Tim Vickery
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The sun is rising at Eastlands as "Kun" brings his special talent to Manchester City.
Kun is the nickname of Sergio Aguero, the Argentine striker who in the last few days has become the latest of City's South American signings - and potentially the best.
Robinho's capture announced the arrival of the club amongst the super-rich, while the capture of Carlos Tevez had the added cachet of annoying Manchester United.
But Aguero looks more like being a case of the right player arriving at the right time for the right reasons. His signing is both a present to the club for having qualified for the Champions League, and a declaration of intent to make an impact in the competition.
Aguero won two Fifa Under-20 World Cup titles with Argentina. Image: Getty
The origin of "Kun" lies, apparently, in a Japanese cartoon character that he liked as a child. The origins of Aguero have much more to do with the tradition of South American football - a working class kid from the urban sprawl who has that low centre of gravity associated with so many of the continent's top players and who honed his skill playing in the street and the park
The obvious similarity is with Romario, the great Brazilian striker of the 1990s. It is a comparison that lands me in trouble when I use it on Brazilian TV - they are protective of their idols - but making it puts me in good company.
I recall Cesar Luis Menotti, the great Argentine coach who was in charge of Aguero for a brief spell during the player's early years with Independiente, was the first to make the comparison. Subsequently, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, a former team-mate of Romario's, has also pointed out the similarity.
Like the Brazilian, Aguero has that stocky build, a burst of acceleration and the capacity to work magic in the restricted spaces of the penalty area.
He also combines well with other players. In particular, he has an excellent on-field relationship with Lionel Messi, one forged when they roomed together during the 2005 World Youth Cup in the Netherlands.
This is mere speculation on my part but it is conceivable that Aguero might have been in Barcelona's sights had they not been pursuing the superb Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez. Aguero would certainly be at home at Barca, which speaks volumes for the calibre of player City have acquired.
Aguero can be seen as something of a mirror image of Diego Milito, the Inter Milan centre forward who made such an impact on the Champions League two seasons ago.
Diego was in the shadow of his younger brother Gabriel, the centre-back currently with Barcelona, as Gabriel was seen as by far the more talented of the two.
No-one was telling the teenage Diego that he was a phenomenon but he kept quietly working at his game until the rewards came.
Aguero, on the other hand, was being touted as a phenomenon ever since he showed he could cope with the Argentine first division at the age of 15. There was a local push - unsuccessful - to get him into the Argentina squad for the 2006 World Cup, when he had just turned 18.
Instead, his debut for the national side came just afterwards as a substitute in a friendly against Brazil at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, and included a delightful piece of skill in the penalty area that set up a great chance for Federico Insua, who blasted the ball over the bar.
Perhaps some of Aguero's next years were if not wasted then not used to their full professional potential. It was a time of change, from adolescent to man, from Argentina to Spain, from promise to reality.
It is not always an easy path but Aguero, who married Diego Maradona's daughter along the way, has come out of it seemingly fully focused on being as good as he can be.
Hence the urge to leave Atletico Madrid and move to a club with Champions League ambitions. Hence the instant brushing aside of any "lifestyle" issues involved in the move to Manchester.
He is coming across as a hungry player. City fans should be thrilled with his signing.
Back in Argentina, Independiente are happy enough with the move because they get a little chunk of the transfer fee.
His sale to Atletico Madrid was a significant moment for Independiente, as the influx of funds allowed them to rebuild their stadium.
And now it is Manchester City supporters who are lucky enough to be able to watch him in their home ground.
More...
Kun is the nickname of Sergio Aguero, the Argentine striker who in the last few days has become the latest of City's South American signings - and potentially the best.
Robinho's capture announced the arrival of the club amongst the super-rich, while the capture of Carlos Tevez had the added cachet of annoying Manchester United.
But Aguero looks more like being a case of the right player arriving at the right time for the right reasons. His signing is both a present to the club for having qualified for the Champions League, and a declaration of intent to make an impact in the competition.
The origin of "Kun" lies, apparently, in a Japanese cartoon character that he liked as a child. The origins of Aguero have much more to do with the tradition of South American football - a working class kid from the urban sprawl who has that low centre of gravity associated with so many of the continent's top players and who honed his skill playing in the street and the park
The obvious similarity is with Romario, the great Brazilian striker of the 1990s. It is a comparison that lands me in trouble when I use it on Brazilian TV - they are protective of their idols - but making it puts me in good company.
I recall Cesar Luis Menotti, the great Argentine coach who was in charge of Aguero for a brief spell during the player's early years with Independiente, was the first to make the comparison. Subsequently, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, a former team-mate of Romario's, has also pointed out the similarity.
Like the Brazilian, Aguero has that stocky build, a burst of acceleration and the capacity to work magic in the restricted spaces of the penalty area.
He also combines well with other players. In particular, he has an excellent on-field relationship with Lionel Messi, one forged when they roomed together during the 2005 World Youth Cup in the Netherlands.
This is mere speculation on my part but it is conceivable that Aguero might have been in Barcelona's sights had they not been pursuing the superb Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez. Aguero would certainly be at home at Barca, which speaks volumes for the calibre of player City have acquired.
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But if he is so extraordinarily talented, how come that, at the age of 23, he is not already an even bigger name? It is a fair question and one he seems ready to answer.
Aguero can be seen as something of a mirror image of Diego Milito, the Inter Milan centre forward who made such an impact on the Champions League two seasons ago.
Diego was in the shadow of his younger brother Gabriel, the centre-back currently with Barcelona, as Gabriel was seen as by far the more talented of the two.
No-one was telling the teenage Diego that he was a phenomenon but he kept quietly working at his game until the rewards came.
Aguero, on the other hand, was being touted as a phenomenon ever since he showed he could cope with the Argentine first division at the age of 15. There was a local push - unsuccessful - to get him into the Argentina squad for the 2006 World Cup, when he had just turned 18.
Instead, his debut for the national side came just afterwards as a substitute in a friendly against Brazil at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, and included a delightful piece of skill in the penalty area that set up a great chance for Federico Insua, who blasted the ball over the bar.
Perhaps some of Aguero's next years were if not wasted then not used to their full professional potential. It was a time of change, from adolescent to man, from Argentina to Spain, from promise to reality.
It is not always an easy path but Aguero, who married Diego Maradona's daughter along the way, has come out of it seemingly fully focused on being as good as he can be.
Hence the urge to leave Atletico Madrid and move to a club with Champions League ambitions. Hence the instant brushing aside of any "lifestyle" issues involved in the move to Manchester.
He is coming across as a hungry player. City fans should be thrilled with his signing.
Back in Argentina, Independiente are happy enough with the move because they get a little chunk of the transfer fee.
His sale to Atletico Madrid was a significant moment for Independiente, as the influx of funds allowed them to rebuild their stadium.
And now it is Manchester City supporters who are lucky enough to be able to watch him in their home ground.
More...
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Lookin forward to all these new class signings that we'll all get to see week in week out. Pretty exciting stuff for the EPL.