Luis Suárez
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (American Spanish: [ˈlwis ˈswaɾes]; born 24 January 1987)
is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish
club Barcelona and the Uruguay national team. Often regarded as one
of the best players in the world,[note 1] Suárez has won 18
trophies in his career, which include six league titles, a UEFA Champions League title at club
level, and a Copa América with Uruguay. A
prolific goalscorer, Suárez has won two European Golden Shoes, an Eredivisie Golden Boot, a Premier League Golden Boot, also ending the
six-year dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by winning La
Liga's Pichichi
Trophy in 2016. He has scored 475
senior career goals for club and country.
Suárez began his career as a youth player
for Nacional in 2003. At age 19,
he relocated to the Netherlands to play for Groningen, before transferring
to Ajax in 2007. He won his
first trophy in 2010, the KNVB Cup, finishing the season as the league's top scorer and was named Dutch Footballer of the Year. A year later, he helped
Ajax secure the Eredivisie title, and scored
his 100th Ajax goal. In January 2011, Suárez
transferred to Liverpool, and won the League Cup in his first full
season. In 2014, he was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year as well as winning
the Premier League Golden Boot, and sharing the European Golden Shoe with
Cristiano Ronaldo before moving to Barcelona in a transfer worth
€82.3 million (£64.98 million), making him one of the most expensive
players in
football history.
In his first season at Barcelona, Suárez
starred in an attacking trio alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar, helping the club win a
historic second continental treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA
Champions League. Messi, Suárez, Neymar (dubbed MSN), scored a total of 122
goals that season, the most for an attacking front three in Spanish football
history. In his second
season at the club, Suárez won his first Pichichi Trophy as well as his
second European Golden Shoe, for which he became the first player since 2009 to
win both awards other than Messi or Ronaldo. He ended the season
with a total of 40 league goals, 14 of which came in his last five matches, and
16 assists, becoming the first player in history to top La Liga in both goals
and assists.
At international level, Suárez is
Uruguay's all-time leading goalscorer, and has represented his
nation at three editions of the FIFA World Cup and three editions
of the Copa
América,
as well as the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, where he helped his
team to a fourth-place finish. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup he played an
important role in Uruguay's fourth-place finish, scoring three goals, as well
as controversially blocking an otherwise game-winning goal-bound extra time
header with his hands during the quarter-final against Ghana. At the 2011 Copa América, Suárez scored four
goals as Uruguay won a record fifteenth
Copa América,
and he was named Player
of the Tournament. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Suárez
scored his 40th international goal before he was suspended from the tournament
after biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.
Suárez has been a source of controversy
throughout his career.[note 2] As well as his
goal-line handball in the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Ghana, he has also bitten
opponents on three separate occasions.[note 3] He has also been
accused of and admitted to diving, and in 2011,
the FA found him guilty of
racially abusing Patrice Evra, a decision Suárez
disputes.
Club career
Youth
"As I was growing up, there was only one player I
looked up to, and that was Batistuta, the Argentina No.9."
—Suárez on his idol
growing up, Gabriel Batistuta.
Suárez lived his early years at the Cerro
neighbourhood in Salto, where he played youth football at Sportivo Artigas. At age seven, he moved
with his family (parents and six brothers) to Montevideo, where he played youth
football at Urreta FC.
Nacional
Suárez joined local side Nacional's youth team at age 14. At age 16,
Suárez headbutted a referee following
a red card. One night, he was
caught drinking and partying, prompting his coach to threaten he would never
play unless he started playing football more seriously. In May 2005, at age
18, Suárez made his first-team debut against Junior de Barranquilla in the Copa Libertadores. He scored his first
goal in September 2005 and helped Nacional
win the 2005–06 Uruguayan league with 10 goals in 27
matches.
Suárez was found by a group of scouts from
the Dutch club Groningen when they were in
Uruguay to scout another player. As they watched, he won and converted a
penalty and scored a "wonder goal" against Defensor. After watching only
that match, the scouts approached Suárez and said they wanted to buy him, and
after the season, Groningen paid Nacional €800,000 for him. Suárez was thrilled
to go to Europe because his then girlfriend, and now wife, Sofía Balbi, had
moved to Barcelona; they had maintained a
long-distance relationship for a year and he wanted to move closer to her.
Groningen
Suárez on the training
field of Groningen in 2006
Suárez was 19 years old when he joined
Groningen. Initially, Suárez struggled because he could not speak Dutch or
English, and he played on the second team to adjust to the Dutch game. His teammate and
fellow Uruguayan, Bruno Silva, helped him settle into
living in the Netherlands and playing for a new team. He worked hard to
learn Dutch and his teammates respected him for his efforts with the language. Suárez scored goals
for Groningen, but he also had disciplinary problems; in one five-game stretch
in January 2007, he scored four goals but received three yellow cards and one red card. Suárez especially
made his mark in a 4–3 home win over Vitesse, when with ten minutes
to go he subsequently won a penalty and scored two goals. Suárez ended with
10 goals in 29 league appearances to help Groningen
finish eighth in the 2006–07 Eredivisie. He also scored in a
4–2 loss to Serbian
club Partizan in his European
debut.
Ajax saw potential in
Suárez and offered Groningen €3.5 million for him, but Groningen rejected
the offer. Suárez was upset
and brought his case to the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB)'s
arbitration committee to try to facilitate the sale. The arbitration
committee ruled against him on 9 August 2007, but that same day, Ajax increased
their offer to €7.5 million and Groningen accepted.
Ajax
2007–08
season
Suárez signed a five-year contract with
Ajax and made his club
debut in the UEFA Champions League
qualifier against Slavia Prague. He scored one goal
in his Eredivisie debut for the club and two goals in
his home debut at the Amsterdam Arena. Ajax finished
second in league in the 2007–08 season and Suárez scored
17 goals in 33 league appearances, setting up a blossoming striking partnership
with league top scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. He was suspended
for seven games for biting an opponent while with Ajax.
