24th October – Jose Luis Calderon

Jose Luis Calderon was a consistent goalscorer but an argument with the now famous Marcelo Bielsa put an end to his international career.

The striker played for Argentina during the 1997 Copa America but a fall out with Bielsa meant he was never picked again for his national side despite the fact that he was a consistent goalscorer all his career.

With over 600 games and over 200 league goals and a career that lasted from 1989 to 2010 you would expect that he would be a name that was a little more well known in the footballing world. His career started at Cambaceres where he was an instant hit as soon as he broke into their first team, scoring 43 times in just 83 games before a move to his boyhood club Estudiantes.

In his career he would play for Estudiantes three times, and also have three spells at Independiente and Arsenal de Sarandi twice. His record during these spells were mpstly succesful and for the majority he hit a goal on average every two games. Despite his goals he did not get much success on the trophy front until 2006 when he won the Apertura with Estudiantes and followed this up with the Copa Sudamericana with Arsenal.

His third spell for Estudiantes was the least he played as most of his appearances were from the bench, however he did manage to be part of the squad that won the 2009 Copa Libertadores. This seemed like the perfect time to retire and on November 25^th 2009 he announced his retirement at the age of 39.

However, this would not be the end as he was convinced to come out of retirement by Argentinos coach Claudio Borghi. He proved his skills once again, by playing a key part in the their 2010 Clausura championship win. He only scored three goals in 19 games but it was his all round play and experience that really helped the side. In the penultimate game of the season he set up a goal in the 93^rd minute to win the match against former side Independiente.

At the end of his contract he left the club and at the age of nearly 40 he decided to play one last game for first club Cambaceres and scored a penalty kick to complete his career.

He did have a brief spell in Europe, following in the footsteps of Diego Maradona, playing for Italian side Napoli. But this only lasted six games and unfortunately he did not manage a goal.

Calderon was a fantastic finisher and his compilation videos on Youtube are definitely worth a look for anyone that particularly enjoys football from the 1990’s.

The final word can go to the man himself, who said on his final game in tears. “I have the gratitude for all the people who supported me. It’s a shame that my legs tell me enough, but I’m going calm because I closed a cycle in the same place where I started.”

2nd June – Sergio Aguero

Sergio Aguero is one of the best strikers in the world and will be hoping that he can prove it at the World Cup.

The striker has achieved so much in the game and is only just turning 26 today but it is not surprising that he has became one of the best in the world. He made his professional debut for Independiente at the age of just 15 years and 35 days becoming the youngest player to play in the division. He did not play again for seven months but when he did he became the youngest player to play in the Copa Libertadoras. On the 26th November he scored his first goal in a 2-2 against Estudiantes. During the 2005-06 season he became a first team regular and scored 18 times in 36 league games and was being linked with moves the Europe.

On the 30th May he joined Atletico Madrid and Argentina legend Diego Maradona had a lot of praise for the striker. “The fact that people haven’t seen much of him in Europe means he hasn’t got the exposure Messi has had. But Aguero is just as good.”

He didn’t settle straightaway in Spain and only scored six times in his first season but after Fernando Torres left for Liverpool, Aguero became the star man. Still only 19 he finished the season as the third highest goalscorer in La Liga at the end of the year with 19 goals. He scored important goals against Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla and Villarreal that helped the club finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League for the first time in over 10 years.

In the next season he continued to get better as his partnership with Diego Forlan was improving and he scored his first Champions League goal in a 3-0 win over PSV. The 2009-10 season was a bit slower for everyone at the club but he managed to score twice against Chelsea in the Champions League. They were knocked out of the competition but won the Europa League with Aguero providing the assists for both goals in the final.

His most successful season was the year after though as he scored 20 league goals and scored in seven consecutive games towards the end of the season. In his final game for the club he scored a hatrick against Mallorca with the second being his 100th for the club in all competitions.

On the 28th July 2011 he joined Manchester City for £38 million and made his debut on the opening day of the season against Swansea City. He came on as a substitute on the 59th minute and scored twice as well as providing a goal for David Silva. On his third start he scored his first hatrick in a 5-1 win over Wigan Athletic. He scored 23 times in his first season but the most important was with the last kick of the season that won the Premier League title for the club.

