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It was a rocky marriage, but the memories are poignant.
That would be an apt way to describe Luis Suarez’s three and a half year stay at Liverpool, which ended today when he officially joined Barcelona. A stay during which he came to be respected as one of world football’s great talents. A stay during which people bowed down to his magic. But also a stay when he enhanced his reputation as one of world football’s most notorious.
A brilliant career at Liverpool
135 direct goal contributions in 133 appearances. Luis Suarez – if one had to decribe him in one word – is insane. Insane in every sense of the word. Insanely talented. Insanely skillful, and also plain insane.
A journey that started with a goal against Stoke City on debut ended with a season where he scored 31 goals, provided 11 assists, and got Liverpool back to, according to their fans, where they belong. Luis Suarez has been the single biggest reason why those magical Champions League nights and that spine-tingling Champions League anthem will be back at Anfield next season.
The memories that Suarez leaves Liverpool fans with will live long in our memory. Right from the magical mazy run against Manchester United, to the goal from half-way against Norwich, to the hat-trick at Anfield against Norwich last season; these are just some memories that will stand out. For me, every time Luis Suarez touched that football in the red of Liverpool, it has been a memory to live and relive.
Never before had the Premier League seen such desire and skill in one player. Suarez was already a phenomenon in the Netherlands when he joined Liverpool, and his stay in arguably the most popular league in the world has made Suarez a worldwide phenomenon.
His growth under Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers
Under Kenny Dalglish, who signed him for Liverpool, Suarez was a mercurial frontman capable of creating goals aplenty, but his finishing left much to be desired. Under Brendan Rodgers, in 81 games, Suarez scored 61 goals in all competitions and assisted a further 16. The numbers tell their own tale. Luis Suarez was directly involved in more than goal a match, on an average.
Probably Suarez’s best time in a red shirt came after January 2013, coinciding with the arrivals of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho. Sturridge and Coutinho ensured that Suarez remained the focal point of Liverpool’s play, but they took the pressure of the Uruguayan in such a way that he could express himself. A way that Suarez knows best.
I can safely say the Premier League will miss those nutmegs. Maybe not the defenders from the 19 other clubs who will be thanking the heavens for not having the dreaded prospect of facing this genius week in week out.
But Suarez is not all about his skill with the ball at his feet. He is tenacious. He is plucky. He is gritty. He is as determined a footballer as one will come across. Attributes that can be put down to his uncertain childhood, when he played football on the streets of Montevideo uncertain of whether he would have food waiting for him when he went back home.
He would chase down balls in second half injury time with the same intensity as he did in the first minute of the game. He would constantly harangue defenders, and harass them into making mistakes. Luis Suarez was a phenomenon that Liverpool FC will find very, very hard to replace.
A perfect alliance, almost
Suarez’s with Liverpool was almost the perfect marriage.
And that is the sad part. That I had to use the word ‘almost’. Suarez has been in a fair share of controversies. Right from allegedly racially abusing Patrice Evra, to biting Branislav Ivanovic’s arm, his time in a LIverpool shirt was not very smooth. Just when everyone thought he had calmed down, after a brilliant last season, he went and did what he did at the World Cup, when he bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini.
Maybe that was the last nail in the coffin. Maybe, that was when Brendan Rodgers and his lieutenants decided that no single player is bigger than Liverpool FC, and that Suarez could be cashed in on.
But, those blemishes, as big as they were, aside, Luis Suarez was a delight to watch. His wife’s family lives in Spain, and a move there was always around the corner, but he leaves the Premier League as among the greatest ever strikers to have graced it
Thank You, Luis Suarez. You were a villain. But you were our villain. You’ll Never, Ever, Walk Alone.
