Last night, Julian Alvarez showed to the world that Manchester City need not always rely on Erling Haaland. Courtesy of the Argentine’s brace in their #9’s absence, City won their first-ever Club World Cup, ousting Fluminense. This is not the first time Alvarez rose to the occasion. Besides, unlike solely being a striker like the Norwegian, he is an all-round player who can make a difference in the midfield as well. Nonetheless, quite unfortunately, he seldom gets the recognition he deserves. An analyst believes Erling Haaland’s superstardom is the reason the Argentine goes under the radar, despite being ‘outstanding every single time‘.

Julian Alvarez joined Pep Guardiola‘s side in the same window as Erling Haaland. When the latter’s signing became the talk of the town, hardly anyone spoke of the other deal. Soccer circles’ attitude has not changed regarding the two, despite the 23-year-old Argentine boasting more titles with club and country.

‘Perfect’ Alvarez claimed to be underappreciated because of Erling Haaland

In ESPN FC’s recent episode, soccer pundits discussed Manchester City’s Club World Cup win and Julian Alvarez’s brace. As soon as Dan Thomas pointed out that the Argentine is not getting the recognition he deserves, co-host Shaka Hislop commented on the same. “No, because of Erling Haaland. Jan just described Julian Alvarez as the perfect football player, and I can’t disagree with that,” said Hislop. He pointed out that Alvarez is always happy to adapt. “Here we are talking about a World Cup winner”, he continued.

“Every time Pep Guardiola calls on him [Alvarez] whether it is up front on his own, or part of a two or playing somewhere maybe as part of a three, he has been outstanding every single time,” Hislop added. From these words, and his performances, it is clear that Alvarez is truly the ‘Mr. Dependable’ in Pep Guardiola’s fleet. But what makes him remain in the Norwegian striker’s shadows? It is perhaps Erling Haaland’s reputation as a goal-scoring machine.

Is scoring a crazy amount of goals the secret to being popular?

Julian Alvarez has had an impressive collection of titles by the time he joined Manchester City. Despite the silverware, he never came across as a phenomenal goal-scorer of sorts. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland was a goal-scoring machine during his RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund stints. Hailed as soccer’s next biggest goal scorer, the Norwegian lived up to that anticipation and more in his very first season at the Etihad.

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He netted a record 52 goals across competitions last season. This season also Erling Haaland leads the goal-scorers with 14 goals. Despite him not playing the last few matches due to injury, nobody has surpassed the Cityzens’ #9. Therefore, it is no surprise that the goal hunter is overshadowing every other iconic Julian Alvarez.

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