thailand’s League 1 this summer.

But did you know that Sergio Aguero also joined Kanchanaburi Power F.C in the summer?

No, not that one.

Believe it or not, but there’s actually another Sergio Aguero – and he’s something of a cult hero out in Asia.

Also an Argentinian, this Aguero hails from the city of La Rioja, grew up idolising two of his namesake’s old team-mates and spent time as a youth developing his skills in River Plate’s academy.

He never quite made it at the professional level in his home country, instead kicking off his professional career in Hungary with fallen giants Tatabanya.

The Argentinian only lasted about a year in Europe before embarking on a new challenge in another new continent, signing for Malaysia Super League club Melaka United.

It was that decision that kicked off a love affair, a new home, and eventually a full senior international career.

“It happens all the time with people joking with me about my namesake,” Aguero told FIFA last year.

“My two biggest idols, role models and sources of inspiration are Juan Roman Riquelme and Lionel Messi.

“I’m constantly studying their playing styles and trying to imitate all their moves. But it’s definitely not easy, because we’re talking about two giants of the game.”

The move to Malaka didn’t prove especially successful, but he went on to represent six different clubs in Malaysia over the following nine years, eventually settling at Sri Pahang.

In 2022, he made his international debut, having gained citizenship.

“I’ve been living and playing in Malaysia for almost eight years, and my wife and I have two children who were born here,” explained the lesser-known Aguero of his decision to take up the offer to represent Malaysia on the international stage.

“We’re happy here and love Malaysia and its people. So when the opportunity arose to become a Malaysian citizen and represent the national team, it was a dream come true and a very easy decision to make.

“It’s wonderful to represent the country I love. Every time I get a call-up, it is a dream come true and I can’t explain the happiness that comes with it. I’ll always be delighted to wear the Malaysian jersey and will give my all for this country.”

He’s now made 17 appearances for the national team, notching three goals and two assists.

In May he caught the eye, wearing the armband as an all-stars made up of Southeast Asia internationals and selected players from the regional leagues took on Manchester United.

Aguero captained the ‘ASEAN All-Stars’ to a 1-0 victory over Ruben Amorim’s side in front of 72,000 at the Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Red Devils’ line-up that day included the likes of Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo and was salt into their wound, days after their Europa League final heartbreak.

The other Aguero notched nine goals in Manchester derbies and inflicted a title-denying dagger with that goal against QPR, and here was that name haunting them again.

There was even hope that the adopted Malaysian Aguero might follow in his namesake’s footsteps by going to the World Cup.

“Certainly this [format change] is a great thing for developing countries,” he added in the interview with FIFA.

“It opens up additional avenues and possibilities for countries that have never qualified for the World Cup, and it is all thanks to FIFA for giving countries whose football is still developing more opportunities.

“I have benefitted from playing in Argentina, Italy, Hungary and Malaysia. Hopefully in the future I can help this country to develop its football with the experience I’ve gained from players, coaches and staff with their own World Cup experience. In addition, I’m also pursuing my coaching licences in Malaysia and Argentina to prepare for the future.”

There was a logic there. The expanded format has seen fairytale stories with the likes of Curacao and Uzbekistan qualifying for the first time in their histories, but it wasn’t to be for Aguero’s Malaysia, who finished behind Oman and Kyrgyzstan in their qualifying group.

Aguero left Malaysia after nine years in the summer, crossing the border to take on the intriguing prospect of playing alongside Townsend and Kamara at newly-promoted Kanchanaburi Power in the Thai top flight.