Alvaro Negredo should perhaps write a song on Manuel Pellegrini. Not that the Spanish striker can do a good job at that, but he owes his manager that.
Thanks to Pellegrini’s faith in him, Manchester City shelled out something around £24 million in the summer of 2013 to get him from Sevilla to the Etihad Stadium. Since then Negredo has impressed with the inside, outside, the point and even the heel of his boot. All that by a striker named Beast, as though he is a pack of muscles built to crash through the defence like a raging bull and hammer in the goal. Of course at 6-foot, 1-inch and with an impressive physique, Negredo can do that at ease, but he is more than that. This is a beast that is cunning as a fox and as deceptive as the best in the jungles of Amazon. To those who fancy watching Fashion TV than Animal Planet, he is also uber cool. If at all a comparison had to be made from the animal kingdom, Yellow Bellied Sea Snake, would do more justice. With the fluidity that his teammates attack nowadays, it may just be the perfect monicker.
When City bought Negredo, the Spaniard was not the best striker the country had. It seemed, the likes of Roberto Soldado, out-of-form Fernando Torres, a slower David Villa and the countless ‘false nines’ were all ahead of him in the pecking order. However, eight League goals, 10 Cup goals, 6 assists and two hat-tricks later, it would be just plain silly if Vicente del Bosque doesn’t hand him a ticket to Brazil.
Against West Ham in the League Cup, Negredo began his what would be a hat-trick performance with a brilliant first time volley from a Yaya Toure ball that floated over his shoulders — a strike that can easily walk into a Top Ten goals compilation in Youtube. The best part is he isn’t done yet. “I am in a great moment but I hope to get better than this,” he said after the match. Clearly, the Beast is set to dance his way to Brazil.
