Luis Alberto Suárez

Luis Suárez

Personal information
Full name	Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz
Date of birth	24 January 1987 (1987-01-24) (age 24)
Place of birth	Salto, Uruguay
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Ajax
Number	16
Youth career
2003–2005	Nacional
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2006	Nacional	29	(12)
2006–2007	Groningen	29	(10)
2007–	Ajax	99	(78)
National team‡
2007–	Uruguay[2]	36	(13)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:07, 29 August 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:30, 10 July 2010 (UTC)

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (born 24 January 1987 in Salto) is a Uruguayan footballer who currently plays as a striker for AFC Ajax, where he is the club's captain. Since 2007, Suárez has also played for the Uruguayan national team.

Having grown up in Salto alongside six siblings, with a single mother, he was a troublesome teenager, being involved with partying at a young age before his mentor gave him an ultimatum, which forced Suárez to choose a life in football.^[3] In 2005, he began professional career at Montevideo side Nacional. On 5 August 2010, Suárez became a father, with his wife bearing a baby daughter named Delfina in Barcelona.^[4] His older brother Paolo Suárez is also a professional football player.

He moved to the Netherlands with Eredivisie side Groningen in 2006 at the age of 19, before transferring to Ajax in 2007. He made a major impact at the Amsterdam club as a supporting striker with the main striker initially being Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, then Marko Pantelić, and later Mounir El Hamdaoui. Following the arrival of manager Martin Jol at Ajax in 2009, Suárez was made the club captain following the departure of Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal.

In 2010, Suárez was named Dutch Footballer of the Year, having ended the season as top scorer in the Eredivisie with 35 goals in 33 league matches (49 goals in all competitions). Also in 2010, Suárez became a member of the select group of players having scored more than 100 goals for Ajax in competitive matches, joining players like Johann Cruyff, Marco van Basten, and Dennis Bergkamp.^[5]

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Suárez was an integral part of the Uruguayan team that reached the semi-final, forming a formidable partnership with Diego Forlán, scoring three goals, before eventually losing to the Netherlands (Suárez was suspended for the semi-final against Holland). He gained notoriety during the quarter final match against Ghana, where he handled the ball on the line in the last minute of extra-time and prevented a goal by Ghana that would have won them the game.^[6]

Club career

Early career

In Uruguay, Suárez played for Nacional. During his time with the Uruguayan club, he won the national championship with the club in 2006, scoring 12 goals in 29 appearances.^[7]

Groningen

Suárez with Groningen.

After that successful season, Groningen purchased him for approximately € 800,000. During his first season in Europe, Suárez performed well at Groningen, scoring 10 goals in 29 appearances.^[7] His impressive play attracted the attention of other European clubs and, following the season, he was sold to Ajax for €7.5 million on 9 August 2007.^[8]

Ajax

The transfer initially seemed doomed when Suárez lost his case before the Dutch Football Association's arbitration committee.^[9] That same day, however, Ajax informed Groningen that they would be willing to pay more for him.^[9] Without Suárez in the line-up, Ajax won the Johan Cruijff Shield prior to the start of the 2007–08 season.^[10]

Suárez made his official debut for the team in the Champions League qualifier against Slavia Prague.^[11] In the match he won a penalty kick for Ajax, though it was missed by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. In his Eredivisie debut for the club, he scored one goal, made three assists and won another penalty, helping Ajax beat newly promoted De Graafschap 8–1.^[12] In his home debut at the Amsterdam Arena, he scored another two goals against Heerenveen to continue the excellent start to his Ajax career.^[13] He then scored a hat-trick for the club in the league match against Willem II, to take his tally for Ajax to 14 goals in 27 appearances.^[14][15] He ended his first season with Ajax with 20 goals in 40 appearances.^[16]

Suárez (with the Ajax flag) as Ajax captain in 2010.

Suárez received a lot of negative attention in the 2008–09 season, due to the high number of yellow cards he received.^[17] He was given a seventh yellow card against Utrecht in a 2–0 win for Ajax, which earned him a suspension against Den Haag.^[18] He ended the 2008–09 season with 22 goals from 31 games in the league,^[7] finishing second in the top-scorers table, a goal behind Mounir El Hamdaoui of AZ.^[19]

In the 2009–10 season Suárez scored his first league goals in the second match against RKC Waalwijk on 8 August 2009, scoring a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory, with the second goal being a 25-meter scorcher.^[20] He added more goals by scoring two goals against arch-rivals PSV Eindhoven, despite finishing on the losing side as Ajax were defeated 4–3.^[21] In the play-off round first-leg of the newly-incepted UEFA Europa League, Suárez netted four goals in a 5–0 win over Slovan Bratislava on 20 August 2009.^[22] A month later, on 20 September 2009, Suárez scored four goals in a 4–0 win against VVV, taking his tally this season to 10 goals in seven league games.^[23] He scored one goal and missed two penalties as Ajax beat Timişoara 2–1 to reach the knockout stage of the Europa League.^[24] On 23 December 2009, he scored six goals in a single match against the amateur team of WHC in the Dutch cup helping Ajax to win by a record margin of 14–1.^[25] On 11 April 2010, Suárez scored three goals during the first half as VVV this time were defeated 7–0. Suárez ended the 2009–10 season as top scorer in the league with 35 goals (49 goals in all competitions) and was named Dutch Footballer of the Year.^[26]