2008–09
season
During the 2008–09 season, Ajax head coach Marco van Basten noted how Suárez
played an important role in many of Ajax's goals, but Van Basten was also upset
by the number of yellow cards Suárez received. Suárez was
suspended for one match because he was
given his seventh yellow card of the season against Utrecht in a 2–0 win. He was also
suspended after a half-time altercation with teammate Albert Luque over a free kick. Ajax ended the
season in third place. Suárez scored 22
goals in 31 league matches and finished second
in scoring tables, one goal behind Mounir El Hamdaoui of AZ. Suárez was also
named Ajax Player of the Year.
2009–10
season
Suárez (with the
Ajax pennant) as Ajax captain in 2010. Suárez was
named captain in the 2009–10 season.
Before the 2009–10 season, Martin Jol replaced Van Basten
as head coach. After the departure
of Ajax captain Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal, Jol named Suárez team
captain. Suárez started
scoring goals early in the season with a hat-trick in a 4–1 win against RKC Waalwijk. He had a number of
multiple-goal matches throughout the season, including four in wins over Slovan Bratislava in the UEFA Europe League
play-off round, VVV-Venlo and Roda JC. He scored three in
the first half in another win over VVV-Venlo and six
against WHC
Wezep in
the KNVB
Cup as
Ajax won by a club-record margin of 14–1.
Suárez scored two goals in the second leg of the KNVB Cup
final and finished as the tournament's top scorer. Ajax won the Cup
final 6–1 on aggregate over Feyenoord, but they finished
second in the league behind Twente.
Suárez ended the season as the Eredivisie's
top scorer with 35 goals in 33 matches and had 49 goals in
all competitions. He was named Ajax
Player of the Year for the second straight year and Dutch Footballer of the Year.
2010–11
season
Suárez playing for Ajax
in a UEFA Champions League match against Dynamo Kyiv in 2010
Soon after Suárez returned from his World
Cup campaign, he scored his 100th goal for Ajax in a 1–1 home draw
against PAOK in a UEFA Champions League qualifier. This put him in an
elite group of players, including Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten
and Dennis
Bergkamp,
to score 100 or more goals with the club. Suárez continued
his scoring run with a hat-trick against De Graafschap in a 5–0 win.
First
biting incident
On 20 November 2010, Suárez bit PSV's Otman Bakkal on the shoulder
during a 0–0 draw. Ajax suspended him for two matches and fined him an
undisclosed amount, which the club said they would donate to a "good
cause". The Dutch daily
newspaper De
Telegraaf branded
Suárez the "Cannibal of Ajax". The KNVB increased
Suárez's suspension to seven league matches. Suárez apologised
for his actions through a video he uploaded to his Facebook page.
Transfer
to Liverpool
During the suspension, Ajax were in contact
with other European clubs interested in Suárez. On 28 January 2011, they
accepted a €26.5 million (£22.8 million) offer
for Suárez from Premier League club Liverpool. Despite leaving
while suspended, Suárez departed Ajax on good terms, and he was given a
farewell sendoff after an Ajax match. During the sendoff, an Ajax coach spoke
to him and the crowd and said how the club wished he could stay longer; the
crowd applauded their agreement and fireworks followed. Ajax ended
the 2010–11 season as Eredivisie champions and Suárez was
given a winner's medal for his 7 goals in
13 appearances. While he was at
Ajax, Suárez scored 111 goals in 159 appearances.
Liverpool
2010–11
season
Suárez (left) was signed
by Liverpool on the same day as Andy Carroll
On 31 January 2011, Suárez signed a
five-and-a-half-year deal with Liverpool until 2016, and was the club's
most expensive signing (£22.8 million) until the arrival of Andy Carroll (£35 million)
a few hours later. Suárez requested
the number seven shirt, but at the time did not realise that it had been worn
by Liverpool legends such as his new manager Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan. Suárez made his
Liverpool debut on 2 February against Stoke City at Anfield in a 2–0 win; he
came on as a substitute and scored Liverpool's second goal in front of the Kop in the 79th minute. He was one of
Liverpool's best players during his partial season and helped
Liverpool go from 12th in the league in mid-January to finish sixth. He finished
the 2010–11 season with four goals in
13 games.
2011–12
season
After winning the Player of the Tournament
at the 2011 Copa América, Suárez had a
disappointing 2011–12 season by his
standards. Liverpool finished
in eighth place and Suárez scored 11 league goals. On 26 February,
Liverpool won the League Cup, defeating Cardiff City in penalty
shootout. On 28 April, Suárez
scored his first Liverpool hat-trick in 3–0 win
against Norwich City at Carrow Road. He finished sixth
for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or.
Racial
abuse incident
The season was marked by an incident in
which Suárez was found guilty by a three-man panel from The Football Association (FA) of racially
abusing Patrice
Evra during
a match against Manchester United in October; he was
issued an eight-match suspension and a £40,000 fine. Suárez disputed
this decision.
After a 1–1 draw against Manchester United
on 15 October 2011, Suárez was accused of racially abusing Evra, and the FA opened
up an investigation into the incident. Suárez wrote on
his Twitter and Facebook pages
that he was upset by the accusation and denied the claims. On 16 November, the
FA announced it would charge Suárez with "abusive and/or insulting words
and/or behaviour contrary to FA rules", including "a reference to the
ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race of Patrice Evra". Liverpool later
released a statement announcing Suárez would plead innocent, adding they would
"remain fully supportive" of him. On 20 December, the
FA concluded a seven-day hearing, handing Suárez an eight-match ban and a
£40,000 fine for racially abusing Evra.
In their next meeting in February, during
the pregame handshakes, Suárez avoided shaking Evra's hand, for which Suárez
and Dalglish were later forced to apologise. Suárez was also
banned for one match for making an obscene gesture towards Fulham fans.
