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BenThere · 11-02-2012, 08:33

Sitting in Starbucks opposite the Midland Hotel in Manc central. Can't wait for this game to start. Decided against the Tootsie strategy & defo not tying twine to the top of my knob:-)

Better to go down in flames than fade away!

C'mon the reds.

Ben

Leiva · 11-02-2012, 09:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenThere

Sitting in Starbucks opposite the Midland Hotel in Manc central. Can't wait for this game to start. Decided against the Tootsie strategy & defo not tying twine to the top of my knob:-)

Better to go down in flames than fade away!

C'mon the reds.

Ben

Enjoy.

And don't forget to piss on those prawn sandwiches

**Kess73** · 11-02-2012, 10:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by mormank

Danish tats huh? Ever visited christiania by any chance?

Had a brief look around there the last time I was in Copenhagen. Could not decide whether I liked the place or hated it tbh. Some right dodgy looking mofos in there.

**Kess73** · 11-02-2012, 10:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanwhite20

I thought Kess might have been the huge scouse guy who lifted me up in the air at anfield at the final whistle when we knocked city out of the cup! If that was you kess, your one scary lookin bastard!

I'm big (ish) but not a huge guy. Would be around the 6'3 mark and circa 17 stone. I have been involved with boxing and martial arts for over twenty years and run four to five marathons a year so my build would reflect that.

My brother hugged a guy and lifted him at the City game though and he is a few inches taller than me, so if you were sat in the Kop that night and got lifted by a tall guy then I was the guy beside him.

MD1990 · 11-02-2012, 10:34

EXCLUSIVE: Suarez - the mixed up kid who became a hero to millions

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...#ixzz1m4Hz5bds

On a street corner in the town of Salto in Uruguay, someone has gone to the considerable effort of finding a ladder, climbing up it and Sellotaping the name 'Luis' over the first word of the street name. It used to read Joaquin Suarez.

Now it pays homage to the most famous man to hail from Salto, the man who steps out at Old Trafford on Saturday with the world watching his every move.
Just a week after returning from his eight-game ban for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, fate, chance — call it what you will — pits Luis Suarez back against the man he offended so badly. The reception he receives will be hot.

Doing what he does best: Suarez celebrates his goal against Everton in the Merseyside derby

Suarez is no stranger to controversy. His career has been punctuated by goals, trophies and accolades - but there has also been diving, biting an opponent, and a match-saving handball in a World Cup quarter-final.

But back home Suarez is no tainted hero. The 25-year-old is not considered a racist; he is thought of as a national legend with a toothy grin and absurd amounts of talent by his fans, a doting family man with a huge heart by those who know him best. In their eyes, he is worth climbing up ladders for.

Future star: A young Luis Suarez growing up in Uruguay

Suarez was one of seven children born to his father Rodolfo, a porter, and his mother Sandra, a housewife. Perched on the banks of the River Uruguay on the border with Argentina, Salto is a town of cobbled streets and parks. The locals often sip — a herbal drink similar to tea — in little clusters in the street.
But when Suarez was just six, Rodolfo’s work took the family to the capital Montevideo. The move saw him start playing the game that would turn him into a millionaire, national hero and hate figure.
‘When we came to live in Montevideo, we started to look for a team for him,’ says his mother.

‘I was told about Urreta, a club where there were a lot of people with money so I took him there. He was sub in a friendly match a few days later. They were losing 2-0 so they put Luis on, he scored three to make it 3-2.’
In 1998, Wilson Pirez, a scout for Uruguay’s most decorated club, Nacional, spotted Suarez’s talent. ‘I found him when he was nine playing kids’ football,’ says Pirez. ‘He had an incredible amount of ability for someone of that age. He was a wonderful boy, well behaved. You could always tell he was going to be a great player.’

It should have been the start of a brighter future as Luis settled into school in the La Comerical district of the city but, instead, the family was torn apart when Rodolfo walked out on his wife and kids. ‘Family life was very hard because of my parents breaking up,’ he recalls. ‘It was hard to concentrate and I quit football.’

