Chicharito & Efrain Alvarez @ L.A. Laxatives

Then you weren't paying attention. He was racking up around double digits in goals and assists for Villareal before his injuries became a problem (which if I remember currently happened even during his best season). He was about as good as Vela when both were hitting their top form a few years ago. Before then he was Real Santander's star player. They were a bottom feeder club but he was clearly above them, and that's another thing Aquino completely failed at when he was at Rayo Vallecano.

Excuse the annoying video but Aquino has never had Gio's technique. There's a reason why Gio got a chance to chase money and Aquino came running back to Liga MX as a European failure.

 

Aquino's been in great form, there's not much in that video that impresses me after watching Aquino's highlights at Tigres:



Gio has better touch (no wonder he's more at ease with the chips over goalkeepers), but I've always found Aquino more of a dribbler and a good addition when trying to get the ball back. Aquino's strugles at the NT (from what I have seen) come more from the physical game, where Gio's stocky build helps him more. Aquino's easily pushed and tends to shy after some challenges.

 

Aquino is just another player who performs well in and only in Mexico. Like Hermosillo, Zague, etc..

 

Define good.

He played second division ball with Villareal, he played ok and scored 1 goal in La Liga. He scored a whopping 0 goals with Rayo Vallecano, where he spent most of his time on the bench.

Gio being promoted from Barca's cantera to the first team alone is a bigger accomplishment than anything Aquino has ever done or will do.

 

Villareal were quick to loan him out after his second season and then he rotted on the bench. Thus, his return to Mexico.

 

and Gio was a benchwarmer before moving to MLS, so?

 

Aquino couldn't hang after Villareal reached their current level. He was never considered important at that point.

Yeah, Gio was largely injured that season and Villarreal wasn't looking to break their run of good chemistry on his return deep into it. Aquino just sucked.

Gio is a good speed dribbler and has great ball control, Aquino has a few tricks that won't work consistently against higher level defenders. It might come down to size or just the level. Don't forget that Gio is a waaaay better shooter and passer as well.

I don't mind Aquino as an option but he plays a different role than Gio. He's all pace and work rate plus a few tricks. Good for disrupting a tired team but I'd rather have Lozano for that. Aquino would be a good option if we're trying to hold a lead and need a winger that can track back but his size will always be an issue.

That said, with our current single striker formation, I'd always have Corona, Vela, Gio and Lozano ahead of him.

 

This Aquino v. Gio argument makes me sad (Trump mode off). Honestly, the reason we have problems with El Tri consistency is that at this stage, both (and may players we continuously argue about) are about 6.5 out of 10.

 

Take that back...remember WC 14???

 

Aquino was pretty good for villareal. They loaned him because they brought in players they thought were better. He was far from a failure there.

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Yes, but that was when they were 2nd division

 

He was very good in the first season Villarreal were promoted, maybe not starter quality, but an excellent rotational option for Marcelino. Balled out against Madrid too.

I agree that his last season with them wasn't good but he was far from a failure with Villarreal

 

Aquino played 32 matches with Villarreal, not a sure starter but he was in the rotation, a solid squad player. The problem was he didn't have an EU passport, that's why they loaned him out. In Rayo, everything that could go wrong, when wrong... and even there he had a good number of matches played.

He definitely could hang in LaLiga.

 

Before anyone mentions Aquino in the same sentence as Gio again...

 

People are overhyping Gio here. Sure, he's more talented than Aquino but in the end, they'll both be remembered for their careers... and they both had pretty mediocre ones.

Aquino at 26 is playing day in day out for Tigres. Gio at 27 is playing day in day out for the Galaxy. Does Gio have the talent to stick it out in Europe? Sure. He didn't though and that's solely on him.

Gio may have helped the NT a lot in the past but he's no longer that great of a threat. His MLS play shows. Talent only matters if you take advantage of it. If you move to the Galaxy at 26 and settle for the easy cash, idc if you have the talent equivalent to that of Pele, you will always be mediocre in my eyes.

 

Thanks for admitting you have blinders on when looking at players

 

@iveman27 for the win. [emoji122]

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By your standards, @Athazagoraphobia, Pele would be mediocre because he chose to remain in Santos throughout almost all his years of playing even though he had the talent to play in any of the best teams in Europe. No recontramames güey! [emoji57] [emoji58] [emoji52] [emoji107]

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The Brazilian league in the 60's couldn't have been that far off from Europe then.

 

We'll never truly know, but I'm just saying it's stupid to just brand a player mediocre because of where he chooses to play.

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Difference is that the Brazilian State leagues around that time were really strong. There were not as many foreigners in the European leagues back then so Brazil & Argentina could keep a lot of quality in the domestic leagues, the influx of quality Brazilians started in the 80s, but it was until the 90s when Brazil had most of its stars in Europe:

Mexico 70


Germany 74


Argentina 78

Spain 82


Mexico 86


Italy 90

 

We'll never know? Santos went into European tours often and they won most of their games IIRC.

 

What the others said.

Blinders or not, Gio's loss in effectiveness with the NT coincides with his move to the MLS. As did Bradley's. There's no bias in admitting that competing regularly with much lower competition may lower your level.