2012–13
season
On 7 August 2012, Suárez signed a new
long-term contract with Liverpool. On 26 August, he
scored his first goal of the 2012–13 season in a 2–2 draw with
champions Manchester City at Anfield. On 29 September
2012, Suárez scored a hat-trick in Liverpool's Premier League fixture away
at Norwich City for the second consecutive season.
Suárez playing for
Liverpool against Arsenal in January 2013
On 6 January 2013, Suárez handled the ball
before scoring the decisive goal in Liverpool's 2–1 win over Mansfield Town from the Conference National in an FA
Cup third
round match. Liverpool's manager Brendan Rodgers defended his player
by claiming "it's not his job to own up", while Mansfield
manager Paul Cox said he felt "a little bit
gutted" by the "instinctive" handball, but admitted he would
have accepted a goal scored like that by one of his players.
On 19 January, Suárez scored his seventh
goal in three matches against Norwich, as Liverpool cruised to a 5–0 home
league victory. The following week,
Suárez captained Liverpool for the first time for the FA Cup fourth round match
against Oldham Athletic; Liverpool lost 2–3. On 2 March, Suárez
scored a hat-trick against Wigan Athletic, leading Liverpool to a dominant 4–0
victory at the DW
Stadium.
In so doing, he became only the third Liverpool player to score 20 Premier
League goals in a single season after Robbie Fowler and Fernando Torres. On 10 March, Suárez
scored his 50th goal in all competitions since joining the Reds by
scoring the opener in a 3–2 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur, ending Spurs' 12-match
unbeaten run. He was also named man of the match for his performance after he
won the decisive penalty which Steven Gerrard converted.
At the end of the season, Suárez was one of
six players named on the shortlist for PFA Players' Player of the Year. Suárez finished
second in the final ballot behind Gareth Bale of Tottenham and was named in
the PFA Team of the Year. He was second-top goalscorer in the Premier
League for 2012–13 with 23 goals and
Liverpool's top scorer in all competitions with 30 goals. On 28 May 2013, he
was named as Liverpool's player of the season after receiving 64% of votes in a
poll of the club's supporters.
Suárez about to score a
35-yard free kick against Zenit Saint Petersburg, his second goal in a
3–1 win, March 2013
Second
biting incident
On 21 April 2013, during a 2–2 draw
with Chelsea in a Premier League
match at Anfield, Suárez bit Branislav Ivanović; this was the second
time Suárez had bitten an opponent. It was not noticed
by the officials, and Suárez scored an equaliser in injury time. The bite
prompted UK Prime Minister David Cameron to call on the FA
to take a hard line with Suárez: the FA charged him with violent conduct and he
was fined an undisclosed sum by his club. Contrary to claims
from Suárez, Ivanović did not accept an apology. Suárez accepted the
violent conduct charge but denied the FA's claim the standard punishment of
three matches was clearly insufficient for his offence. A three-man
independent panel appointed by the FA decided on a ten-game ban for Suárez, who
did not appeal the ban; the panel criticised Suárez for not appreciating
"the seriousness" of the incident when he argued against a long ban.
The panel also wanted to send a "strong message that such deplorable
behaviours do not have a place in football", while noting that "all
players in the higher level of the game are seen as role models, have the duty
to act professionally and responsibly, and set the highest example of good
conduct to the rest of the game – especially to young players".
On 31 May 2013, Suárez said he would be
seeking an exit from Liverpool in the summer, citing excessive media attention
on his family as a reason for wanting to leave. On 6 August, after
Liverpool had rejected a bid of £40,000,001 for the player
from Arsenal, Suárez reiterated his wish to leave Liverpool and said Liverpool
had previously promised to allow him a transfer if the club failed to qualify
for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League. The following day,
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said Liverpool had not broken any promises to
Suárez and that the player had shown "total disrespect" for the club. After this
incident, the British press reported that Suárez had been instructed to train
away from the Liverpool first-team squad by Rodgers. On 8 August,
Liverpool owner John W. Henry stated that Suárez
would not be allowed to leave the club.
2013–14
season, Player of the Year
On 14 August, Suárez appeared to reverse
his position about wanting to leave the club, with reports stating he wanted to
stay at the club and that he was possibly going to sign a contract extension,
citing the support from Liverpool supporters as the reason for his unexpected
turnaround. Suárez returned to
first-team training two days later after "offer[ing] contrition" to
his teammates but reportedly not apologising to his manager.
On 25 September, Suárez returned to the
Liverpool team after his suspension to make his first appearance of the 2013–14 season in a League Cup third round tie
against Manchester United at Old Trafford, losing 1–0. On 29 September,
Suárez made his first Premier League appearance of the
season, scoring twice as Liverpool defeated Sunderland 3–1 at the Stadium of Light. On 5 October,
Suárez made his first appearance of the season at Anfield, where he scored Liverpool's
opening goal in a 3–1 win against Crystal Palace. On 26 October, he
scored his fourth Premier League hat-trick, his first at Anfield, in a 4–1
defeat of West Bromwich Albion. According to the BBC, he has scored a hat-trick every 20.3 Premier
League matches, "the best rate of all 46 players to have scored more than
one treble" in the top tier.
"He [Suárez] has shown in his time at Liverpool in
the last year or so that he is near unplayable. He on his own can occupy a back
four with his movement and his cleverness."
— Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool manager, in a
season when Suárez was player of the year.
On 4 December, Suárez scored four goals
against Norwich City in a 5–1 home win. He became the first
player in Premier League history to score three hat-tricks against the same
club, and took his scoring record against Norwich to 11 goals in 5 matches. On 15 December,
Suárez captained Liverpool for the first time in a Premier League match against
Tottenham Hotspur. He scored twice and
assisted once as the team recorded a 5–0 win at White Hart Lane to close the gap on
league leaders Arsenal to two points. The following day,
Suárez was named the Football Supporters' Federation Player of
the Year for
2013. On 20 December,
Suárez signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Liverpool.
