Luís Suárez is an unusual character. Ever since he announced himself to the world in the 2010 World Cup, we’ve seen the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Suárez. Goals, so many goals. Violence. Allegations of racist abuse. It’s been one hell of a ride watching the Uruguayan over the past eight years or so, but one thing cannot be questioned: his quality.
And yet, sometimes, he looks unrecognisable from the player we know to be one of the best forwards in the world.
If he is not in prime physical condition, he can look sluggish, as he did at the start of this season.
Having played in the World Cup for Uruguay, who reached the quarter-finals, Suárez was given a month’s break after the tournament to rest before returning to Barcelona training. Unsurprisingly, it took him a few weeks to get up to scratch and regain his match sharpness.
In an honest interview with radio station Uruguay Sport 890, Suárez made no apologies for his lethargy in the Super Copa game against Sevilla after he was widely criticised for his performance.
“In the game against Sevilla in the Super Copa de España, I had started training on the Tuesday, and the final was the Saturday,” Suárez explained.
“Of course I was going to be fat and slow after a month of holiday”.
Suárez has regained his match sharpness, though, reminding us of his exceptional quality with a stunning hat-trick against Barça’s arch rivals Real Madrid in last Sunday’s Clásico, prompting Madrid to sack Julen Lopetegui the following day.
