Luis Suarez – What's next for him?

In the possible (and likely) scenario of Suarez of having to stay on at Liverpool, it’ll be imperative for the player to mend his relationship with the club and its fans. He had become a fan favourite after scoring on his debut for the club in February 2011, and ended last season as the club’s top player scoring 30 goals in all competitions. He miffed everyone at the club with his regular courting of Real Madrid, but was given a very warm welcome by the Kop in Steven Gerrard’s testimonial game. However it seemed that he was intent on burning his bridges at the club, when he chose to go public with his desire to join Arsenal. Getting the Gunners to bid the infamous £40,000,001 offer was clearly a poorly advised step by Suarez.

Brendan Rodgers (L) and Luis Suarez

By separating Suarez away from the rest of the team, Liverpool have sent out a strong message to the player that his antics won’t be tolerated at the club, however talented a player he may be. If Suarez was to stay on at Liverpool, his ban in the first 6 matches of the season might prove to be a blessing-in-disguise for the Reds, as it will give them time to let things cool down with the player away from the game for a while, and the team can focus solely on playing football.

Suarez will be aware that with the World Cup following the 2013-14 season, it’s important for him to be playing regularly to ensure a spot in the Uruguay first XI. Also, he’s someone who loves playing football, and won’t want to stay away from the game. Hence, he will realize that if he has to stay at Liverpool, he needs to undo the damage that he’s done with his recent comments to reclaim his spot in the Liverpool first XI.

How can Suarez win back his spot in the Liverpool team? For starters, he will have to follow Rodgers’s advice of apologising for his actions, and show good attitude and intensity in training, before having any hopes of being reunited with the rest of the squad.

With Liverpool likely to play a front three of Iago Aspas, Phillipe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge in the absence of Suarez in the first six games, if the trio manages to impress and Liverpool start the season well, there’s no guarantee that Suarez will be able to walk back straight into the starting XI. As seen in the past, Rodgers will not be a pushover in team matters and will select his playing XI purely on form and merit.

A mixture of good attitude, hard work, and an acceptance of challenge will go a long way in helping Suarez win back the confidence of the manager and the fans, and reclaim his starting XI spot. In their bid to get back to playing Champions League football, Liverpool need to retain their best players and Suarez is most certainly one of them.

If Suarez does go on to help Liverpool to achieve their objective of a top four finish, and maybe some silverware along with it, his behaviour issues, as well as the transfer saga, might well be forgiven, if not forgotten by the Kop faithful.