The 2012-13 season was more difficult as he suffered an injury early on and it took him till the 29th September to score his first of the season. He went on to score another 11 Premier League goals as the club failed to defend their title but after missing the whole of the next preseason he started the season brilliantly by scoring against Newcastle United and then twice against Manchester United in a 4-1 win. On the 24th November he scored his 9th and 10th goals of the season against Tottenham Hotspur which meant that he now had the best minutes to goal ratio ever in the Premier League. He also scored five times in six league Champions League group games. He missed a lot of the season through injury but ended it with 28 goals in 34 games as well as winning back the Premier League title.

The final word can go to Ossie Ardiles. “He’s very, very quick and clever. He’s very intelligent and can score goals very, very easily. He lives to score goals, he’s a proper centre forward, he always wants to be close to the box.”

19th May – Diego Forlan

Diego Forlan has had a very interesting career that has had plenty of ups and downs but nobody can doubt that he is a special talent.

The Uruguayan international has played over 100 times for his country and at the last World Cup he was one of the best players and received the Golden Ball award as Uruguay reached the semi finals. This just shows how far he has come since once being branded a flop in European football with Manchester United.

He had already attempted to play football in Europe when he was 16 but after months on trial at French club AS Nancy they decided not to sign him and he ended up back in South America with Argentinean side Independiente. He proved his ability at the club and went on to score 36 goals in 77 league games before Middlesbrough had a £6.9 million deal accepted. Forlan travelled to England expecting to sign for them but at the last minute Manchester United matched their bid and he ended up at Old Trafford.

Alex Ferguson was very happy with his signing. “He is an exciting player. He has good potential, two good feet, he’s quick and a good header of the ball.” In his first half a season at the club though he struggled and in his 13 appearances he failed to score. He eventually broke his duck in a Champions League game in September in a 5-2 victory over Maccabi Haifa with an 89th minute penalty. He had to wait another month for his first Premier League goal when he scored the equaliser against Aston Villa and he followed this up with the winner against Southampton in the next game. His best moment for the club was to follow soon after as he scored twice against rivals Liverpool in a 2-1 win.

He ended the season with six goals in the league meaning he was only behind Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the club’s scoring charts and this was enough to get him a Premier League winners medal. Many hoped that this would be the start of good things for him but he started the next season by not scoring in his first seven games. He only scored four Premier League goals all season and although he played a few games at the start of the next season he was sold to Villarreal.

It did not take him long to adapt as he scored on his debut against Valencia which was just the start of things to come as he ended the season as the top scorer in La Liga. This includes a run of seven goals in just five games in which he scored twice in a 3-0 win over Barcelona and then went one better later in the season by scoring his first hatrick in Europe on the 22nd May as they drew 3-3 with the eventual champions. They qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history and they reached the semi finals in the competition, however it was a more difficult season personally for Forlan. But in his final season he recaptured his form and scored 19 goals in 36 games.

Forlan then joined Atletico Madrid and helped them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in over a decade by scoring 23 times. He improved on this record further in the next season by scoring 32 goals in 33 games including crucial goals against Barcelona, Villarreal and Valencia.

The start of the 2009-10 season was difficult for him and he was left out of the squad on several occasions and was being criticised by the supporters but he turned it round in the second half of the season and performed brilliantly in the later stages of the Europa League. Firstly he scored twice against Liverpool in the semi finals to put his team through on away goals and then scored both goals in the final against Fulham. Once again though the next season was slow for him as he went 12 games without scoring and his time was up in Spain.

Inter was his next destination and he scored on his debut for the club, however he never really settled in Italy and after just 21 more games and one goal his contract was cancelled. He ended up going back to South America and signed for Internacional where in his second season he helped them win the Campeonato Gaucho as he finished as the top scorer in the competition with nine goals.

After 22 goals in 49 appearances he left for Japanese side Cerezo Osaka and has so far scored eight times in 16 games.

The final word can go to Alex Ferguson who is happy to have seen his career grow. “He has just been fantastic and we’re all proud of him. The only criticism of ourselves was that we sold him too cheaply. He could have been a hero. He was a great lad and a magnificent professional.”