The Premier League always brings the football fan a good debate, whether it be who scored the better goal, Cantona or Yeboah, who's the better Goalkeeper Lloris or De Gea? (Maybe I'll save that one for later.) Who's played well enough for a England cap? The possibilities are endless for people to divulge their opinion on So, today I'm asking the question, who's better? Chelsea's Diego Costa or Sergio Aguero of Manchester City ?
Let's start off with the pros for the oldest looking, young man, Diego Costa. First thing I'm going to highlight is his physical presence, a ideal stature for the rough and tumble nature of the English league. Granted, tackling isn't what it used to be but upper body strength is now a much more needed commodity within the Premier League. Going to ground now is not an option, never mind the last option. So standing a stout 6'2 Costa is perfectly equipped for his striking duties in the Premier League. Although being such a size you'd think of his 43 goals a good few would be with his head, in fact only 3 have bounced in off his interesting noggin. So 43 goals and 14 assists in 69 games works out at just under an involvement in a goal every game, which looking at it means, you play Costa he'll get you a goal one way or the other.
The one thing I really like about Costa's play, and I know many don't like this side of his game is his, let's say, annoyance towards the opposition. He's the type of player who'll back into you, trod on your toes, nip and prod you, do anything to ensure your concentration isn't at 100%. People don't like this and I don't understand why, he's not doing it and not scoring, he's not doing it for fun, he's doing it to ensure he can make the best conditions for him to win. There's been very few games you can say he has been bullied out of a game himself, that's because he doesn't let it happen. It shows a steel, a man not willing to hit take a sizable payslip for mediocre work.
Costa though, like many players has his downsides, the most notable being the a trait I like about him, his annoyance to the opposition. It boils over to sometimes over physicality and when watched by millions isn't what is needed. Although it's a sad state of affairs that footballers are role models, we can't deny they aren't so seeing him look for confrontation isn't a good impression for younger football fans to follow. Neither is his play acting, for such a large man he doesn't like taking a hit. The one thing in the game today that really makes me scoff when I see it is the play acting. The blatant rolling around, the peaking to see if anyone with authority is watching, it's embarrassing, the fact people feel the need to put on a more serious injury to try and con a referee into making a harsher decision highlights why referees have it so hard. I just feel he adds fuel to the fire, at least once every game he's on the deck rolling about like a pig in filth.
Another thing about Costa is his petulance, I'm seeing a trend here that it's his attitude, his inner personal workings, that I'm finding problems with which do have an affect on any player's game. Costa is the type of player who wants the ball all the time, except for this season, he's changed his game this year but, in the previous 2 campaigns at Chelsea he's demanded, craved, gestured for every ball. When you're familiar with his explosive character it's hard not to pass to him even if he is the worst option at that given moment because you don't want to be berated at in Portuguese.
Now for Sergio Aguero. This man's pros also come from his physical build for me as well. When compared to Diego Costa, he's at the other end of the spectrum. Small, he possesses a low centre of gravity and he's quite stocky for a smaller man. Aguero is also well made for the Premier League to give those bigger guys a worry because it's so hard to get shoulder to shoulder or even turn at the same time as such a diminutive but powerful individual. You see it 5-6 times a game; he has the ball at his feet, you look at him thinking he's going left, you flick your eyes left, and all of a sudden you see he's sprinting on the right of the pitch. Always a joy to watch.
At the time of writing Aguero sits on 162 league appearances for City. This shows he's a well adapted, main stay Premier League player by now and with 112 goals to go along with that proves this man can score; 26 assists leans more towards this man will score you goals and not make them for others. Not quite the same, positive ratio for goals involvement as Costa but still, not a bad record.
I think Aguero is a great player, and one main quality I admire about him is his own adaptability. Granted, he may have only played for 3 club teams in his career and the national team, but it's the managers he's adapted to which is most impressive. This shows tactical awareness. No two managers play the same. No two managers will utilise Sergio Aguero in the same way, but Sergio Aguero will always score that managers goals for him.
If I am to nitpick here, I think an Aguero downfall is also one of his assets his stature; his build. He's small and explosive and this takes its toll on the body. His main issue I feel is his physical fitness, he needs to manage his body better, which I think is something that's happening now through his new manager. He's a player you want on your team sheet but you're never sure if he will be this week in case he's picked up another all too common muscular issue.
To summarise, I think both players are never going to have a injury free season due to their nature of how they play the beloved game, but if I had to chose one player to have in my team it would be Aguero. He doesn't need a team built around him to thrive, he just needs a ball. Costa is fantastic, a very enjoyable footballer but he needs the team around him to perform well to ensure he does and I feel his individual quality is not on the same level as Aguero's. I don't feel discipline becomes an issue in this either. Granted Aguero will have missed at least 7 games by the end of the of season through suspension I feel that's what he'd have missed if played more than he should have through injury, and to put the discipline issue into perspective in Costa having played less than half the games Aguero has, he has 20 yellow cards to Agueros 17, he may not have been sent off but he's been sanctioned by the FA for his off the ball conduct many times. Costa is just a little smarter with his fouls than Aguero.
The better player of the two in my own mind is Sergio Aguero. I'd love to hear anyone else's views and opinions on this!
Please leave a comment!
Coxon
