Player of the Week - Luis Suárez

A Miracle!

At the end of May, Luis Suárez was in a wheelchair after suffering a knee injury when training with his Uruguay teammates. Many believed that Suárez's World Cup dream was over and he wouldn't recover in time to play in Brazil. But Suarez made a fast recovery and, after missing Uruguay's surprise 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica, he was ready to play against England and his Liverpool teammates; Gerrard, Sturridge, Johnson, Sterling and Henderson. Suárez made a fantastic comeback and scored 2 goals to eliminate England from the World Cup and set up a winner-takes-all match against Italy, for a place in the knockout stages of Brazil 2014.

How was the 2013/14 Premier League season for Luis Suárez?

Suárez missed the first 6 games of the season because of suspension, but for the rest of the 2013/14 season, Suárez was sensational. He scored 31 Premier League goals and was the Premier League's top scorer. He also formed a fantastic partnership with Daniel Sturridge and they scored over 50 Premier League goals, to become one of the highest scoring strike pairs in Premier League history. Suárez also won the Premier League Player of the Year award after a fantastic season with Liverpool. He became the first Liverpool player to score more than 30 goals in a season since Ian Rush, in 1985-86.

What do we know about Luis Suárez?

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz was born in Salto, Uruguay, on 24 January 1987. His mother had to bring up Luis and his six brothers on her own after his parents separated. “I had a really hard time growing up,” he says. “As you can imagine, coming from a large family, we didn’t have many resources at home.” Football was an escape: “I started playing when I was very young, and by the age of four I could run faster with the ball than without it.” When he was 11, he was invited to a national youth training camp but could not attend: “All my dreams had come true but it was too expensive – I didn’t even have enough money to buy a pair of boots.”

Who has Suárez played for?

He began his senior career in 2005, with Uruguayan club Nacional, scoring 10 goals in 27 games. In 2006, he moved to Europe to represent Dutch club Groningen, where again he scored 10 goals, this time in 29 games. Ajax saw his potential and signed him in 2007. He spent four years with the Dutch giants and was named the Dutch league’s Player of the Year for 2009/10 after scoring 35 goals in 33 league games, 49 in all competitions. Liverpool paid almost £23m to bring him to England in January 2011.

Why did Suárez want to move to Europe?

Suárez’s 12 goals in 29 games helped his first club, Nacional, to win the 2005/06 Uruguayan title. But there was a problem: his girlfriend (now wife) was thousands of miles away in Barcelona. “My happiness [after winning the title] was not complete. Sofia and I had to continue a long distance relationship for a year. The only thing I thought about was being by her side again. That’s how my European adventure started; when I got a call to play in Europe, I didn’t think twice. I went to play for Groningen in the Netherlands when I was only 19, but I had the girl of my life, Sofia, back next to me.”

What has Suárez achieved with Uruguay?

Luis Suárez made his senior debut for the Uruguay national team in February 2007 – he was sent off in the 3–1 win against Colombia. At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he was named Man of the Match twice (against Mexico and South Korea), with Uruguay reaching the semi-finals. He scored in the Final of the Copa America in 2011, as Uruguay beat Peru 3-0 to win a record 15th title. And his 11 goals made him top scorer in the South American section of qualification for the 2014 World Cup, which Uruguay reached by beating Jordan 5–0 in the play-off. Uruguay have won the World Cup twice, including the very first one, held in Uruguay in 1930.

Can Suárez help Uruguay get the victory they need against Italy?

What did you understand?

Did you know......?

• Suárez's nickname is 'El Pistolero' which translates to 'The Gunfighter'.
• Suárez's daughter is called Delfina, which is an anagram of Anfield!
• There is a Liverpool FC that play in Montevideo, Uruguay. They play in Uruguay's top division.
• Suárez has scored some fantastic goals this season. One of Suárez's best goals was against Norwich City in December 2013 when he scored from nearly 40 metres!
• In May 2014, Suárez was ranked as 'Europe's most influential player', ahead of Messi, Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic.