A lot of attention has come the way of Luis Suárez since his move to the Premier League in January 2011, some good, some bad. Regardless of what your feelings are for the Liverpool Striker one thing is clear, he makes headlines and sells papers.
But if Suárez were to call time on his career today, what would our overriding memory be of the Uruguayan? Super talented footballer? Or frustrating troublemaker?
First, the negatives, the incidents and actions that have seen Suárez become a popular topic of discussion but for all the wrong reasons.
Even though he strongly denied it, the fact remains that Suárez received an 8 match ban and £40,000 fine for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra. An incident that catapulted the issue of racism within football directly into the public eye and saw Luis Suárez sit right at the forefront of it. Whether you feel he deserved the attention or was merely used as a scapegoat, it’s clear that his name has become synonymous with the issue.
Articles, panel shows, any kind of discussion at all on racism within football would be accompanied by a picture of Luis Suárez. But it wasn’t just the individual who suffered. Liverpool FC, by association, were thrown into their own race row.
Their manager was quizzed in the press, the players were questioned, the club was frequently asked about their stance on the matter and put in the unenviable position of having to condemn one of their own or support a player linked with such a spiky issue. Liverpool were in a position that they couldn’t win from, and they didn’t.
Suárez’s refusal to shake Patrice Evra’s hand added fuel to the story when it could have been dying down. The club had been dragged through the mud due to the actions of their star striker and must have been looking forward to seeing the back of this seemingly ever present news story. But just as Suárez’s name seems to be leaving the racism debate it has been put at the forefront of another negative, diving.
Suárez’s game has come under the microscope like never before. Almost every time he is tackled we are shown countless replays, charged with the question of ‘was it a foul or was it a dive’? It seems that more often than not the video evidence has supported the fact that he does go to ground a little easy.
While it is somewhat true that you don’t get given a free kick or penalty if you remain on your feet, it’s also fair to say that Suárez hasn’t helped his ailing reputation with what can be nicely described as gamesmanship or harshly described as cheating. The tags of racist or diver aren’t exactly medals of honour in the football world, particularly in this country.
But, finally, let us talk about Luis Suárez, the player. Anyone who has seen Suárez score his hat-trick against Norwich earlier in the season or his phenomenal equaliser against Newcastle United at the weekend knows exactly what the Uruguayan is capable of. A popular argument is that his goal scoring record isn’t quite as good as you would expect from a player of his class but the excitement he provides when on the ball is equalled by a few but surpassed by no one.
There is also cause to suggest that Suárez may not be the reprehensible human being he is portrayed as. He took a lot of criticism for refusing to shake the hand of Patrice Evra when the two next met after the alleged and aforementioned racist abuse. But criticism of Suárez in this instance could have been unfair, would you shake the hand of someone who was accusing you of something that you were sure you didn’t do?
With the relationship between Suárez and Evra being what it is, Suárez still put that to one side to shake Evra’s hand at Anfield in the wake of the recent Hillsborough announcements. A day when the usual animosity between United and Liverpool needed to be put on the back burner as respect was now called for, Suárez and Evra set the tone nicely.
Plus, who didn’t enjoy the goal celebration Suárez provided in the recent Merseyside derby. Flamboyantly diving in front of the Everton bench after criticism he’d received from the blue half of the city. Pure entertainment, even David Moyes had a wry smile when talking about it in his post-match interview. This celebration was pretty well received in 1994 when Jürgen Klinsmann did it, why not again now?
How all of the above affects you is your decision. His skill is undeniable, but whether you feel that that is dwarfed by the baggage he comes with is down to you.
In an ideal world this discussion wouldn’t be taking place and we wouldn’t be deciding whether Suárez’s talent is worth the trouble he causes. Instead we would simply be marvelling at a truly gifted footballer.