Image via Complex Original
To call Luis Suarez an enigma would be just scratching the surface of who he is, what he does, and what he represents. The man embodies brilliance and buffonery at the same time. He'll dazzle you with his performances on the pitch, then leave you SMHing all the way home. The Luis Suarez Story is made up of two parts, and neither is complete without the other. The man bites other players, gets into racism rows with opponents, and has seen more ill-willed ink spilled about him than most athletes in the world. Yet when he's playing for Liverpool FC—just playing, and not pulling some other shit—he can produce some of the most magical soccer you'll ever see. It's a simple question with a convoluted answer, but it must be asked: Luis Suarez: Badass or Jackass?
Written by Justin Block (@JBlock49)
Jackass: Taking FC Groningen to court to force his way out of town.
When: 8/9/2007
Ah, the jackassery begins. Here we see the beginning of Luis Suarez getting what he wants, no matter who he hurts in the process. When he was 19, FC Groningen signed him fresh outta Uruguay for €800,000. One season in and 10 goals later (a respectable haul for any 19-year-old in top flight European competition), Ajax came calling with a €3.5 million bid. Groningen rejected the offer, but Suarez had already fallen in love with Ajax and the lure of European cup competition. He took his case to the Dutch F.A.'s arbitration committee to try to get Groningen to negotiate with Ajax further, but the committee ruled against it. Sensing Suarez's discontent, Ajax pursued the sale again with a €7.5 million offer, which Groningen resentfully accepted.
Badass: Being named as Ajax's captain at age 22.
When: 7/15/2009
What were you doing at 22 years old? Your most illustrious leadership position at that point in your life was probably "Chairman of Jungle Juice" at your frat, or assistant to the copy editor's assistant's intern at the local newspaper. Luis Suarez was out here leading grown men on one of the biggest stages in professional anything. Imagine adding that to your CV.
Badass: Scoring six goals in one match.
When: 12/24/2009
This came in the 4th round of the Dutch Cup against WHC Wezep—a team whose biggest claim to fame is losing 14-1 to Ajax and seeing Suarez score six goals—so obviously the level of competition here wasn't elite, or even really that professional. WHC Wezep plays in "Saturday League C," which sounds like the kind of league where a bunch of dads take weekly pick-up matches too far. (It's actually the third tier of Dutch professional soccer, which doesn't sound any more appealing really.) Still, SIX GOALS IN ONE MATCH? ARE YOU SERIOUS? Well done, young Luis.
Badass: His hand-ball in the World Cup.
When: 7/2/2010
This action could be interpreted as a jackass move pretty easily. If you were playing pick-up soccer with your friends and one decided to be a dick and swat your shot out of the air like some volleyball player, you'd be pissed too, right? Well, the entire continent of Africa was SUPER PISSED after Suarez parried Dominic Adiyiah's goalbound header. The would-be goal would've won the match for Ghana and seen them through to the World Cup semifinals. Instead, Suarez was red-carded and a penalty was awarded to Ghana, which penalty-taker Asamoah Gyan subsequently missed. Uruguay went on to win 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out.
While Suarez claimed that he "made the save of the tournament," Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac called his save an "injustice." If you were in Suarez's shoes, what would you have done? Either you let the ball fly in and you're on the next plane out of South Africa, or you get that shit outta there like Dikembe Mutombo, suffer the consequence of the red card, and give your team a chance to win the game. Sport traditionalists will stay being concerned with the "integrity" of the game being "broken," but hey, the world is still spinning in the handball's aftermath, right? Suarez did the pragmatic thing, and was ultimately rewarded with a victory.
Jackass: Biting Otman Bakkal in what ended up being his last act as Ajax's captain.
When: 11/20/2010
Depending on who you talk to around Eredivisie circles, this inclined Ajax to rid themselves of Suarez ASAP. He was hit with a seven-game suspension from Dutch league officials, but he never fully served it, as he was sold two months later to Liverpool for €26.5 million.
Badass: His domination of the Eredivisie.
When: 2006-2011
He may have left Ajax on a bit of a sour note, but that hasn't overshadowed what he accomplished in the Dutch top flight. He scored 126 goals in 196 games at a staggering 1.55 games per goal clip. For some perspective, Robin van Persie scored once every 3.54 games during his formative years in the Eredivisie, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic did every 2.29 games. Suarez was Ajax's top goal scorer twice, their Player of the Year twice, the Dutch Footballer of the Year once, and an Eredivisie Golden Boot winner once. Ajax is known as a pipeline for young talent to the rest of Europe (Ibrahimovic, Nigel de Jong, Johnny Heitinga, Wesley Sneijder, and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar all cut their teeth at Ajax), and Suarez is another tremendous product.
