Luis Suarez. The Man of Nacional’s Spirit and Ajax’s technique.
Luis Suarez. The Man of Nacional’s Spirit and Ajax’s technique.
Opinions of Luis Alberto Suarez in England seem to be divided. For all Liverpool fans and many neutrals, he is a genius. “Kenny Dalglish reborn.” The Kop barely gave Fernando Torres a second thought when he joined. Suarez has injected life and a buzz into Anfield with his quick turns, his magical feet and his unpredictable persona. However, some cannot rid themselves of the memories of his infamous handball on the line for Uruguay, that prevented Ghana from progressing into the competition’s semifinals. Now, whether this is just an excuse to have a go at Liverpool fans, or jealousy because Uruguay got much further than England in the competition, some can’t accept the class that this young man has, and the talent he brings to the Premier League.
Okay, fair enough, Suarez does have a bit of cheek. He shouldn’t have celebrated when Gyan missed the consequent penalty after his handball this past weekend, and instead of tugging on a players shirt to bring them down, Suarez likes to bite them. But seriously, he shows passion and pride for his country and the club that he plays with. THE handball was instinctive and any player would have done the same in his situation for his country. But what made this fiery Uruguayan? Let’s look at where he Suarez comes from, and how he became such an entertaining and versatile footballer.
He is from a nation with a population of just over three million. It is a tiny place, yet has had so much success. Just recently Suarez led Uruguay to a record fifteenth Copa America, one more than Argentina, and think of the world class players that their larger neighbors possess. Suarez started his career with Club Nacional de Football,one of Uruguay’s most successful clubs, with nearly all of their players being from Uruguay. Even there, at such a young age, it was clear he could score goals. Lots of them. In his first season, he scored thirteen goals from just sixteen games. To be at a club with a very patriotic and non-foreign background was an important part in the shaping of Suarez’s career. Instead of being thrown into the deep end, which many young players are these days, he played locally and had that vital experience of learning to play with players from his own country, before moving up the ladder.
When we look at England’s young talent, the same cannot really be said. Maybe that is why England never perform. The experience a player, such as Suarez, will gain from his first club, where the starting eleven are all from the country you are in, will not only benefit that player on an international level, but also when he moves on at club level - as Luis Suarez has shown at every club he has been at, from Nacional to Liverpool.
After moving to the Netherlands and playing for Groningen, he went on to play for Ajax where he joined an elite group of players who have scored over one hundred goals for the club, including Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten, and soon became the captain in Amsterdam. Of course, there are some young players who do jump straight into the deep end at a club, playing with players from all over the world, and perform to a very high standard. But Nacional made him the player he is today. He would not be the exciting footballer he is had he started at Ajax, for instance. Suarez needed to start off with a club full of his fellow countrymen, at a small stadium, in the very small, but successful nation he comes from. And thanks to Nacional, he got just that. Now the limits are endless..
