25 June,2014 08:25 AM IST | | AFP
Here are some facts -- good and bad -- about Luis Suarez after he was swept up in another alleged biting controversy after Italy centre-back Giorgio Chiellini insisted the Uruguay striker bit him
Luis Suarez. Pic/AFP.
Brasilia: Here are some facts -- good and bad -- about Luis Suarez after he was swept up in another alleged biting controversy after Italy centre-back Giorgio Chiellini insisted the Uruguay striker bit him during their World Cup Group D game on Tuesday.
Luis Suarez. Pic/AFP.
The Good
Miracle return
Suarez made an express train return from a knee operation on May 22 to play against England and score two goals. The star suffered a meniscus problem while with Liverpool and pulled up in World Cup training in Montevideo, according to coach Oscar Tabarez. But Suarez vowed to be ready. He arrived at the World Cup camp in Brazil on June 2, kicked a ball in training on June 7 and was among substitutes for Uruguay's first World Cup Group D game on June 14. Few expected him to finish Thursday's game.
Heat was on from early age
Suarez was born January 24, 1987 in Salto, Uruguay, a city close to the Argentine border famous for its thermal baths. He was the fourth of seven boys raised by a single mother. His elder brother Paolo is also a professional footballer, playing for Comunicaciones in Guatemala.
Man of the season
Suarez's World Cup heroics will only increase his market value and pressure for a move away from Liverpool. After the serial controversies, Suarez scored 31 goals in the English Premier League for Liverpool in 2013-14 and was named player of the season by the Professional Footballers Association. He has now scored 41 goals for Uruguay in 77 internationals. Real Madrid are said to want Suarez. The asking price could be more than 80 million euros though.
The Bad
Africa's most wanted
Suarez will never be welcomed in Ghana after he stopped a Ghanaian goal he 'saved' with his hand in the last minute of extra-time in the 2010 World Cup quarter-final. He was sent off but Asamoah Gyan's penalty was saved and the Ghanaians went on to lose the penalty shootout. "I made the save of the tournament," was Suarez's unrepentant comment after the match.
The Ugly
The striker with added bite
Suarez was dubbed 'the cannibal of Ajax' after he bit PSV Einhoven's Otman Bakkal shoulder in a Dutch league game in November 2010, months after a controversial handball at the World Cup. The referee did not immediately see the incident, but Suarez was later handed a seven game ban. In April 2013, Suarez bit Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic's arm in a Premier League for Liverpool. He was given a 10 game suspension for that offence.
Racial abuse
The Uruguayan, considered one of the world's most devastating goalscorers, has also been in trouble over on the field comments. He hurled racial abuse at Manchester United's Patrice Evra during a Premier League game in October 2011. Suarez insisted the term he used was one often deployed in Uruguay. The English FA banned him for eight matches and fined him 40,000 pounds. He refused to shake hands with Evra when the two teams met later that season.
