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From pipe-dreams in his room in Salto, to a leading role in Liverpool’s future: the rise of Luis Suarez has been a meteoric one. Craig Richie puts fingers to keyboard to sing his praises…
Hailing from Uruguay’s second city, Salto, Luis Suarez could have ended up as just another face in the crowd amongst the other ninety thousand citizens. Instead however, Suarez decided to focus upon his dream of playing professional football, a journey that has taken him to the country’s bustling capital Montevideo, to Holland’s FC Groningen, to the world famous Ajax and now onto the hollowed turf, in front of the Kop at Anfield.
The rise of Suarez has been a sudden one. With his arrival in January some Reds pondered whether or not he was going to be a success. Was he indeed just another Ryan Babel – straight out the Ajax academy and out his depth in the Premiership – or did Liverpool have another, “number 7” legend on their hands. Suarez himself seemed to be unaware of the significance of taking his gaffer’s old shirt number first of all. However, upon being told, Suarez seemed unfazed and appeared to appreciate the expectation lumbered upon him.
Now you have have got to remember that the Eredivisie is not all that it used to be. The days of Marco Van Basten, Johann Cryuff and Patrick Kluivert showcasing their skills in Holland’s premier competition are long gone. Yes Suarez had a considerable strike rate in the league. Yes he scored over a hundred goals for Ajax. And yes he has played for the most successful team in Holland. But so did Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who unlike Suarez has struggled to get to grips with a higher quality league and opposition and by goodness has he tried; moving from Ajax, to Real Madrid, to AC Milan and finally to Schalke 04 in the space of three seasons.
This is what makes Luis Suarez’s sudden rise to international recognition all the more delightful. Here is a man bought for around £26 million euros with all the expectation in the world forced upon him, especially from the unforgiving Anfield crowd (see Fernando Morientes for an example of how things can go horrifically wrong). This is a man who has thrived upon such pressure, coming on and scoring in front of the Kop on his debut against Tony Pulis’ Stoke City, and there the first goal jinx was over in a matter of minutes and Suarez had nothing to worry about, finishing the season with four in thirteen and along the way showcasing the skills and thrills he is capable of.
So far this season Suarez has failed to disappoint, scoring in the season’s opener against a good looking Sunderland side who have failed to match their early season promise. King Kenny seems to bring out the best in the little maverick and his fight and desire is evident for us all to see. The Merseyside derby highlighted this, he had it all, quick corners, fighting spirit and he chipped in with a well deserved goal. Suarez seems to be on the right track to becoming a Liverpool legend. At the moment goals are seeming hard to come by for the Reds but as soon as Suarez and Carroll start chipping in with their inevitable goal streaks then Liverpool’s impressive start to the season can be built upon once again and Dalglish’s team will be steaming back up the table.
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