Up there with the likes of Messi, Ronaldo and Falcao in quality, he is one of the brightest talent ever to have graced modern football. However, poor Luis should be apparent to us for such great reasons, but for the smoke of his attitude befogging his dexterous footballing artistry. He has been unable to keep the fume out of his chimney since it ushered him to public glare in 2005.
After bursting on to the South-American scene for Nacional in the 2005/2006 season, Suarez made his international debut in a world cup qualifier for Uruguay the following year. He failed to score but did make the headlines with an 85th minute sending off after two yellows. A red-mist debut I call it.
Consequent to virtuoso performances, Suarez caught the eye of several leading clubs before Ajax snapped him up on a five-year contract in 2007. That November, Suarez continued to show his combative streak when he and team –mate Albert Luque were fined for a dressing room altercation during half-time against Feyernoord.
In South Africa 2010, Suarez’s handball on the goal-line prevented Ghana’s Dominic Adiyiah from scoring in the last minute of the World cup Semi-final. He was subsequently sent off (his second international dismissal after being shown a red card on his Uruguay debut in February 2007), with Asamaoh Gyan missing the resulting penalty, Suarez celebrated on the sidelines and Uruguay went on to triumph in the shoot-out bringing Suarez in for stinging criticism across the globe.( Doubt he has a Ghanaian fan, the black star team was en-route history lane to become the first African country to ever get through to the World cup semi-final, if Suarez had not blackballed that last minute goal-bound attempt with his last-ditch goalkeeping).
After his World cup horror-heroics, Suarez increased his notoriety that November (2010), earning a seven-game suspension for biting the shoulder of PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal during an Eredivisie clash with Ajax. He was thence christened Suarez the “cannibal of Ajax” by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
Following his move to Liverpool in January 2011, he was entwined in a tackle with then Everton player Jack Rodwell and went down with apparent minimal contact, leading to the sending off of Rodwell. More controversy as the Liverpool striker is accused of a “nice dive” by West Brom’s Pau, Scharner after being challenged by Jerome Thomas at the Hawthorns in October 2011. Charlie Adam converted the penalty in a 2-0 win, while Scharner tagged Suarez as one “of the best in the world at winning penalties”. Still in October 2011, subsequent to a month-long investigation, Suarez was charged for racially abusing Manchester United defender, Patrice Evra. The Frenchman made the claims immediately after the match at Anfield, alleging Suarez had used a racist insult on him ‘at least 10 times’ during the game. Suarez was banned for eight matches and fined £40000. Another league game, another bout in the bowl, like Suarez never gets tired of hurling pebbles in his glass house, he was seen making an offensive gesture at supporters after Liverpool’s defeat to Fulham. The Uruguayan had been taunted by home fans after referee Kevin Friend did not award him a penalty when he went over after a challenge by Brede Hangeland in the second half. At this time, although not yet penalized, Suarez had already been charged by the football association over the Evra incident, he was handed a further one-match ban for the gesture.
United and Liverpool matched again at Old Trafford (later in February 2012), but more contention ensued as Suarez refused to handshake Evra before kick off.
In October 2012, Suarez ducked for the dramatic as he celebrated a goal in the Merseyside derby by diving in front of then Everton manager, David Moyes, who had earlier claimed that “divers such as Suarez are putting fans off the English game”.
Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers felt the onus was not on Suarez to own up to the handball that helped Liverpool reach the FA cup fourth round at the expense of minnows Mansfield. But Suarez could have followed a different path and live to the herald of a hero if he had acknowledged fault after using his right wrist to beat the ball down over the line and celebrating Liverpool’s second.
During a World cup qualifier for Uruguay in March, Suarez appeared to punch Chilean defender, Gonzalo Jara after tussling with him. Although the referee failed to see the incident, with FIFA launching an investigation, a retrospective punishment is impending for the karate kid.
And now at a time when the English Premier League winds up and the stage curtain drops on its eye-catching theatrics, Suarez says it is not over, and pulls a bizarre Dracula of an act. A flick of on-pitch cannibalism. During Liverpool’s premier league game against Chelsea at Anfield in April, Suarez scuffled with Branislav Ivanovic in the box and either misplaced his temper or of a sudden realized he was very hungry, before apparently taking a bite out of the Serbian defender, whom he mistook for a giant pizza. The Uruguayan escaped without punishment from the referee, but has been handed a 10-game ban that will extend six games into next season, for his inability to control his on-pitch appetite.
Although the reaction from Anfield was swift and serious, Liverpool’s determination to retain their prize asset at all costs undermines their condemnation of his actions. Luis Suarez’s time at Anfield has been beset by controversy but he remains Liverpool’s only world class forward (first Liverpool player to score 30 goals in a season since Fernando Torres), so expect to see him munch on some more pounds of flesh next season, because the “cannibal of Ajax” has resurrected in Merseyside.
No comments:
Post a Comment