Badass: Moves like this.
When: 3/6/2011
Count the bodies on that grass. First Chris Smalling and Rafel get chopped up. That's 2. Then Michael Carrick gets stiffed. 3. And right before Edwin van der Sar watches the ball crawl through his five-hole, Wes Brown lunges at the Ghost of Luis Suarez. 5. We can't even imagine the level of hurt Patrice Evra experienced when that shot slipped right by his out-stretched leg and onto the finishing boot of Dirk Kuyt. Suarez cut up six of United's eleven players, including the entire defensive back-four. This is the type of player we're dealing with here. There are maybe a dozen players on the planet remotely capable of a goal like this, and Suarez is one of them.
Badass: Winning MVP of the 2011 Copa América tournament.
When: 7/24/2011
Suarez and Co. bodied the competition at the 2011 Copa América. They beat Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Paraguay to capture the title, and Suarez led Uruguay with four goals, finishing second in the tournament's Golden Boot award.
Jackass: Flipping off Fulham fans.
When: 10/5/2011
After a 1-0 defeat to Fulham, Suarez couldn't help but voice his displeasure for the home fan's vocal disapproval of his play. He ended up receiving a one match ban.
Jackass: Calling Manchester United defender Patrice Evra a "negrito."
When: 10/15/2011
In many ways, Suarez's image hasn't recovered from this one incident, and it probably never will. To this day, he's still living with the aftershocks of calling Manchester United defender Patrice Evra a "negrito" multiple times during a match. Diving into the actual incident, Evra testified that Suarez had kicked him and said "because you are black... I don't speak to blacks." Suarez denied the second part but admitted that he said negrito, but only once, and in a friendly manner.
"Negrito" is actually used as a term of endearment in South America, but the F.A.'s Spanish language experts determined that Suarez's uses of it was "not intended as an attempt at conciliation or to establish rapport; neither was it meant in a conciliatory and friendly way." Basically, Suarez was addressing Evra with malice.
Is Luis Suarez a racist? Hell no. He's done charity work in Africa, and Evra himself said that he doesn't believe that Suarez is truly a racist. Suarez has even spoken out against discrimination before: "Football has got this tremendous power of joining people, without any skin, religion and social discrimination." It's just that, for those 90 minutes at Old Trafford, Suarez referred to Evra by the color of his skin, and given the F.A.'s strict rules against racism, Suarez's words, whether they were meant to be conciliatory or not, were considered racist. Suarez could've called Ryan Giggs "a silly old cracker" and it would've carried the same penalty, which by the way, ended up being an eight match ban and a £40,000 fine.
Badass: He's a family man
When: 2009
For every chant about his teeth being offside and every column that brands Suarez as a parasite, this fact can't be twisted: He's a family man. He married his childhood sweetheart, Sofia (they met when she was 13 and he was 15), and has two children with her, Delfina (above) and newborn Benjamin. Family always comes first.
Jackass: Failing to shake Evra's hand in the wake of the racism incident.
When: 2/11/2012
There was no excuse for this. Suarez, back from his suspension for his racial comment towards Evra, had a chance to put the entire issue to bed with a simple handshake. Actually, nobody would've even noticed had Suarez shook Evra's hand, because it's a silly tradition before matches that fans glaze over. When a player acts indignantly during this ritual, however, shit always hits the fan. Was Suarez so misguided in his anger about the whole situation that he took it out on Evra, even after Evra stated in the F.A's report on the case, "I don't think that Luis Suarez is racist." This was a petty and classless act from Suarez, and proof that he didn't have an ounce of remorse—just narrow-minded anger.
Badass: Capping off his first Liverpool hat-trick in style.
When: 4/28/2012
Now the only question here is, whose goal from midfield was better? Suarez's or Xabi Alonso's?
Jackass: His dive against Stoke.
When: 10/8/2012
For fans of the sport—not just Liverpool—this was disgusting to see. To see a preeminent player attempt to cheat so visibly hurts the good of the game. Suarez had a pre-existing reputation for diving that has been hottly disputed by his defenders, but this dive provided critics with enough ammo for a fresh open season of Suarez hate.
Badass: His goal celebration in David Moyes' face.