International star: Suarez has played a key role for Uruguay

Eventually, though, he settled back into Nacional. ‘Life was difficult for him,’ says Pirez. ‘He wasn’t quite ready mentally to be a footballer. But that tough childhood made him so hungry for success.’

It was still a long time in coming. Suarez failed to hold down a starting place in the youth team in the aftermath of the divorce, showing just occasional glimpses of his real ability. As he became a teenager, distractions of partying and drinking led to threats of being chucked out of the club. He continued at Nacional though, playing football in the day and doing his school work at night, where he enjoyed maths.

While Suarez was close to his mother and grandmother, Sofia Balbi had the biggest influence on his life. She was a 13-year-old girl, a pretty blonde girl Suarez fell in love with when he was 15 and who, still now, is perhaps the only person who really understands him.
'At 15, I found a girlfriend and that sorted my head out,’ recounts Suarez. ‘It helped me realise how important football was for me.’

From the top: Suarez shakes hands with FIFA President Sepp Blatter

Pirez remembers Sofia being around the training ground a lot and Suarez being infatuated. ‘They didn’t pay him much when he was young so he used to pick up coins on the street and then take it back to his girlfriend so they could buy nice things to eat.’

That was until she left Uruguay to join her family in Barcelona in 2003. Suarez, like when his father departed, was crushed. ‘When Sofia went to live in Spain, I quit football again. But what matters is that I realised in time that I had to dedicate myself to this beautiful sport.’
Suarez knew his only way to get back to Sofia was to move to Europe and he took his chance in a match against San Eugenio, coming off the bench to score four goals.
From then on he was unstoppable. All of a sudden football mattered so much that despite beating 3-0 Tacuarembo in one game, Suarez cried in the showers afterwards because he hadn’t scored.

Club class: Suarez made his name in Europe while playing for Ajax

‘He always scored in the big games, so many in derbies,’ adds Pirez. ‘He always appeared when you most needed him.’
Suarez scored 10 goals in 27 games for Nacional before he got his dream move, signing for Groningen in Holland. ‘We were scouting another player in Uruguay,’ says Rob Jans, a former coach at Groningen and now manager of Heerenveen.

'Luis caught our attention though. We were crazy about him and sorted a deal as soon as we could. It was the most expensive signing we’d ever made. It was a gamble but it was a really good one.'
The gamble cost 800,000 euros (£667,000), and took him closer to Sofia but left Nacional wanting more. ‘He didn’t play here long but he is an idol,’ says Gustavo Bueno, a coach at the club.

‘He’s an idol in the whole of Uruguay. It wouldn’t surprise me if they named a stadium after him one day. Whenever he comes back here, he comes to games and visits the youth teams to tell them all about Europe. It’s invaluable. We have all become Liverpool fans here because of him.’

Cannibal: Suarez is snapped trying to bite PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal

'The Cannibal of Ajax' read the headline in Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf on November 21, 2010.
During a tense match against PSV Eindhoven, Suarez snapped and bit PSV midfielder Otman Bakkal on the shoulderblade as players from both side argued over a red card.
It came just months after he made himself public enemy No 1 at the World Cup for handballing on the line in the quarter-final against Ghana.
He celebrated without a shred of restraint as Asamoah Gyan missed the following penalty, his joy angering many and introducing the striker to a wider audience even before he sank his incisors into Bakkal.

The seven-match ban for the bite was the worst of a series of problems which tarnished his otherwise scintillating spell in Holland for Groningen and then Ajax.
'You can imagine how difficult it was at first,’ says Jans. ‘He wasn’t happy and struggled to adapt. He just wanted to play but he was in the reserves.

Handball! Suarez denies Ghana a goal by using his hands in the World Cup

'He was so impatient. He had problems getting used to the referees, he was a little bit heavy and it took some time to get fit.
'But once he was fit, he was probably the best I’ve worked with. He’s a real winner, he cannot stand losing and sometimes he crosses the line.
'In one game I took him off and he was really unhappy, he didn’t shake hands and he wanted to go straight to the dressing room. I was angry with him. It was raining hard and I threw my umbrella at him.