At the start of the 2010–11 season, Suárez scored his 100th goal for Ajax, in a 1-1 home draw against PAOK in the Champions League third qualifying round.^[5] On 29 August 2010, Suárez scored a hat trick against De Graafschap in a 0-5 away win.^[27]

International career

Suárez (left) with Diego Forlán at the 2010 World Cup.

Suárez made his debut for the Uruguay on 8 February 2007, in a 3–1 win against Colombia. He was sent-off in the 85th minute after receiving a second yellow card. Suárez has since continued participating with the Uruguayan national team, becoming a starter in the first four games of the 2010 World Cup qualifier. He has scored two goals in four games, against Bolivia and Chile, forming a lethal striking force with compatriot Diego Forlán.

2010 FIFA World Cup

On 1 June 2010, Óscar Tabárez announced that Suárez would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the 2010 World Cup.^[28] Suárez was a starter in all three Uruguay's group matches at the World Cup. On 22 June, he scored his first goal against Mexico and helped Uruguay win their group.^[29] On 26 June 2010, during the Round of 16, he scored both goals against South Korea in a 2–1 win and put Uruguay through to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1970. During the 2010 World Cup Suarez scored three goals, made six appearances, played for 543 minutes and received one red card.^[30]

2010 World Cup handball

On 2 July 2010, during the quarter final match against Ghana, Suárez handled the ball on the line in the last minute of extra-time and prevented a goal by Ghana that would have won them the game.^[6] He was subsequently given a direct red card and sent off the field. The resulting penalty was however missed by Asamoah Gyan and Uruguay went on to win 4–2 in the shootout and progressed to the semi-final.

International goals

As of 26 June 2010^[31]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	13 October 2007	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Bolivia	1–0	5–0	2010 WCQ
2.	18 November 2007	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Chile	1–0	2–2	2010 WCQ
3.	6 February 2008	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Colombia	2–2	2–2	Friendly
4.	25 May 2008	Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany	Turkey	1–0	3–2	Friendly
5.	25 May 2008	Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany	Turkey	2–2	3–2	Friendly
6.	28 May 2008	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Norway	1–1	2–2	Friendly
7.	10 June 2009	Polideportivo Cachamay, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela	Venezuela	1–1	2–2	2010 WCQ
8.	9 September 2009	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Colombia	1–0	3–1	2010 WCQ
9.	10 October 2009	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador	Ecuador	1–1	2–1	2010 WCQ
10.	3 March 2010	AFG Arena, St. Gallen, Switzerland	Switzerland	2–1	3–1	Friendly
11.	22 June 2010	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa	Mexico	1–0	1–0	2010 FIFA World Cup
12.	26 June 2010	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa	Korea Republic	1–0	2–1	2010 FIFA World Cup
13.	26 June 2010	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa	Korea Republic	2–1	2–1	2010 FIFA World Cup

Personal life

Suárez with Ajax in 2010.

Suárez grew up alongside six siblings, with a single mother. He was a troublesome teenager, involved in drinking and partying, instead of focusing on football. At the age of 14, however, he was given an ultimatum by his youth team coach, and started to work hard in practice.^[3] He married his childhood girlfriend, Sofia Balbi, in 2009, and they had their first daughter, Delfina, on August 5.^[3] His older brother Paolo Suárez is also a professional football player.

Career statistics

As of 29 August2010^[32][33][34]

Honours

Suárez was named Dutch Footballer of the Year in 2010.

Club

Nacional

• Primera División (1): 2005-06

Ajax

• KNVB Cup (1): 2009-10

Individual

• Eredivisie Top Scorer (1): 2009-10
• Dutch Footballer of the Year (1): 2009-10
• Ajax Player of the Year (2): 2008-09, 2009-10

References

External links

• FIFA.com profile
• ESPN Profile
• Footbalistic Profile

Uruguay squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place 1 Muslera • 2 Lugano (c) • 3 Godín • 4 Fucile • 5 Gargano • 6 Victorino • 7 Cavani • 8 Eguren • 9 Suárez • 10 Forlán • 11 Á. Pereira • 12 Castillo • 13 Abreu • 14 Lodeiro • 15 Pérez • 16 M. Pereira • 17 Arévalo Ríos • 18 I. González • 19 Scotti • 20 Á. Fernández • 21 S. Fernández • 22 Cáceres • 23 Silva • Coach: Tabárez