Suárez Luis - Luis Suarez : the biography of the worlds most controversial footballer

W hen I was asked to put together a biography on Luis Suarez, I said yes immediately. It was a chance to dig deep and find out what motivates a world-class player. To learn about his background, his hinterland and exactly what formed and moulded him as a footballer and a person. The weeks of research and interviews proved more than worthwhile when I finally got around to writing the book. For what I realised a couple of weeks in was this: not only was I compiling a biography on Liverpools best player of the modern era but I was also compiling a biography on a man who is arguably THE best player of the modern era.

And, beyond that, arguably Liverpools best player ever (along with the legendary Kenny Dalglish) and arguably the best foreign player ever to grace these shores (along with Cristiano Ronaldo) and arguably the best striker in the world right now, given that Ronaldo and Messi play more between the lines than Suarez.

So what initially had been a simple commission eventually became a privilege as it struck me that I was doing the first biog ever on a man who can conceivably stake the claims above; that I was looking between the lines at the life of the best footballer in the world right now and the man who had won both of the Footballer of the Year awards for 201314.

Of course, given his nature and controversies, Luis Suarez will always polarise opinions among everyone who loves the beautiful game fans, fellow pros, managers and even football-club chairmen. Steve Bruce, the much-travelled manager of Hull City, for example, agrees wholeheartedly with me that Luis is the best striker in the world.

As this book went to the printers in the summer of 2014, Bruce said,

Never mind Luis being the Premier Leagues top player. On current form, hes got to be the best in the world. There is just nobody around who you can say is better than him right now. Neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor the Barcelona trio of Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Neymar and Lionel Messi cant come into the equation because hes been out injured so long.

OK, weve all done stupid things on the pitch and Suarez has had his moments. But he has cleaned up his act over the first half of this season.

Luiss Uruguayan co-striker Edinson Cavani agreed with Bruce that Luis was the best in the world and added that he believed England and the strikers constant critics would suffer as a result when the nations met in competitive action. Cavani said, Luis Suarez is very familiar with this England team and his experience in the Premier League will help us beat them. He has nothing to prove to anyone but for what the English media have inflicted, we look forward to silencing his critics. For me he is the best striker in the world right now and Im sure he will retain his present form to the World Cup. How right Cavani would be proved about that as Suarez returned to haunt them in June 2014 with that brilliant brace in the World Cup group stage.

And Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers also felt the need to defend his star man when Luis came under criticism every week over alleged diving and bad sportsmanship. Rodgers was particularly aggrieved when Suarez was singled out after HE was the victim of a Robert Huth stamp in a 00 draw with Stoke City.

Rodgers said,

As manager of this football club, I find it incredible that in nearly all the coverage about Luis Suarez this weekend, very little focus has been placed on the fact that he was actually the victim of a stamping incident within the first five minutes of the game.

At this moment there seems to be one set of rules for Luis and another set for everyone else. Diving and simulation is obviously a wider issue in football and one that we all agree has to be eradicated from our game but there were other incidents this weekend that didnt seem to generate the same coverage. No one should be distracted by the real issue here, both at Anfield and at another game played on Sunday, when Luis and another player were hurt in off-the-ball incidents that went unpunished but were caught on TV cameras.

I believe some people need to develop a sense of perspective and I also believe in this moment the vilification of Luis is both wrong and unfair. I will continue to protect the values, spirit and people of this great club and game while searching for a consistent level of results in order to make progress on the field.

Yet on the other side of the coin, many others considered Luiss temperament held him back; that his unpredictability and tendency to fly off the handle at other players diminished him. I can understand that view when you look back at his Cannibal interludes in Amsterdam and with Chelseas Branislav Ivanovic and, of course, that self-destructive chomp on Italys Giorgio Chiellini in the 2014 World Cup. And his disciplinary record over the years has hardly been that of a model pro.

Oldham boss Lee Johnson called Luis a dirty rat and horrible before the Latics met Liverpool in an FA Cup class earlier in 2014. It was an insult but a view held by many pundits and fans who still find it hard to forgive Suarez for his indiscretions. However, even Johnson qualified his comment by making it clear that he also knew Luis to be world class and a star act.

Johnson had formed his view after turning out as a player for his former club Bristol City in a friendly against Luis when he was at Ajax Amsterdam in 2009. Johnson said, Hes like a dirty street rat and I mean that in the best possible way. Hes sharp and horrible all that is in admiration for him because hes a winner. He has that desire to be better today than he was yesterday. I played against Suarez for Bristol City and I failed miserably he scored. I remember asking, Who was that lad up front? He wasnt well known then. I was like, Who on earth is that? I was meant to stop the ball up to him but you just cant. Sometimes players are just too good.

And Swansea City defender Ashley Williams went so far as to admit that he despised Luis and would like to knock him out. Williams said, Suarez dived more than any other player Ive played against before it was so bad I was genuinely shocked. Throughout the game, he just dived down and screamed at any given moment. Suarez has that aura about him that says Im untouchable and his manner and behaviour made me want to knock him out. Id go as far as to say that the manner in which he approached the game, with utter contempt for us all, means that hes streets ahead of any player Ive truly disliked since Ive been in the Premier League.

Strong stuff but criticisms Luis would rebuff in the best way possible by giving weekly masterclasses in goal scoring and model behaviour during the 201314 season. In that superb campaign as he proved week in and week out that he was simply the best player in the Premier League Luis Suarez will be best remembered for his classy play, his incredible wealth of goals and the way he almost single-handedly propelled Liverpool to their finest season for many a year.

It is certainly true that, if you took away Luiss goals and contributions, Liverpool would not have done as well as they have. They are not a one-man team what with Gerrard, Sturridge and Coutinho but they would also not be the same team if they lost the services of Suarez. He is a genius and deserved every accolade that came his way over the last season.