Afterwards I told him he couldn’t act like that in Holland and that he had to control himself. In the next game, we were 3-1 down with 10 minutes to play and we won 4-3, with Luis scoring two goals. Afterwards I gave him my umbrella, and he paraded it around in front of the crowd.’
Former Fulham striker Erik Nevland, who was Suarez’s strike partner at Groningen, also remembers the Uruguayan taking some time to adapt. ‘It was a big fee for Groningen to pay for a player no-one knew anything about,’ says Nevland.

No remorse: Suarez celebrates beating Ghana despite his handball incident

‘He didn’t speak English or Dutch so we had to use our arms and bodies to communicate. He got a lot of stick for the way he went down and winning free-kicks and penalties but that is his type of play.
'It was a bit of a struggle but once he cracked the code, he played unbelievably every week. You always saw he had a lot of talent but he found it hard at first. Groningen is a quiet place with lots of farmers.
'It was a really friendly place but there wasn’t a lot to do and it was quite a long way to get anywhere else. He was good friends with the Spanish-speaking boys and his girlfriend moved across pretty soon after he arrived. She was around a lot.’

Being reunited with Sofia was a huge filip for Suarez. The long-distance relationship no longer necessary, he was happy again and it showed on the pitch. Ten goals in 29 appearances for mid-table Groningen soon caught Ajax’s attention but the proposed transfer was controversial.

Class: Former Groningen team-mate Erik Nevland was full of praise for Suarez

Suarez appealed to the Dutch League’s arbitration committee to force through a 3.5m euro bid, but his words fell on deaf ears. Ajax soon returned with a 7.5m euro offer, and he moved to Amsterdam.
Herman Pinkster, the team manager at Ajax, is charged with looking after new players and was instantly impressed by Suarez. ‘Off the pitch, he’s very well organised, which was odd for a South American player.
If you had an appointment at three, he’d be there at three. He was very strict about time.’ They remain close friends, with Pinkster attending Suarez’s wedding in Montevideo in 2009. ‘It was a big party,’ says Pinkster.

‘On the menu on the table it started with dinner, then dancing and went on to breakfast. I couldn’t believe it. Sofia is so important to him. She is probably the only one who can tell him to calm down sometimes.

Controversy: Suarez was found guilty of making racist remarks to Manchester United's Patrice Evra and banned for eight games

'His determination is the most impressive thing about him but it is also his biggest challenge. You can see it in the way he plays. He is a hero over here. He was top scorer, he was player of the year. Everyone loves him.

'When the biting incident happened, he was so provoked by PSV players. After the match, it was better not to say anything. I looked him in the eyes and said ‘we’ll speak tomorrow’ and that’s when we discussed it properly.

So he pleaded guilty but he didn’t mean it much. It’s important to win but you don’t have to kill people in the process. There’s a line. He crosses the line to win sometimes. But Luis was so determined to be one of the best in Europe.

Sitting it out: Suarez served his ban sitting in the stands

'When the incident with Evra happened, we all thought ‘oh no, Luis’. I really don’t think he is a racist person – he just crosses some lines when he’s competing sometimes. One of my worries was that he didn’t speak English very well. He says words but he doesn’t understand what they mean and the impact they can have.’

Nevland agrees that it is Suarez’s will to win that is his biggest attribute yet his greatest weakness. ‘He’s just so passionate about football that sometime the way he expresses himself is wrong.

'It’s obviously something he has to work on. His passion just makes him do crazy things sometimes. He will learn, especially because of the ban.’

Welcome back: Suarez makes his return against Tottenham

The biting, the handball, the diving and the transfer wrangles pale into insignificance when it comes to the trouble he has been in at Liverpool.

