Song after song has been invented by Kopites. Liverpool’s anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is spine tingling; ‘The Fields of Anfield Road’ recounts the Reds storied history while impromptu chants such as ‘Steve Bruce, He’s got a big fat head’ reflect the characteristic scouse humour and quick wit. The Kop’s latest hit, based on the song by Depeche Mode entitled ‘Just can’t get enough’, perfectly sums up the supporters’ thirst to see more of new signing Luis Suarez’s silky skills.
The Uruguayan’s arrival from Dutch giants Ajax for what, for a few hours at least, was a club record fee of approximately £23 million, was overshadowed by the sale of Fernando Torres to Chelsea for a ludicrous £50 million and the current club record purchase of Andy Carroll from Newcastle United for £35 million. Suarez has stepped out of their shadow though and emerged as by far the best signing of the three.
Suarez attracted the interest of Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish and Director of Football Damien Comolli after netting a notable three goals in six matches at the 2010 World Cup, as he formed a potent attack alongside Diego Forlan, helping Uruguyuay to overachieve and finish fourth at the summer tournament in South Africa. He also received negative press and a tarnished reputation though after deliberately handling on the line against Ghana in the quarterfinals. Some labelled him an outright cheat; others defended him claiming he instinctively acted in his country’s best interest, just like any other patriotic international player would in the same situation.
The furore surrounding the handball incident probably discouraged many of the top sides that were reportedly interested in the 24-year old striker from bidding for his services. Liverpool exploited their reluctance and engaged Ajax in a long-winded bidding process. After protracted negotiations Suarez signed on the dotted line this January and hasn’t looked back since. Undoubtedly the King’s stand-out signing, Suarez hit the ground running, netting on his debut at home to Stoke and seemingly enjoying the cut and thrust of the Premier League immediately, unlike many other foreign signings who almost inevitably endure a difficult spell where they struggle to adapt to the physical nature of English football’s top division.
His absorbing attacking ability won the praise of the Kop and quickly banished memories of Fernando Torres, who has since become an object of ridicule amongst Reds fans following the laughably abysmal start to his Stamford Bridge career. For all his goalscoring credentials, it is somewhat ironic that Suarez is best remembered for one particular moment in the 2010-2011 season where he set up a goal, rather than netting himself. Suarez splendidly slalomed into the box, skipped past several United defenders and rolled the ball across the goal line for Kuyt to simply tap home from literally yards out.
It was world class, top quality play from Suarez, emulating his fellow South American Diego Maradona in terms of audacity to attempt such a feat and ability to pull it off so successfully. Maradona was arguably the best player ever to grace the beautiful game and, although I usually guard against bold predictions, Suarez could be of a similar quality if he maintains his current form and avoids the pitfalls of drugs and booze, which Maradona sadly fell into.
After an exciting start to life at Liverpool, Suarez featured prominently in Uruguyuay’s Copa America triumph this summer. As well as contributing to a record 15th Copa America win for Uruguyuay; Suarez received recognition for his individual displays. Not only did he find the back of the net four times, he was named Player of the tournament and would have claimed the golden boot but for Peruvian striker Pablo Guerrero’s hat-trick in the inconsequential third-place play off, which included two goals in the final two minutes.
Although Liverpool supporters were obviously delighted for Suarez and relishing the prospect of seeing him return to torment opposition defences this season, many worried that he would suffer from exhaustion in the early stages of the campaign and burnout later on. After arriving back in late July and with the new season kicking off in mid-August, Suarez was granted precious little time to complete pre-season training and was not afforded the luxury of time to rest and recuperate.
Nevertheless, the optimism generated by winning a major trophy with his national team, coupled favourably with his boundless enthusiasm and love for the game, saw Suarez transfer seamlessly back into club football. Against Sunderland on the first day of the season he missed an early penalty but picked himself up to score our opening goal only minutes later. He followed that up with a late sealer at Arsenal, another goal in Exeter and a beautiful cross with the outside of his right foot in the build-up to Henderson’s opening goal at home to Bolton. Further strikes against Wolverhampton Wanderers and in the Merseyside derby extended his scintillating start to the season, before a world class curled effort after a cheeky nut-meg and a clinically converted header in the Carling Cup clash with Stoke City demonstrated yet again Suarez’s immense ability.
For all his talent, hard work and dedication though, Suarez provokes the fury of opposition supporters almost as much as he garners praise from his own fans. He is seen as a typical foreign footballer- all too willing to dive, try to con the referee and unfairly disadvantage the Reds’ opponents. The classic example of this came at the World Cup of course (as I mentioned previously) however in the derby as well his overreaction to Rodwell’s challenge contributed to the Toffees’ midfielder harshly seeing red for a largely innocuous tackle. West Brom's Paul Scharner also claimed rather comically (and nonsensically) that 1500 penalties would be given every match if referees pointed to the spot for incidents like Suarez's against the Baggies.
More seriously, Suarez was accused of racially abusing Patrice Evra during Liverpool’s recent 1-1 draw with Manchester United and the FA are currently conducting an investigation into the alleged incident. Although Suarez strenuously denies any wrongdoing and has received the full backing of the club and manager Kenny Dalglish, he incontrovertibly courts controversy, which is perhaps an element of his character that he needs to modify.
Nonetheless, Suarez is an exceptional talent and has added immeasurably to our attack. Moreover, he is beginning to form a promising relationship with Andy Carroll, which will hopefully prove as profitable as his partnership with Diego Forlan on the international stage. However if we fail to finish in the top four this season then I would not at all be surprised to see one of the two Spanish giants offer silly money for him and add him to their vast array of striking talent. Liverpool must keep improving to keep up with their rivals and the expectations of elite level European football from their star players.
On the other hand, Suarez has been regularly compared to the former incumbent of his illustrious number seven shirt, current club manager Kenny Dalglish and, if he has the same loyalty to the club as the legendary Scot then he should stay on at Anfield and claim a place in Kopite folklore.
One thing is for sure though; Liverpool supporters simply cannot get enough of Luis Suarez.
YNWA
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