When: 10/28/2012
A bit of background for you: In the pre-match presser before a Liverpool-Everton match, Everton manager David Moyes fired a subliminal at Suarez, referring to the striker's reputation for diving: "I tell you what—it will turn the supporters away from football if they think players are conning their way to results." Suarez ending up getting the best of Moyes with a goal and that epic celebration. In an ironic twist, Everton captain Phil Neville was booked in that same match for diving. #TheresOnlyOneDavidMoyes
Jackass: He goes to ground too easily, too often.
When: Career trend.
This is the biggest and fairest criticism of Luis Suarez. A Suarez apologist will point to the times where he's played through rough contact, and that Suarez is simply playing within the rules of the game—get hit anywhere, no matter how softly, and it's a foul. Their argument isn't factually incorrect, but it's just not the whole picture. There's a reason why a "Top 10 Luis Suarez Dives" list exists. Suarez might not be a "diver" per sey—the dive against Stoke was his first inside of the penalty box, and many of his "dives" involve some contact—but he has a tendency to go to the ground as soon as a defender breathes on him. American and English fans like to see their footballers play with integrity (no diving) and toughness (playing through contact), but that's simply not how the rest of the world plays its football.
Badass: This goal against Newcastle.
When: 11/4/2012
A masterful sequence. Much credit should go to left-back Jose Enrique (not seen here) for delivering a peach of a diagonal long-ball over the top of the last defender, but we won't discuss him any further because he attempts that pass like 17 times a game and they work about every other match. When those passes are accurate though, beautiful goals like this happen. For Suarez, his ball control, first touch, and positional awareness all activate simultaneously, creating a perfectly executed fluid action that leads to a tap-in. Bravo.
Jackass: Biting... Again
When: 4/21/2013
Make a list of stupid things a normal soccer player can do while playing. Scoring an own goal, getting a red card, and giving up a penalty are probably the first three things that pop into your mind. Those are unequivocally incorrect actions to do, and can be prevented through sound fundamentals and a calm head. Luis Suarez is far from a normal soccer player, so his "stupid things" list goes: 1) Biting opponents 2) Using race as the crux of an insult and 3) Complaining until he gets a yellow card.
After biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in a particuarily savage manner, he was handed down an unprecedented 10-match suspension. Mistakes happen, and learning from them is one of life's most valuable gifts. For Suarez, mistakes happen again and again, and nothing is ever learned from them because he's exceptional at soccer, which makes people forgive and forget rather easily. Let's hope that 10-match hammer drilled this lesson home: Don't bite players on the pitch.
Badass: Carrying Liverpool on his back last season.
When: August 2012-April 2013
His 2012-13 season may go down as one of the most underappreciated in recent memory. Liverpool may have finished a lowly 7th and the suspension for biting put a black-eye on what was a stellar individual campaign from Suarez, but let's not forget that last fact: He had one of the best statistical years ever for a Liverpool striker. He bagged 30 goals in all competitions, including 23 in the Premiership, and was the team's leading chance creator. This was all done with little help around him—when striker Fabio Borini went down with a broken foot in September, Suarez was the only recognized striker in the team until Daniel Sturridge was signed in January. He was basically LeBron on the Cavs.
In an otherwise toothless Liverpool attack, he demanded the attention of entire defenses, and still scored past them. Given the dire circustances surrounding him, his individual play last season was pure magic.
Badass: Making fun of his own past.
When: 7/15/2013
It feels therapeutic to laugh at yourself every now and then. In this hilarious advertisement, Suarez plays a parody of himself as a white collar worker; he gets agitated easily, he acts like a brat around the office, and he even dives after a pat on the back from a co-worker.
Jackass: Attempting to force a move to Arsenal.
When: Summer 2013
Last summer was a very, very, very tense time for Liverpool fans. The club had just finished the season in 7th place—27 points short of title winners Manchester United, and 12 points behind Arsenal for that coveted last Champions League spot. With no European cup competition lined up, it was no surprise to see Suarez agitate for a move to a more desirable club. Real Madrid? Fine. Bayern Munich? Sure. Those are teams capable of winning the European Cup. No Liverpool supporter would've batted an eye had Suarez demanded a transfer to a club of that quality, and said club had come forward with a reasonable bid.