Found guilty of racism, Suarez was banned for eight matches, a punishment that kickstarted a staunch defence from Liverpool. There were angry statements, tasteless T-shirts and, only eventually, a reluctant apology. Yet the message is the same from everyone who knows him.
'The racism charge is totally ridiculous,’ says Jans. ‘I know for sure that Luis is not a racist. He gets provoked a lot and he likes to intimidate others during a game but he has a heart of gold. My son graduated and he went to Liverpool as a present.

Back in the action: Suarez gets straight back into the thick of it against Spurs

Luis helped us with tickets and then took him and his friend to the players’ lounge after and gave him his match shirt.’
'We know Luis is not a racist,’ adds Pirez. ‘He has black friends, played with lots of black players and the term ‘negro’ is just different here.

'It is used all the time and no-one takes any offence. I just think people have made an example of him because of who he is.’

'I think he’s found it very difficult,’ says Pinkster with a sigh. ‘But he will be at his strongest with everyone provoking him. He can achieve great things.’

Just don’t expect him to do it without plenty more controversy.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...#ixzz1m4IGdRQz

Bowlardo · 11-02-2012, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by redzerdrog

-------------------------doni--------------------------
------------skrtel-------------------agger--------------
johnson----------------------------------------enrique
------------------------spearing-----------------------
-------------------------------gerrard-----------------
---------henderson------------------------------------

--------------suarez---------------------------bellamy
-------------------------carroll------------------------

Kuyt will defo be on the right and maybe kelly right back. johnson could be moved over to left considering valencia gave enrique a bit of tought time the last game
bellamy will not start . bring him on the minute scholes comes off on the 70 minute mark.
Hendo spearing gerard in the middle. adam on later in the game if any of the three mentioned are tiring

Leiva · 11-02-2012, 11:07

Suarez is a little bollox but he is our little bollox .

**Kess73** · 11-02-2012, 11:38

I see Ferguson has continued to stay quiet on the Suarez/Evra incident.

Funny how the guy tries to make out that he stays quiet on things, yet he is one of the worst for having digs through the media.

Stay classy Ferguson. Yep you stayed quiet and never made any comments.

Hope we stick it to them in their own ground.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...?newsfeed=true

Quote:

Luis Suárez, top, and Patrice Evra are to come face-to-face for the first time since their confrontation. Photograph: Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Sir Alex Ferguson has questioned why Liverpool did not appeal against Luis Suárez's ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra as the pair prepare to come face-to-face at Old Trafford for the first time since the controversy erupted four months ago.

Kenny Dalglish sought to draw a line under the Suárez affair ahead of Liverpool's second encounter with Manchester United in a fortnight, albeit the first at United and involving the Uruguay international since he completed an eight-match suspension for abusing the defender at Anfield in October. "The past is firmly behind," insisted the Liverpool manager, who kept Suárez on the bench for 66 minutes against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night but has no reservations about starting the striker in the hostile environment of Old Trafford.

Evra will face a decision on whether to shake Suárez's hand should the Liverpool forward start the game, with the Premier League having confirmed there are no plans to cancel the pre-match routine unlike the Football Association before Queens Park Rangers met Chelsea in the FA Cup, a match featuring Anton Ferdinand and John Terry. "I haven't given any thought to the handshake," Ferguson said. "We are not bothered about it. It has never been an issue. We have been concentrating on the game itself."

The United manager did draw a contrast between the response of the two clubs to the episode, however, and queried Liverpool's reluctance to launch an appeal over the punishment given Dalglish's firm belief that Suárez should not have been banned. "It is fantastic to have him [Suárez] back," said Dalglish following Monday's draw with Spurs. "He should never have been out in the first place."

Ferguson responded: "Well, why didn't they appeal? I think we would be better putting that to bed. We have plenty of other important issues to be concentrating on, like chasing City in the league and preparing for the Europa League games."

He also said: "We'll just get on with the job and concentrate on the game. They [Liverpool] have said plenty, haven't they? But we've kept our own counsel, because we thought that was the right thing to do in these situations."

