Luis Suarez: Undoubtedly the best striker in the world
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Published 20/10/2016 at 16:09 GMT
Lionel Messi may not have wanted Luis Suarez at Barcelona, but the street-smart star has used all of his nous to emerge as the world’s finest striker, writes Pete Jenson.
Barcelona's striker Luis Suarez, his daughter Delfina and son Benjamin, pose with his 2016 European Golden Shoe soccer trophy, which is awarded to the top goalscorer in Europe's domestic leagues, during an awards ceremony in Barcelona
Image credit: Reuters
It’s one thing being the best centre-forward at Valencia, Arsenal or Milan, another thing entirely doing it at Barcelona where Leo Messi scores a goal a game. Just ask David Villa, Thierry Henry or Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
When Luis Suarez took his place on the stage to collect the Golden Shoe for the 2015-16 season on Thursday in Barcelona, it was a reminder of what he has achieved at the club he joined two years ago. Nobody could have imagined it would go so well.
“I just came here with the idea of winning trophies with the team,” he said as he collected the award he also picked up in 2014 for the goals he scored at Liverpool.
When he started slowly after his delayed debut for Barcelona after the Fifa ban following his bite on Georgio Chiellini, there were murmurs and doubts. The player himself accepted privately that just as Villa, Henry and Ibrahimovic had scored less for Barcelona than they had previously for Valencia, Arsenal and Milan, so he would inevitably not be as prolific as he had been at Liverpool.
But Suarez is street smart. He’s street smart enough to know that you don’t have to be employee of the week, just as long as you get along with the boss. The boss at Barcelona is Lionel Messi and, despite suggestions that Messi had requested the club sign his Argentine team-mate Sergio Aguero, Messi soon hit it off with Suarez.
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Barcelona's Neymar celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi
Image credit: Reuters
They connected off the pitch and more importantly on it where Barcelona's most important player immediately realised that he was going to benefit hugely from Suarez’s work-rate, his running, and his willingness to be the battering-ram centre-forward and allow Messi to operate in the space he creates.
It was Messi who told Suarez to move into his central striking position during one game as he trotted out to the right side of Barcelona front three. The two never did swap back and Suarez has paid Messi back in assists and game-winning goals ever since.
He paid tribute to Messi’s part in his second Golden Boot and admitted that there had been questions to answer last night when he got home from the 4-0 win over Manchester City. “Why didn’t you score?” asked his young son and daughter who were both on the stage as their dad was honoured.
“It doesn’t matter. We won 4-0 and Messi scored a hat-trick,” he told them. Messi was also at the event honouring a player who has proved that playing alongside the Argentine and out-scoring him is not impossible.
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Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi celebrates with Luis Suarez during their Champions League clash against Manchester City at the Camp Nou
Image credit: AFP
Henry and Villa did not manage that in their spells at the club as both played wide to accommodate Messi. Only for Suarez has the world’s greatest player literally stepped aside. Henry and Villa still managed to make a success of their move to Barcelona and both ended up winning the Champions League.
Things did not turn out so well for Ibrahimovic who was never going to play wider and who Pep Guardiola failed to convince he could become anything other than the brilliant but ultimately very static centre-forward he had always been.
Suarez has been willing to run, he was also willing to change, and he has then made the most of Messi telling him: “You know what Luis? You should play through the middle.”
Right now, I just want to enjoy every minute, Suarez said last season. I never imagined I would be playing with these players in the best team in the world.
He is, and as Thursday’s award ceremony reminded everyone, he has become the best centre-forward in the world in the process.
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