To pique interest abroad, Suarez began calling into seemingly every Spanish-speaking sports radio show in the Western Hemisphere to voice his displeasure over the English media, paparazzi, and disrespectful fans. Given the turmoil he had caused during his short stay in England, his frustration and his desire to jump on the next jet to continental Europe was understandable. Liverpool would receive a nice fat transfer check in excess of £40 million to reinvest into the squad, and Suarez could start fresh elsewhere. Yet when it became clear that Bayern wasn't interested in Suarez, and that Madrid had opted for Gareth Bale's signature instead (it's widely speculated that Madrid valued Bale's ability and his clean-cut image over Suarez's rap sheet), Suarez and his agents began running amuck.
Arsenal came in with a £40,000,001 bid for Suarez (the extra £1 was supposed to activate his "release clause"), which was swiftly rejected. The Suarez camp believed that any bids over £40 million could trigger an automatic transfer barring the player's permission, and they most likely leaked that confidential contract information to Arsenal to incite a move. When the lawyers dug through Suarez's contract and found that any bids over £40 million only forced Liverpool to inform Suarez of an offer and not to necessarily accept one, the #FreeSuarez campaign took off.
Like every day, a new and exclusive Suarez interview popped up in the papers. Suarez said that he had a chance to move the previous summer, but declined it after Liverpool fed him a fat new contract and a goodwill promise that they'd let him move on if they didn't finish top four in the upcoming Premiership season. Liverpool owner John Henry confirmed that those discussions happened, but refused to sell Suarez, citing that it was too late in the transfer window for Liverpool to properly retool with new signings following a move of that magnitude, and that, um, ARSENAL IS LIVERPOOL'S DIRECT TOP FOUR RIVAL. He was a bit more blunt with his words though:
What do you think they're smoking over there at Emirates?
— John W. Henry (@John_W_Henry) July 24, 2013
Suarez ended up staying and apologizing to his teammates for being a fucking asshole, but Liverpool supporters don't hold him highly in the "Moral Integrity" and "Loyalty" standings anymore *cues to Branislav Ivanovic, Patrice Evra, Fulham supporters, Otman Bakkal, and the entire Dutch city of Groningen nodding*. Liverpool blindly stood by his side through the multiple shitstorms he caused, and he wanted to move to godforsaken Arsenal—a perennial "Good, But Not Good Enough" pseudo title-contender and a team that hasn't won a trophy since 2005. It'd be like Mark Zuckerberg quitting Facebook to go run Tinder, or something. In the eyes of Liverpool fans, Suarez nearly became Fernando Torres 2.0/Judas this summer, and that stink hasn't entirely worn off yet.
Badass: His hunger and passion.
When: Career trend
Luis Suarez is a highly volatile player. When he's in your starting XI, you sink or swim with him. When he's playing at full torque, he's arguably the most unstoppable player in the Premiership, and a surefire match-winner. When he's having "one of those afternoons," however, he'll continuously waste possession with bad shots, failed dribbles, poor finishing skills, and he'll pick-up a yellow card in the process for constant bitching. Hey, maybe he'll even bite a player or two. It happens. Those two polarizing stories of his performances are tied together by his minute-to-minute attitude and approach to the game.
In his heart, he's still a scrappy street kid from Uruguay with a never-say-die mean streak, a motor born out of perpetual motion, and a hunger for a goal and three points. When he's out on the pitch, no other player is as desperate, and he makes it a point for everyone watching to realize that.
Verdict: Badass... Well, when he's actually concentrating on playing the game.
Remove all of the extra curricular shit surrounding Luis Suarez, and you're left with one of the Top 10 players on the planet, and the Premiership's best forward. The problem is, Suarez the incredible player doesn't exist without Suarez the jackass. The two are one and the same. The same madness that causes Suarez to bite players also gives him an insatiable appetite for winning. The diving, the going to ground easily, the pariah status he's earned amongst Premiership players—all of that is born out of the same drive for success. He wants to score goals and win so badly that he doesn't particularly care how the ends are achieved. He's a results-driven man with no sense of right from wrong when it comes to footballing matters.
Luis Suarez wants what's best for Luis Suarez, which can mean forcing his transfer to bigger clubs, bigger stages, bigger riches, diving to win a penalty, scoring match-winning goals to help his team, or even biting a player because he needs a primal outlet for his frustration. He's a selfish man whose selfish actions also (usually) lead to positive things for others, because he happens to be an entertainer with a cause. And because of that fact, Liverpool fans the world over will still sing his name when he scores instead of cursing it. He's a rebel who's loved like a saint. There is a method to Luis Suarez's madness—it's just better if you look away.