Luis Suarez

Luis Suarez
Image from: howstuffworks.com

Luis Suarez


Current Club: Barcelona.
Previous Clubs: Liverpool, Ajax, FC Groningen, Nacional.
Loan Clubs: None.


International: Uruguay 95 caps 49 goals.
Trophies Won: Champions League 2014/15, English League Cup 2012, Spanish League Champion 2014/15, 2015/16, Spanish Cup 2016/17, 2015/16, 2014/15, Spanish Super Cup 2016/17, Netherlands Eredivisie Champion 2010/11, Netherlands Cup 2009/10, FIFA Club World Cup winner 2015, Uruguayan League Champion 2005/06, Copa America Winner 2010/11, Golden Boot La Liga 2015/16 (40 goals), Golden Boot Premier League 2013/14 (31 goals), Golden Boot Eredivisie 2009/10 (35 goals), Copa America Player of the Year 2010/11, Eredivisie Player of the Year 2010.

Suarez, he of the vampire bites and handball save on the goalline, however it is easy to see why he has such an extensive trophy collection when you watch him play and forget about all the other stuff. Despite the idiocy he can get involved with, he is arguably the best centre forward currently playing, with only a lack of real pace holding him back. Even that is arguable, as he would not be able to do what he does if he was moving with the pace of a Thierry Henry.

What makes Suarez special as a player, and he is genuinely special, is the little tight turns and the way he can nudge the ball through a gap that simply did not exist, yet somehow he has managed to force the ball through it. It is almost balletic how he twists and turns inside the penalty box, and the theatrical falls he is prone to would look far better on stage. When you first watch him knock the ball off a player and into his path you wonder if he meant to do that or got lucky. After watching him a few times you realise he means it and uses that a lot to completely flummox his markers.



Added to his supreme skill in tight areas his workrate is prodigious, like N'Golo Kante level of constant movement. If you put the Chelsea midfielder and Suarez together as a team they would probably give most 11-a-side teams a good game! Suarez would never allow anyone facing him an easy game, he will always close them down and press from the front. Like Kante, he raises the game of those alongside him, as his example is contagious.

Along with the tight twists and turns, he also has an excellent shot on him, with the ability to put a lot of power in it to catch a keeper out and the skill to hit long range shots, volleys or lobs and hit the target more often than not. There is absolutely no lack of confidence in his play either, even on his off days, when nothing is going right, he never stops trying and is always looking to try something. Suarez will never hide in a match when things are going wrong.

Apart from the playacting and rash moments, there are very few real weaknesses to his game. A lack of aerial threat is probably the only other one, though he is decent with his head, he does not have the height to trouble centre backs nor the ability to make huge leaps or the timing of a Tim Cahill to get on the end of the aerial crosses. Suarez is all about getting the ball to his feet and letting him cause havoc, usually to get a shot off, but he does have the ability and presence of mind to pick out a teammate in better positions.

The term world class is bandied about a lot, but Luis Suarez is one of the few players that pretty much everyone would agree is truly world class as a player. It is just a shame that his idiotic antics ruin his chances of getting the respect his ability deserves.