On 1 January 2014, by scoring in a 2–0 home
win over Hull City, Suárez became the first Liverpool player
to score 20 or more goals in successive Premier League seasons since Robbie
Fowler in 1994–95 and 1995–96. He equalled Andy Cole's Premier League record
for the earliest date to reach the 20-goal mark, but set a new record low of 15
matches. His strike
partnership this season with Daniel Sturridge has earned them a nickname
"SAS", i.e., Sturridge and Suárez".
On 1 March, Suárez made his 100th Premier
League appearance, scoring in a 3–0 win over Southampton at St Mary's Stadium. In the following
fixture, he scored his 25th league goal of the season as Liverpool defeated
Manchester United at Old Trafford for the first time since 2009 by a convincing
three-goal margin. On 22 March, Suárez
scored his sixth Premier League hat-trick, and third of the
season, in a 6–3 win over Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium. On 30 March, he
broke Robbie Fowler's club record of 28 goals in a Premier League season in a
4–0 home win against Tottenham which took Liverpool top of the league with six
matches remaining. On 20 April, he
scored in a 3–2 win at Norwich to become the first Liverpool player to score 30
league goals in a season since Ian Rush in 1986–87. This also made him
the seventh player to score 30 goals in a Premier League season, following Andy
Cole, Alan
Shearer, Kevin Phillips, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robin van Persie.
On 18 April, Suárez was named as one of the
six players nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award for the
second consecutive season. On 27 April, he won
the award, becoming the first non-European to win the award. On 5 May 2014,
Suárez was named as the Football Association Writers Player of the Year. He finished the season
with 31 goals in 33 matches, winning the Premier League Golden Boot, with Sturridge as
runner-up, as Liverpool came
second in the league and returned to the UEFA Champions League. Suárez also won
the Barclay's Premier League Player of the Season award. As the Premier
League's top scorer with 31 goals, he also shared the European Golden Shoe with Cristiano
Ronaldo. On 21 May 2014, Suárez ranked number one on "Europe's most
influential player" list of the year, ahead of Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristiano
Ronaldo, according to a study by Bloomberg of the top five European leagues.
Barcelona
Signing
and suspension
Suárez making his
Barcelona debut against Club León in August 2014.
After serving his four month suspension for biting at the 2014 World Cup he
made his competitive debut for the club on 25 October.
On 11 July 2014, Suárez agreed with Barcelona on a five-year
contract for an undisclosed transfer fee. However, according
to a leaked document by Football Leaks, the fee was
£64.98 million (€82.3 million), making him one of the most expensive
players in
world football history. Barça confirmed
Suárez would wear the number 9 shirt for the 2014–15 season.
Suárez missed the first part of the season
after being found guilty of biting Italian player Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. As part of the
suspension, he was banned from all "football-related activities",
including training for Barcelona, for four months (until 26 October). He was
also banned from entering any stadium, even as a spectator, during the same
period.
On 24 July, Suárez and his lawyers filed an
appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and requested
the sanctions be reduced or the suspension to be lifted. The parties were
heard at a hearing which took place at the CAS offices in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 8
August. Six days later, the
CAS confirmed the ban imposed by FIFA against Suárez, who
remained suspended from football for four months, as well as a nine-match ban
in internationals, the first of which was served in the Uruguay's round of 16 match against
Colombia in
the 2014 World Cup. However, the CAS removed the player's
"football-related activities" ban and was allowed to train with
Barcelona. As a result of this ban, Suárez was banned from participating in
the 2015 Copa América.
The CAS permitted Suárez to play in
friendly matches, and he made his Barcelona debut on 18 August against Club León of Mexico at
the Camp
Nou,
replacing Rafinha for the final 14
minutes of an eventual 6–0 win in the Gamper Trophy. Fellow forwards Lionel
Messi and Neymar had already been
substituted off by the time Suárez took to the pitch.
2014–15
season
Suárez made his competitive debut for
Barcelona on 25 October, starting in attack with Lionel Messi and Neymar away
to Real Madrid in El Clásico. Although he set up
Neymar for the opening goal in the fourth minute, Suárez was substituted in the
second half and Barcelona lost 3–1. He scored his first
goal for the club on 26 November in a 4–0 win at APOEL in the UEFA Champions League group stage. On 20 December, he
scored his first league goal for the club in his eighth La Liga match, contributing
to a 5–0 home win against Córdoba.
On 24 February 2015, Suárez scored twice
as Barça defeated English champions Manchester City 2–1 in the first leg of their UEFA
Champions League round of 16 tie. On 4 March, he
scored in Barcelona's 3–1 Copa del Rey semi-final win over Villarreal to qualify the club
for its 37th Spanish
Cup final. On 8 March, Suárez
scored twice in a 6–1 home win over Rayo Vallecano. On 22 March 2015,
Suárez scored the winning goal for Barcelona in the 2–1 victory over Real
Madrid at Camp
Nou. In the post-match
press conference, his coach Luis Enrique lauded Suárez,
saying, "Very few players can score a goal like he did, and that is why we
signed him. He can decide games. He's a pure scorer, who needs very little to
finish."
On 15 April, Suárez scored two goals in a
3–1 UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. He nutmegged PSG defender David Luiz twice before
scoring both goals. On 2 May, he scored
his first hat-trick for the club, in 8–0 win at Córdoba. Suárez scored in
the Champions League final against Juventus on 6 June in Berlin, putting the team back
into the lead in an eventual 3–1 win by converting the rebound after Gianluigi Buffon saved from Messi.
The win sealed a treble for the team
Suárez ended his first season at Barcelona
with 25 goals and 20 assists in all competitions. The Barcelona
attacking trio of Messi, Suárez and Neymar, dubbed "MSN", ended with
122 goals, the most in a season for an attacking trio in Spanish football
history.
2015–16
season
Suárez strikes
against Sevilla in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup.
