The curious case Of Luis Suarez

Luis Suarez celebrating a Goal
Luis Suarez celebrating a Goal for Barcelona

The Summer of 2014 will always be remembered as one of the most famous transfer windows in the history of FC Barcelona. On 11 July 2014, Barcelona reached an agreement with Liverpool for the transfer of Luis Suarez to Catalonia.

Football fans around the world knew that they were in for a treat as arguably the most fearsome front three in the world was born: the MSN. Arguably, the best three forwards, with the South American flair were playing together.

One Of the Greatest Footballer in the world, the Heir to the throne and the most lethal striker in the world at that moment, all playing under the bright lights at the hallowed turf of the Nou Camp; La Liga was going to get a brand new commodity.

Of course, Suarez wouldn't get his opportunity to make his debut until the El Clasico on 25th October at the Santiago Bernabeu due to his 4-month ban for biting Chiellini at the World Cup in Brazil.

Suarez started off slow as expected, due to the difference in the style of play at Barcelona compared to that at Liverpool. His first Barcelona goal came away at APOEL in the Champions League and his first league goal came at home in a 5-0 win against Cordoba.

There was still a lot left to be desired. The trio were playing together and grinding out results, but the smooth play and flair was still missing. All of you will remember the Anoeta game that almost brought Luis Enrique to the brink of sacking.

The following game against Atletico Madrid had become a must-win scenario for the club. What followed was the stuff of legends. The MSN all scoring a goal each. It was in the 86th minute that Messi scored the winning goal to make it 3-1 and the below sight of watching that front three celebrate together was etched into every football fan's mind.

The MSN. Nuff Said!!
The MSN. Nuff Said!!

What followed was a barrage of goals: left, right and centre, as the three combined to score a mammoth 122 goals amongst them that season en route to Barcelona completing a historic second Treble.

The three would go on to score goals for fun. The happy days at Barcelona continued until last summer when Neymar decided to swap the Red and Blue of Barcelona for the colours of the French giants PSG. While Messi continued on his merry path, Luis Suarez looked to be the one affected the most.

In the last two seasons for Barcelona, he has played a total of 51 games in each season, scoring 37(16/17 season) and 31(17/18 season) goals respectively. Now those are some pretty good numbers for a striker. His contribution in the big games though has been left wanting, especially in the Champions league where his numbers seem to have dried up.

This season's story has started in a similar fashion to last year's. He only started gaining steam from mid-September as he helped Barcelona to an almost undefeated streak in La Liga. This year though his worries look to be more concerning owing to the fact that he is the only recognised striker left in the squad.

Paco Alcacer has been loaned out to Borussia Dortmund leaving Munir as his only understudy. While Barcelona has won all their games till date since the beginning of the season, Suarez has failed to impress a lot of people around the world. A busy summer with Uruguay at the World Cup in Russia didn't help his cause either.

For Uruguay though, he seems a totally different player, it's his club performances that need improvement. While none can question his work rate as he still runs and chases every lose ball like a dog running behind cars, his primary role as the striker is to score goals.

His passing has been wayward as well, as he looks to slow down promising buildups. Valverde too has been reluctant to substitute him during the games, wanting him to have the maximum chance of getting that elusive goal to help kickstart his campaign and that's understandable. But there is a downside to the same.

Suarez's struggles only seem to add more pressure on Messi
Suarez's struggles only seem to add more pressure on Messi

His poor form in front of goal only adds more pressure on Messi's shoulders, though that seems to reduce a little as Dembele has been chipping with the odd goal along with Coutinho.

Being the only recognised striker left in the team, he needs to find his mojo back not just to help himself but the team as well. The Game against Huesca provides him with a wonderful opportunity to get his season started. With all due respect to Huesca and their incredible start to the campaign, they do not pose much of a threat to Barcelona and this game could be the perfect stage for Suarez to start firing.

Valverde can look to start with Suarez and then sub him around the 60-65 minute mark so that the likes of Malcom and Munir can get their minutes along with providing a rest to the star striker.

" If you cage the beast, the beast will get angry"

There is no arguing the fact that Luis Suarez still remains one of the most talented and lethal strikers out there. He still remains a loved figure around the Nou Camp and everyone's hoping he unleashes the Beast that the Barcelona faithful have grown accustomed to.

The fans will always be supportive of him and that's one less thing he will have to worry about as he looks to get rid of his early days' struggles. His form will be crucial to Barcelona's chances of success this year not just domestically but continentally as well as Valverde's men will be itching to get the Champions League trophy back to the Nou Camp after watching their hated rivals win it three times in a row.

"In El Pistolero We Trust".

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Edited by Debjyoti Samanta