Liverpool did not appeal against the decision to serve Suárez with an eight-match ban and £40,000 fine as they accepted their prospects of overturning the punishment were remote following the publication of a 115-page document by Paul Goulding QC, who led the three-man Independent Regulatory Commission appointed by the FA. Any appeal would also have been heard by another three-man commission appointed by the FA and dragged the controversy further into the season.

Dalglish is adamant that Suárez, who told a Uruguayan radio station this week that criticism from the United fans on Saturday would spur him on, has the mental strength to handle what awaits at Old Trafford. "If we had any problems whatsoever with any of our players then they wouldn't be in the squad. They are all in the squad," he said. "They will be able to look after themselves. They will all be able to handle a game at Old Trafford."

The Liverpool manager accepts, however, that Suárez faces a period of increased scrutiny, as was apparent at Anfield on Monday when he was surrounded by cameras as soon as he appeared for the warm-up. Dalglish added: "I would have thought that being as successful as he was with Uruguay in the summer, winning the Copa América, it wasn't the first time he's had three cameras in his face. He's a top-class player. He will understand what top-class players are up against and how newsworthy they are. I am sure he will be able to handle it.

"He doesn't like the glare of publicity, he prefers to go to work, play football and get on with it. A person of his talents isn't going to get away with it as easily as that. But he's not going to actively seek any publicity in any way, shape or form. It's just unfortunate for Luis that he's fantastically talented and successful at the job he has decided to take on. I'm sure he will be able to handle that as well as he handles stuff on the pitch."

The Liverpool manager would not be drawn on whether he has decided to start Suárez against the reigning champions. "We will manage Luis in the same way as we manage the other players," he said. "We've got to look after them. If you had been out injured for six or seven weeks and came straight back in, you would be looking to be broken back in gently. Different people have different needs. Some other players might not have got 20 minutes or half an hour against Tottenham. We will have a look and see what we've got. At least he is fit and available."

Fuhrer · 11-02-2012, 11:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kess73

Funny how the guy tries to make out that he stays quiet on things, yet he is one of the worst for having digs through the media.

Stay classy Ferguson. Yep you stayed quiet and never made any comments.

No, he stayed quiet during the investigation like he was asked to by the FA unlike Liverpool and Dalglish who dribbled out the most pathetic and disgusting lies the were lapped up by the most moronic of Liverpool fans.

Leiva · 11-02-2012, 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fuhrer

No, he stayed quiet during the investigation like he was asked to by the FA unlike Liverpool and Dalglish who dribbled out the most pathetic and disgusting lies the were lapped up by the most moronic of Liverpool fans.

We all know who the liar is in this whole debacle so let's no go there

Fuhrer · 11-02-2012, 11:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by mixednuts

We all know who the liar is in this whole debacle so let's no go there

Yes, Its Luis Suarez, as the report said.

ASOT · 11-02-2012, 11:49

Liverpool starting XI: Pepe, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Henderson, Spearing, Gerrard, Kuyt, Suarez, Downing

Leiva · 11-02-2012, 11:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fuhrer

Yes, Its Luis Suarez, as the report said.

Ahh the report , how could I forget about the report .

The document of truth , honesty and fact . The gospel according to FA .

MD1990 · 11-02-2012, 11:51

#LFC team v United: Reina, Enrique, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Spearing, Gerrard, Henderson, Downing, Kuyt, Suarez.

Fuhrer · 11-02-2012, 11:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by mixednuts

Ahh the report , how could I forget about the report .

The document of truth , honesty and fact . The gospel according to FA .

As Dirk Kuyt and Damien Comolli also backed up.

But I guess they arent to be trusted either.