Suárez opened the season by scoring and
assisting on a goal in Barcelona's 5–4 extra-time victory over Sevilla in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup, on 11 August 2015. The next day, he
was named one of the three finalists for the 2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. On 31 October,
Suárez scored in a 2–0 away win against Getafe after being
assisted with a backheel from Sergi Roberto. This was his 11th
goal of the season and his 300th senior career goal. On 21 November,
Suárez scored twice in Barcelona's 4–0 away win against Real Madrid.
On 17 December, Suárez scored all three
goals as Barcelona defeated Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande 3–0 in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup semi-final in Yokohama, Japan, becoming the
first player to score a hat-trick in the competition's history. He then scored
twice in Barcelona's 3–0 win over Argentine club River Plate in the final. Suárez finished the
tournament as top scorer with five goals and was also named the best player of
the tournament.
On 3 February 2016, Suárez scored four
goals in the 7–0 Copa del Rey win against Valencia. On 20 April, he
again scored four times in a match, as well as assisting three further goals
for teammates, as Barça won 8–0 away at Deportivo de La Coruña in La Liga. Only
three days later, he scored another four goals in a 6–0 home win over Sporting de Gijón, for which Suárez became
the first player to score four times in two consecutive matches in the history
of La Liga. On 30 April, Suárez
became the second player in the history of the club to reach the milestone of
35 goals in a single season.
On the final day of the 2015–16
La Liga season,
Suárez scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 victory at Granada to win the Spanish championship for Barça and
registered 40 league goals for the season to win the Pichichi Trophy, for which Suárez became
the first player since 2009 to win both the Pichichi and the European Golden Shoe other than Lionel
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Fourteen of his
goals came in his last five matches. Suárez also led the league in assists,
tied at 16 with Messi, becoming the first player ever to lead La Liga in both
goals and assists.
On 22 May 2016, Suárez suffered a
season-ending injury during Barcelona's 2–0 victory over Sevilla in the 2016 Copa del Rey Final. The club confirmed
after the match that Suárez had suffered an injury to his right hamstring, and would likely miss
at least part of the upcoming Copa América Centenario with his national football team. For Uruguay, Suárez
also previously missed part of the 2014 World Cup and the entire 2015 Copa
América through suspension. The front three of
Messi, Suárez and Neymar finished the season with 131 goals, breaking the
record they had set the previous year for most goals by an attacking trio in a
single season.
2016–17
season
Suárez opened his goal scoring account by
scoring a goal in the first leg of the 2016 Supercopa de España against Sevilla and
winning the match 0–2. In the first match of the 2016–17
La Liga season,
Suárez scored a hat-trick in a 6–2 victory against Real Betis in which he scored
his first free-kick goal for Barcelona. Suárez made his
100th Barcelona appearance in a 2–1 defeat at home to Alavés. Though unable to score, Suárez claimed
the distinction of scoring more goals and assists in his first 100 matches in
Spain than both Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi; Suárez contributed 88 goals and 43
assists in his first 100 matches for Barcelona, compared to Ronaldo's 95 goals
and 29 assists, and Messi's 41 goals and 14 assists.
Suárez opened his UEFA Champions League account for the
season with two goals in a 7–0 defeat of Celtic; this was followed by
another goal in a 5–1 defeat of Leganés. On 11 January 2017,
Suárez scored his 100th goal for Barcelona in a Copa del Rey round of 16 match against Athletic Bilbao.
On 7 February, Suárez scored and was later
sent off for a second yellow in the semi-final match of the Copa del Rey
against Atlético
Madrid for
an alleged foul on Koke, his first red card
competitively for Barcelona, meaning he would miss the final. In an interview
after the match, Suárez said he strongly disagreed with the decision, and
wished to appeal it, saying, "I'm laughing at that second yellow, it's not
even a foul. I did absolutely nothing. I hope the club will appeal it."
2017–18
season
On 23 September, Suárez scored in
Barcelona’s win over Girona in the first ever Catalan derby for
the opposition. On 14 October,
Suárez maintained Barcelona’s undefeated start to a La Liga season with a late
header against Atlético
Madrid at
the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid. He scored twice
against Leganés in a 3–0 win at
the Estadio Municipal de Butarque on 18 November. On 17 December,
Suárez scored two against Deportivo La Coruña in a 4–0 win. Less than a week
later, Suárez opened the scoring for Barcelona in a 3–0 win over Real Madrid at
the Bernabéu.
After the mid season break, on 14 January
Suárez scored twice in a 4–2 comeback win at Real Sociedad. Suarez scored a
hat-trick in a 6–1 win over Girona at the Camp Nou on 24 February. On 31 March, late
goals from Suarez and Messi secured a 2–2 draw against Sevilla at the Ramón
Sánchez Pizjuán. On 14 April, Suárez
scored as Barcelona defeated València 2–1 to secure the longest unbeaten streak (39 games) in La
Liga history.
On 21 April, Barcelona won their fourth
consecutive Copa
del Rey title
in beating Sevilla 5–0 in Madrid, with
Suárez scoring twice. Barcelona held on
for a dramatic 2–2 draw against Real Madrid on 6 May to extend their unbeaten
streak in the league, with Suárez and Messi scoring the goals for Barca, before
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale drew Real level.[205] Barcelona's record unbeaten streak (43
games) came
to an end on 13 May losing to Levante 4–5. Barcelona mounted a comeback after
trailing 1–5, with Suárez scoring one and new club record signing Philippe Coutinho scoring a
hat-trick.
2018–19
season
On 2 September 2018, Suárez scored twice
for Barcelona in an 8–2 win over newly promoted Huesca. A week later he
scored in their 2–1 victory at Real Sociedad, as the club made it
four wins out of four in La Liga. On 28 October,
Suárez scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 home win over Real Madrid in El Clásico. Suárez is only the
second Barcelona player (after Messi) to score a hat-trick in El
Clásico in La Liga since Romário in 1994.
