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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Jeff Rueter

Julián Alvarez is proving that he’s more than second fiddle

Julián Álvarez VAR FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid @Atleti Atlético Antoine Griezmann Argentina Erling Haaland Lionel Messi
Julian Alvarez of Atletico Madrid during Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona
Julián Alvarez has been involved in several trophies, but not as the leading man. Photograph: Álex Caparrós/UEFA/Getty Images

Julián Alvarez has his detractors, but even they can no longer deny he belongs at the game’s highest levels. Still only 26, the Argentinian striker has an impressive collection of honors: two Premier League titles, a Champions League, a Copa Libertadores, two Copa Américas, a pre-bloat Club World Cup. And oh yeah, the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Champions League, won within in a half-year span.

He has been key for many of the teams that won those titles, yet is often cast as a supporting player rather than a star. Those Premier Leagues and the Champions League with Manchester City were more directly (and rightly) credited to Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, and Rodri. When Argentina snapped their international drought with a Copa, a World Cup, and another Copa for good measure, it was framed almost entirely in the context of Lionel Messi’s legacy.

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