Equally prolific and polarizing, Luis Suarez played in his last international football match with Uruguay last Friday. We look back at El Pistolero’s storied career and his impact on the game both good and bad.
Luis Suarez is one of the most productive strikers of his generation. With a nose for the big moment, if there was a goal that needed to be scored, it seemed like he was always ready to deliver.
Yet, his career, especially in the international game, will most likely be remembered for what happened during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where he was sent off in the quarterfinal against Ghana for hand-balling an inevitable goal right on the line. Not only that, but what followed Asomoah Gyan’s penalty miss will go down as one of the most “disrespectful moments” in world football as he celebrated the miss as if it were a Uruguay goal.
Suarez made his international debut in 2007 at the age of 19, when he was featured in a 3-1 win in Colombia. And foreshadowing the various controversies he’d have throughout his career, Suarez was sent off following a second yellow card for dissent. Not the best way to start your international career, that’s for sure.
Regardless of this, though, Suarez thrived for Uruguay. He featured for La Celeste in four World Cups, and led the nation to a Copa America title in 2011, netting a goal in the final and finishing as the tournament’s top goal scorer.
The 37-year-old currently plies his trade in MLS with Inter Miami alongside good friend Lionel Messi and other former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets. He served his country on the pitch for 17 years, playing 142 times for La Celeste. Last Friday’s friendly against Paraguay was the final time he’d suit up in a Uruguay kit.
“I’ve been thinking about this and analyzing this,” Suarez said. “I believe this is the right time. I want to be relaxed when I play my last game with the national team. I’ll be just as excited to play as I was in 2007 when I played for my national team for the first time.
“That 19-year-old kid is now a veteran player, an older player — however you want to call it — with an incredible history with the national team, that will give his life for the team.”
Suarez will retire as Uruguay’s top goalscorer, an impressive feat considering he shared a time in the national team with Edison Cavani and Diego Forlan, who take up second and third spots respectively.
His talent is undeniable. But his career hasn’t been without controversy. In addition to his infamous hand ball against Ghana, Suarez had multiple incidents of biting his opponents, including at the 2014 World Cup, where he bit Italian center back Giorgio Chiellini, leading to a nine-match ban. During his stint at Liverpool, Suarez also racially abused Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, which earned him an eight-match suspension. The list of problems goes on and on for the Uruguayan, tainting his reputation as one of the game’s greats.
He will go down in history as one of the best players of his generation, winning it all at club level and cementing himself in the Uruguayan record books. But everything that comes with him leaves a sour taste in football fans’ mouths when discussing his name. A marvelous player? Yes. Problematic? Absolutely.