International career
Suárez was invited to play for Uruguay in the qualifying
rounds for the 2007 U-20 World Cup, but his club,
Groningen, did not release him to play. He did play in the
tournament finals, and he scored two goals in four appearances. His goals came in a
group stage draw against Spain and in the Round of 16 against the United States, but the U.S. won
2–1 and Uruguay was eliminated from the tournament.
Suárez made his senior debut for Uruguay on 8 February 2007
in a 3–1 win against Colombia. He was sent off in the 85th minute
after receiving a second yellow card for dissent. Suárez played in 19
of 20 games in 2010 World Cup qualifying and the inter-confederation
playoffs and
scored five goals.
2010
FIFA World Cup
Suárez (left) and Diego Forlán at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
In June 2010, Óscar
Tabárez named
Suárez to Uruguay's 23-man World Cup squad. Uruguay began the
tournament with a 0–0 draw against France. In the second
match, a 3–0 win over South Africa, Suárez drew a penalty
and assisted Álvaro Pereira's stoppage
time goal. In the final match
of the group stage, he headed in a goal off a pass from Edinson Cavani and was named Man of the Match in a 1–0 win
over Mexico. Uruguay won Group A and advanced to
the knockout stage.
During the round of 16 against South Korea, Suárez scored both
goals in a 2–1 win. His second broke a tie in the 80th minute when he dribbled
around a defender and curled a "spectacular shot" in off the far
post; Suárez was again named Man of the Match. This win put
Uruguay through to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1970. In the quarter-final against Ghana, the score was 1–1 at
the end of regulation and the match went into extra
time.
Late in extra time, Ghana sent a free-kick into the box, and
Suárez blocked Stephen Appiah's shot on the goal line. He then
blocked Dominic
Adiyiah's
goalbound header with his hands, committing a professional foul to save what would
have been the game winner and was sent
off. Asamoah
Gyan hit
the crossbar with the ensuing penalty kick and Suárez, who had
stopped to watch, celebrated the miss before heading down the tunnel. Uruguay won
the shootout 4–2 and advanced to
the semi-finals.
"The Hand of God now belongs to me. Mine is the real
Hand of God."
—After using his hand in
the quarter-final against Ghana, Suárez referred to Diego Maradona's ”Hand of God” goal
against England in 1986.
After the match, Suárez said, "I made
the save of the tournament." He said he had no
alternative, was acting out of instinct, and would do it again if it helped his
team win. Ghana head coach Milovan Rajevac said the play was
an "injustice" and Suárez was
labelled a villain and a cheat. Others viewed him
as a hero. Due to the
automatic suspension that accompanies a red card, Suárez sacrificed himself in the
semi-final for the unlikely chance the penalty would be missed, and his team
would later win.
While Suárez was suspended for the semi-final match for his red
card against Ghana, Uruguay
"lacked a second striker [alongside Diego Forlán] of cunning and movement" and lost 3–2 to
the Netherlands. Suárez returned for
the third place game against Germany; he was booed almost
every time he had the ball because of his handball in the Ghana match. He assisted Cavani
on Uruguay's first goal, but Uruguay lost
3–2. During the
tournament, Suárez played 543 minutes in six appearances and scored three
goals.
2011
Copa América
Suárez was named most
valuable player of the 2011 Copa América
In the 2011 Copa América tournament, Suárez
scored in Uruguay's opening game, a 1–1 draw with Peru. Uruguay finished second
in their group and advanced to the knockout round with a win and two
draws. In the
quarter-finals, Uruguay finished regulation and extra time tied at 1–1 with
tournament hosts Argentina. Uruguay won the
shootout 5–4 and Suárez converted his penalty. Suárez scored both
goals in Uruguay's 2–0 semi-final win over Peru and was named Man of the Match. In the final, Suárez scored the first
goal and Uruguay defeated Paraguay 3–0 for their
record 15th Copa América title. Suárez scored four
goals in the tournament and was named Player of the Tournament.
2012
Summer Olympics
On 9 July 2012, Suárez was selected for
the Uruguay Olympic football team alongside Liverpool
teammate Sebastián Coates to compete in
the 2012 Olympic Games. In the first
pre-tournament warm-up game against Chile, Suárez scored a hat-trick for
Uruguay as they came from 0–2 down to win 6–4 in a thrilling match.
As one of Uruguay's three overage players,
Suárez was named as captain for the Olympic Games. After an opening
win over the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay were defeated
by Senegal and Great Britain and eliminated at
the first round. Suárez failed to score during the tournament.
2013
Confederations Cup
Suárez was selected in the Uruguay squad to
play in Brazil at the 2013 Confederations Cup. He scored a curling
free-kick from 30 yards (27 m) in a 2–1 defeat to Spain in their opening
match at Recife on 16 June. He then scored
twice after appearing as a substitute in Uruguay's 8–0 win over Tahiti, making him the Uruguay
national team's all-time top-goalscorer with 35 goals,
surpassing his teammate Diego Forlán. Uruguay were
eventually eliminated in the semi-finals, losing 2–1 to Brazil in Belo Horizonte.
2014
FIFA World Cup, third biting incident
Suárez (middle) celebrating one of his two
goals against England at the 2014 World
Cup
Suárez ended the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign as top scorer in the South American section with 11 goals. In November 2013,
Uruguay defeated Jordan 5–0 on aggregate in
an intercontinental play-off to qualify for
the 2014 World Cup.
On 22 May, Suárez underwent emergency
surgery on his left knee. He was confined to a wheelchair for a time, leading
to rumours he would be unable to participate in the World Cup. He was named as a
substitute for Uruguay's first match, a 3–1 defeat to Costa Rica, but did not play in the
match. Suárez started Uruguay's second match against England and scored both of
the team's goals in a 2–1 win at the Arena Corinthians in São Paulo.
"These are just things that happen out on the pitch.
It was just the two of us inside the area and he bumped into me with his
shoulder and that's how my eye got like this as well. There are things that
happen on the pitch and you should not make such a big deal out of them."
