When Tony Jose Titan named his four-month-old boy Aguero, quite a few eyebrows were raised in his neighbourhood in the coastal village of Chellanam.
Many found the name too alien, even a tongue-twister. But the newly-turned father stonewalled those reservations, and his family was not surprised.
For, they knew the 28-year-old’s fanatic loyalty towards English Premier League football giant Manchester City and its legendary striker Sergio Aguero. What they never imagined was for the Argentine to reach out to probably one of his youngest ‘fans’ named Aguero Franz Allesh after him.
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But then the unthinkable happened shortly after midnight last Thursday when the legend shared a video on his loyal fan and son in his official Instagram page with a wish to meet them some day.
Since Tony followed his idol, he was alerted the moment it happened, and he never slept that night. “It seemed so unreal that I checked multiple times whether it was his verified account. Then people started sharing it on City fans’ page, and it started sinking in slowly,” said Tony.
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It all started with Tony sharing on Instagram pictures of his son’s baptism in November, marking the occasion by presenting the toddler with a jersey of Aguero as done by the club when it announces the signing of a new player. The official Instagram page of Premier League for India shared it and later made a video on him. It was this video that Aguero shared.
It was Tony’s love for Manchester City dating back to a time when it was never in the title race that made him an Aguero fan. “I would never forget that night when Aguero smashed in that winner against QPR in 2012 winning City’s first Premier League title,” said Tony who promised that night, some seven years before he eventually married, that if he ever had a son, he would be named after the striker who brought him so much joy.
The father now wants his son to follow in the footsteps of the legend. And, if ever a name is needed to inspire him to take up the beautiful game then he has one that will make him stand out from the pack.