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11-02-2012, 08:33	#4276
BenThere Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1,935 Adverts \| Friends	Sitting in Starbucks opposite the Midland Hotel in Manc central. Can't wait for this game to start. Decided against the Tootsie strategy & defo not tying twine to the top of my knob:-) Better to go down in flames than fade away! C'mon the reds. Ben

11-02-2012, 10:34	#4280
MD1990 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 2,196 Adverts \| Friends	EXCLUSIVE: Suarez - the mixed up kid who became a hero to millions Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...#ixzz1m4Hz5bds On a street corner in the town of Salto in Uruguay, someone has gone to the considerable effort of finding a ladder, climbing up it and Sellotaping the name 'Luis' over the first word of the street name. It used to read Joaquin Suarez. Now it pays homage to the most famous man to hail from Salto, the man who steps out at Old Trafford on Saturday with the world watching his every move. Just a week after returning from his eight-game ban for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, fate, chance — call it what you will — pits Luis Suarez back against the man he offended so badly. The reception he receives will be hot. Doing what he does best: Suarez celebrates his goal against Everton in the Merseyside derby Suarez is no stranger to controversy. His career has been punctuated by goals, trophies and accolades - but there has also been diving, biting an opponent, and a match-saving handball in a World Cup quarter-final. But back home Suarez is no tainted hero. The 25-year-old is not considered a racist; he is thought of as a national legend with a toothy grin and absurd amounts of talent by his fans, a doting family man with a huge heart by those who know him best. In their eyes, he is worth climbing up ladders for. Future star: A young Luis Suarez growing up in Uruguay Suarez was one of seven children born to his father Rodolfo, a porter, and his mother Sandra, a housewife. Perched on the banks of the River Uruguay on the border with Argentina, Salto is a town of cobbled streets and parks. The locals often sip — a herbal drink similar to tea — in little clusters in the street. But when Suarez was just six, Rodolfo’s work took the family to the capital Montevideo. The move saw him start playing the game that would turn him into a millionaire, national hero and hate figure. ‘When we came to live in Montevideo, we started to look for a team for him,’ says his mother. ‘I was told about Urreta, a club where there were a lot of people with money so I took him there. He was sub in a friendly match a few days later. They were losing 2-0 so they put Luis on, he scored three to make it 3-2.’ In 1998, Wilson Pirez, a scout for Uruguay’s most decorated club, Nacional, spotted Suarez’s talent. ‘I found him when he was nine playing kids’ football,’ says Pirez. ‘He had an incredible amount of ability for someone of that age. He was a wonderful boy, well behaved. You could always tell he was going to be a great player.’ It should have been the start of a brighter future as Luis settled into school in the La Comerical district of the city but, instead, the family was torn apart when Rodolfo walked out on his wife and kids. ‘Family life was very hard because of my parents breaking up,’ he recalls. ‘It was hard to concentrate and I quit football.’ International star: Suarez has played a key role for Uruguay Eventually, though, he settled back into Nacional. ‘Life was difficult for him,’ says Pirez. ‘He wasn’t quite ready mentally to be a footballer. But that tough childhood made him so hungry for success.’ It was still a long time in coming. Suarez failed to hold down a starting place in the youth team in the aftermath of the divorce, showing just occasional glimpses of his real ability. As he became a teenager, distractions of partying and drinking led to threats of being chucked out of the club. He continued at Nacional though, playing football in the day and doing his school work at night, where he enjoyed maths. While Suarez was close to his mother and grandmother, Sofia Balbi had the biggest influence on his life. She was a 13-year-old girl, a pretty blonde girl Suarez fell in love with when he was 15 and who, still now, is perhaps the only person who really understands him. 'At 15, I found a girlfriend and that sorted my head out,’ recounts Suarez. ‘It helped me realise how important football was for me.’ From the top: Suarez shakes hands with FIFA President Sepp Blatter Pirez remembers Sofia being around the training ground a lot and Suarez being infatuated. ‘They didn’t pay him much when he was young so he used to pick up coins on the street and then take it back to his girlfriend so they could buy nice things to eat.’ That was until she left Uruguay to join her family in Barcelona in 2003. Suarez, like when his father departed, was crushed. ‘When Sofia went to live in Spain, I quit football again. But what matters is that I realised in time that I had to dedicate myself to this beautiful sport.’ Suarez knew his only way to get back to Sofia was to move to Europe and he took his chance in a match against San Eugenio, coming off the bench to score four goals. From then on he was unstoppable. All of a sudden football mattered so much that despite beating 3-0 Tacuarembo in one game, Suarez cried in the showers afterwards because he hadn’t scored. Club class: Suarez made his name in Europe while playing for Ajax ‘He always scored in the big games, so many in derbies,’ adds Pirez. ‘He always appeared when you most needed him.’ Suarez scored 10 goals in 27 games for Nacional before he got his dream move, signing for Groningen in Holland. ‘We were scouting another player in Uruguay,’ says Rob Jans, a former coach at Groningen and now manager of Heerenveen. 'Luis caught our attention though. We were crazy about him and sorted a deal as soon as we could. It was the most expensive signing we’d ever made. It was a gamble but it was a really good one.' The gamble cost 800,000 euros (£667,000), and took him closer to Sofia but left Nacional wanting more. ‘He didn’t play here long but he is an idol,’ says Gustavo Bueno, a coach at the club. ‘He’s an idol in the whole of Uruguay. It wouldn’t surprise me if they named a stadium after him one day. Whenever he comes back here, he comes to games and visits the youth teams to tell them all about Europe. It’s invaluable. We have all become Liverpool fans here because of him.’ Cannibal: Suarez is snapped trying to bite PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal 'The Cannibal of Ajax' read the headline in Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf on November 21, 2010. During a tense match against PSV Eindhoven, Suarez snapped and bit PSV midfielder Otman Bakkal on the shoulderblade as players from both side argued over a red card. It came just months after he made himself public enemy No 1 at the World Cup for handballing on the line in the quarter-final against Ghana. He celebrated without a shred of restraint as Asamoah Gyan missed the following penalty, his joy angering many and introducing the striker to a wider audience even before he sank his incisors into Bakkal. The seven-match ban for the bite was the worst of a series of problems which tarnished his otherwise scintillating spell in Holland for Groningen and then Ajax. 'You can imagine how difficult it was at first,’ says Jans. ‘He wasn’t happy and struggled to adapt. He just wanted to play but he was in the reserves. Handball! Suarez denies Ghana a goal by using his hands in the World Cup 'He was so impatient. He had problems getting used to the referees, he was a little bit heavy and it took some time to get fit. 'But once he was fit, he was probably the best I’ve worked with. He’s a real winner, he cannot stand losing and sometimes he crosses the line. 'In one game I took him off and he was really unhappy, he didn’t shake hands and he wanted to go straight to the dressing room. I was angry with him. It was raining hard and I threw my umbrella at him. Afterwards I told him he couldn’t act like that in Holland and that he had to control himself. In the next game, we were 3-1 down with 10 minutes to play and we won 4-3, with Luis scoring two goals. Afterwards I gave him my umbrella, and he paraded it around in front of the crowd.’ Former Fulham striker Erik Nevland, who was Suarez’s strike partner at Groningen, also remembers the Uruguayan taking some time to adapt. ‘It was a big fee for Groningen to pay for a player no-one knew anything about,’ says Nevland. No remorse: Suarez celebrates beating Ghana despite his handball incident ‘He didn’t speak English or Dutch so we had to use our arms and bodies to communicate. He got a lot of stick for the way he went down and winning free-kicks and penalties but that is his type of play. 'It was a bit of a struggle but once he cracked the code, he played unbelievably every week. You always saw he had a lot of talent but he found it hard at first. Groningen is a quiet place with lots of farmers. 'It was a really friendly place but there wasn’t a lot to do and it was quite a long way to get anywhere else. He was good friends with the Spanish-speaking boys and his girlfriend moved across pretty soon after he arrived. She was around a lot.’ Being reunited with Sofia was a huge filip for Suarez. The long-distance relationship no longer necessary, he was happy again and it showed on the pitch. Ten goals in 29 appearances for mid-table Groningen soon caught Ajax’s attention but the proposed transfer was controversial. Class: Former Groningen team-mate Erik Nevland was full of praise for Suarez Suarez appealed to the Dutch League’s arbitration committee to force through a 3.5m euro bid, but his words fell on deaf ears. Ajax soon returned with a 7.5m euro offer, and he moved to Amsterdam. Herman Pinkster, the team manager at Ajax, is charged with looking after new players and was instantly impressed by Suarez. ‘Off the pitch, he’s very well organised, which was odd for a South American player. If you had an appointment at three, he’d be there at three. He was very strict about time.’ They remain close friends, with Pinkster attending Suarez’s wedding in Montevideo in 2009. ‘It was a big party,’ says Pinkster. ‘On the menu on the table it started with dinner, then dancing and went on to breakfast. I couldn’t believe it. Sofia is so important to him. She is probably the only one who can tell him to calm down sometimes. Controversy: Suarez was found guilty of making racist remarks to Manchester United's Patrice Evra and banned for eight games 'His determination is the most impressive thing about him but it is also his biggest challenge. You can see it in the way he plays. He is a hero over here. He was top scorer, he was player of the year. Everyone loves him. 'When the biting incident happened, he was so provoked by PSV players. After the match, it was better not to say anything. I looked him in the eyes and said ‘we’ll speak tomorrow’ and that’s when we discussed it properly. So he pleaded guilty but he didn’t mean it much. It’s important to win but you don’t have to kill people in the process. There’s a line. He crosses the line to win sometimes. But Luis was so determined to be one of the best in Europe. Sitting it out: Suarez served his ban sitting in the stands 'When the incident with Evra happened, we all thought ‘oh no, Luis’. I really don’t think he is a racist person – he just crosses some lines when he’s competing sometimes. One of my worries was that he didn’t speak English very well. He says words but he doesn’t understand what they mean and the impact they can have.’ Nevland agrees that it is Suarez’s will to win that is his biggest attribute yet his greatest weakness. ‘He’s just so passionate about football that sometime the way he expresses himself is wrong. 'It’s obviously something he has to work on. His passion just makes him do crazy things sometimes. He will learn, especially because of the ban.’ Welcome back: Suarez makes his return against Tottenham The biting, the handball, the diving and the transfer wrangles pale into insignificance when it comes to the trouble he has been in at Liverpool. Found guilty of racism, Suarez was banned for eight matches, a punishment that kickstarted a staunch defence from Liverpool. There were angry statements, tasteless T-shirts and, only eventually, a reluctant apology. Yet the message is the same from everyone who knows him. 'The racism charge is totally ridiculous,’ says Jans. ‘I know for sure that Luis is not a racist. He gets provoked a lot and he likes to intimidate others during a game but he has a heart of gold. My son graduated and he went to Liverpool as a present. Back in the action: Suarez gets straight back into the thick of it against Spurs Luis helped us with tickets and then took him and his friend to the players’ lounge after and gave him his match shirt.’ 'We know Luis is not a racist,’ adds Pirez. ‘He has black friends, played with lots of black players and the term ‘negro’ is just different here. 'It is used all the time and no-one takes any offence. I just think people have made an example of him because of who he is.’ 'I think he’s found it very difficult,’ says Pinkster with a sigh. ‘But he will be at his strongest with everyone provoking him. He can achieve great things.’ Just don’t expect him to do it without plenty more controversy. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...#ixzz1m4IGdRQz

11-02-2012, 11:07	#4282
Leiva Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Location:Location Posts: 10,043 Adverts \| Friends	Suarez is a little bollox but he is our little bollox .

11-02-2012, 11:49	#4287
ASOT Registered User Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Ballymun Posts: 1,307 Adverts \| Friends	Liverpool starting XI: Pepe, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Henderson, Spearing, Gerrard, Kuyt, Suarez, Downing

11-02-2012, 11:51	#4289
MD1990 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 2,196 Adverts \| Friends	#LFC team v United: Reina, Enrique, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Spearing, Gerrard, Henderson, Downing, Kuyt, Suarez.