— Suárez's post-match
interview against Italy, 24 June 2014.
"... I lost my balance ... falling on top of my
opponent ... I hit my face against [Chiellini], leaving a small bruise on my
cheek and a strong pain in my teeth."
— Suárez's defence to the
FIFA Disciplinary Committee, 25 June.
"... the truth is that my colleague Giorgio
Chiellini suffered the physical result of a bite in the collision he suffered
with me ... I apologize to Giorgio Chiellini and the entire football family. I
vow to the public that there will never again be another incident like
[this]."
— Suárez on 30 June 2014.
For Uruguay's final group match
against Italy on 24 June, Uruguay
needed a win to advance to the knockout stage while Italy only
needed a draw. Around the 79th
minute and with the score at 0–0, Suárez clashed with Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini while waiting for a
cross. Replays showed that Suárez lunged at Chiellini and bit his shoulder
(Chiellini showed bite marks), followed by Suárez falling and clutching his
face. The controversial
incident made headline news around the world. As the Italian
players protested to Mexican referee Marco Antonio Rodríguez for not penalising
Suárez for the bite, Uruguay won a corner and scored. The match would finish
1–0 to Uruguay as they qualified for the knockout stage and eliminated Italy.
Two days later, on 26 June, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, banned Suárez for nine
international matches, effective immediately, meaning he would take no further
part in the World Cup. The ban ruled him out of 2015 Copa América as well. It was the
longest such ban in World Cup history, exceeding the eight-match ban handed to
Italy's Mauro
Tassotti for
breaking the nose of Spain's Luis Enrique at the 1994 World Cup. He was also banned
from taking part in any football-related activity (including entering any
stadium) for four months and fined CHF100,000. The seven-member
FIFA panel studied the incident from 34 camera angles and rejected Suárez's
defence that the bite was as a result of an accidental collision, instead
finding the bite was "deliberate, intentional and without provocation...
with the intention of wounding [Chiellini] or at least of destabilising him".
The severity of the penalty was due to the fact it was Suárez's third biting
offence, as well as what FIFA saw as a lack of remorse. Soon after the
suspension was announced, online gambling firm 888poker cancelled its
sponsorship deal with Suárez. With Suárez banned,
Uruguay lost their next match 0–2 to Colombia and were eliminated from the
World Cup.
On the same day the ban was announced,
the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) said it would
appeal the suspension. Suárez's lawyer
said that "we don't have any doubts" of a European-based campaign
against Suárez. Various Uruguayan
individuals defended Suárez, questioning if he had actually bitten Chiellini,
and criticised the severity of his ban, including President of Uruguay José Mujica, who labelled the ban
"fascist" and called FIFA
"a bunch of old sons of bitches"; AUF president
Wilmar Valdez; Uruguay
captain Diego
Lugano; and Uruguay head
coach Óscar Tabárez, who resigned from two FIFA posts in protest of the ban. The Uruguayan media
were also noted to have been in a defiant and defensive mood. For non-Uruguayan
parties, Chiellini, who was bitten, called the ban "excessive", while
international players' union FIFPro called for Suárez
to "receive all the support he needs" and that the "focus should
be on the rehabilitation and serious treatment" of Suárez.
Six days after the incident, on 30 June,
Suárez apologised to Chiellini through Twitter and vowed never to repeat the
incident, while writing that the "physical result of a bite" occurred
in a collision with Chiellini. Chiellini responded
through Twitter indicating all was forgotten and his hope that FIFA would
reduce Suárez's suspension.
On 3 July, the AUF appealed Suárez's ban, but it was rejected
by FIFA on 10 July. With Suárez's ban
not preventing him from transferring to another club, it was announced on
11 July that Suárez had agreed to move to Barcelona. Days before the
transfer, Suárez's apology to Chiellini had been praised by various Barcelona
club individuals. Barcelona club president Josep Maria Bartomeu said the apology
was "honourable", sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta welcomed Suárez as
being "humble enough to admit an error" while new signing Ivan Rakitić commended Suárez's
"character and strength".
Copa
América Centenario and 2018 FIFA World Cup
Suárez playing
against Portugal in the last 16 of
the 2018 World Cup
On 25 March 2016, after over a year of
international absence for Uruguay, Suárez scored an equalizer against Brazil
in Recife for a 2–2 draw in
the qualification process for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Suárez was included
in Uruguay's 23-man squad for the Copa América Centenario, although a hamstring
injury sustained in the 2016 Copa del Rey final on 22 May put his place in the
team in jeopardy. Although he
remained in the squad, he missed both of his national side's opening group
losses to Mexico and Venezuela, which resulted in a
first-round elimination from the tournament. He was once again
left on the substitutes' bench in Uruguay's final 3–0 group win over Jamaica on 13 June.
Suárez named man of the
match on the big screen for his display against Saudi Arabia at the 2018 World
Cup
Suárez scored twice on 10 October 2017 as
Uruguay won 4–2 at home to Bolivia in their final
World Cup qualifying match, thus securing their place for the tournament in
Russia. In March, Uruguay
won the 2018
China Cup,
and Suárez scored his 50th international goal with a penalty
against the Czech Republic in the semi-finals,
winning it himself when fouled by goalkeeper Jiří
Pavlenka. He won his 100th cap on 20 June 2018 in
Uruguay's second group match at the World Cup, scoring the only goal
against Saudi Arabia at the Rostov Arena in Rostov-on-Don to advance the
nation into the last 16. In the final group
game on 25 June, Suárez scored Uruguay’s opener with a free kick into the
bottom corner in a 3–0 win over hosts Russia. In the Round of 16
match against Portugal on 30 June, he
set-up Cavani's opening goal in an eventual 2–1 victory. Uruguay were
eliminated from the tournament following a 2–0 defeat to France in the
quarter-finals on 6 July.
2019
Copa América
In March 2019, manager Tabárez included
Suárez in the final 23-man Uruguay squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil. On 16 June, he
scored the third goal in a 4–0 win over Ecuador in the team's
opening group match of the tournament, also setting up the opener scored
by Nicolás
Lodeiro. In the
quarter-finals against Peru on 29 June, he had a goal disallowed by VAR for offside,
and was subsequently the only player to miss his spot-kick in the resulting
penalty shoot-out, following a 0–0 draw after regulation time, which saw
Uruguay eliminated from the competition.
Style of play
Suárez in action for
Liverpool takes on Sylvain Distin of Everton during the Merseyside Derby in 2012
Suárez creates goal scoring chances with
his powerful shot, and has
"remarkable technical ability" according to his FIFA profile. Known for his
direct running at players, Suárez has a particular penchant for nutmegging opponents (putting
the ball through their legs). Liverpool fans
(accompanied with a banner) used to say he was so good, "he could nutmeg a
mermaid". Harry Redknapp said that Suárez
could play anywhere – as the target man or behind as
a second striker. Uruguay head coach
Óscar Tabárez called Suárez "a great forward, an elite player among
forwards in the world", and Liverpool coach
Kenny Dalglish said, "he's intelligent, he's had a fantastic education at
Ajax". Former Liverpool
striker John
Aldridge said
his abilities allow him to get into a position to score and evade
defenders. Suárez has been
praised for his work
rate, and his quickness that allows him to
attack from the outside. He also creates
scoring opportunities for his teammates.
Former Ajax coach Marco van Basten criticised Suárez
for his tendency to receive yellow cards. Van Basten said he
had a tense relationship with Suárez, although he
conceded, "Luis is unpredictable, he's hard to influence but that makes
him special." At times, Suárez
can be dominant but fail to convert his efforts into goals. Despite his
weaknesses, Suárez's leadership stood out to Ajax management.
Controversies
Suárez has been widely accused of diving.[note 4] His manager,
teammates and various analysts have commented that this reputation for
simulation has caused referees not to award him legitimate penalties. In January 2013,
Suárez admitted to diving against Stoke City in an October 2012 match. This led
his manager Brendan Rodgers to comment his actions were
"unacceptable" and that he would be dealt with "internally"
by the club. During the 2018
World Cup game against Portugal, after collisions with Portuguese players,
Suarez twice acted like he had a head injury despite Suarez's head not being
touched.
Suárez has received infamy for the multiple
occasions he has bitten opponents. In a Group D matchup at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Suarez was shown to
have bit Italian defender Georgio Chiellini, resulting in FIFA
suspending Suarez from all football activities for 4 months. While playing for
Liverpool, Suarez bit Chelsea player Branislav Ivanovic in a Premier League
match, and was punished with a ten match ban. In an earlier incident while
playing for AFC
Ajax he
was caught biting PSV Eindhoven player Otman Bakkal and was suspended
for seven games. Suárez has also
been accused of stamping on opponents in the
Premier League and the UEFA Europa League.
Due to his diving, biting, stamping, and
other antics, Suárez has been frequently labelled as a pest and a cheat. December 2013,
Spanish football website El Gol Digital ranked Suárez at fifth
in its list of the world's dirtiest footballers.
Media and sponsorship
Previously with Adidas,
Suárez has been sponsored by Puma since 2018. He
wears Puma Future 2.1.
Suárez had a sponsorship deal with German
sportswear and equipment supplier Adidas, before switching to
rivals Puma in 2018. Suárez starred in a
2014 advert for Beats with other global
football stars including Neymar and Thierry Henry, with the theme of
"The Game Before the Game" and the players' pre-game ritual of
listening to music. In Uruguay, Suárez
has also appeared in advertisements for Abitab, Antel, Cablevisión, Garnier, Pepsi and Samsung.
Suárez features in EA Sports' FIFA video game series: as a result of Suárez's
ban for his bite on Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, players in FIFA 15 were unable to
select Suárez until his ban ended on 26 October.
Active on social media, Suárez has over 28 million Instagram
followers,
the most for a person from Uruguay.
Personal life
Suárez was born in Salto, Uruguay, the fourth of seven
boys. His older
brother, Paolo
Suárez,
is also a professional footballer, currently playing for Isidro Metapán in El Salvador.
Suárez moved with his family to Montevideo when he was seven, and his parents
separated when he was nine. In Montevideo, he
developed his football skills on the streets, while also taking
up work as a street sweeper. The contrast
between his life in Europe and the poverty he left behind has been cited as
contributing to his periodic aggression on the field, as well as being a
possible explanation for the more forgiving attitudes of the Uruguayan public
and press towards such cases, compared to Europe.
Mural of Suárez on his
former school in Montevideo, Uruguay
Suárez is of mixed race, with public records
indicating his having a black grandfather. The matter of
ethnicity was raised in reporting on the Patrice
Evra incident,
where use by his grandmother, Lila Piriz, of "mi negrito" as a
sobriquet has been offered to explain Suárez's repeated use of
"negro" over the two-minute altercation; the FA judged his evidence
unreliable en route to issuing him an eight-match ban.
Suárez began dating Sofía
Balbi at age 15 in Montevideo; the Balbi family moved to Barcelona in 2003, and Suárez's
focus on football strengthened as a result as he wanted to follow them to
Europe to join Sofía again. Suárez married her in
2009, and the couple have a daughter named Delfina (born 2010) and two sons
named Benjamin (born 2013) and Lautaro (born 2018). He has a tattoo of his
daughter’s name Delfina on his wrist which he kisses as part of his goal
celebration – this celebration routine is featured in EA Sports’ video
game FIFA
15. On 11 July 2014, Suárez
joined Barcelona, allowing him to live closer with his wife Sofía's family. On
the move, Suárez said, "[Liverpool] did all they could to get me to stay,
but playing and living in Spain, where my wife's family live, is a lifelong
dream and ambition. I believe now the timing is right." In 2014, Suárez
released his autobiography, Crossing the Line – My Story.
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