Suarez and Cavani, the dynamic duo
IF Uruguay are to be allowed to dream of shining in Russia 2018, it is largely because of their powerful striker duo.
The South Americans are now enjoying their best forward line ever, with Barcelona’s Luis Suarez and Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani, who are also the top scorers in the history of the Uruguay national team.
The two are completely different on the pitch, but they share a lot more than Uruguay’s attack: they were born just 21 days apart in 1987, both in Salto, both i nto poor families and, l i ke all Uruguayan footballers with such a background, both had it tough to rise through the ranks to become professional players, a feat only very few manage.
Later still, both became world-class footballers. At 31, they are set to arrive in Russia in their prime.
“I want this to be my World Cup,” Suarez told Uruguayan radio in an interview.
The striker wants to make amends for Brazil 2014, where he was expelled for infamously biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini.
Not only was he handed a long ban from playing with the national team, but also a wider punishment that delayed his first match with Barcelona.
Suarez suffered a knee injury one month ahead of Brazil 2014, and his wish to take part in the event led him to make an extremely fast, epic recovery: in his first game after the injury, still playing in pain, he scored a brace against England that boosted morale for Uruguay after their initial defeat to Costa Rica.
That positive feeling vanished with the biting incident and left the team wondering how far they might have gone in the tournament had they been able to keep their superstar striker.
It was at the previous World Cup, South Africa 2010, where Suarez started to build his status as a national hero, with his goals and, naturally, another controversial incident.
During t he game against Ghana i n t he quarterfinals, he handled the ball on the goalline at the end of extra-time, which allowed Uruguay to win the match in the penalty shootout even though he was sent off in the process. Hence it is no surprise to learn that Suarez plays in goal during training, where many players change their position.
After a t ough start at Montevideo club Nacional, Suarez headed off to Europe to play for Dutch club Groningen and then Ajax.
From there, he went off to Liverpool, and on to Barcelona, where he has already won all available team titles and a few prestigious individual awards, like the 2016 European Golden Boot.
Cavani is the other star of Uruguay’s current generation of players who have rekindled excitement around the national team – highlighted with the 2011 Copa America trophy and their fourth place at the 2010 World Cup.
Due to Suarez’ absence either through injury or banishment, it has been Cavani who has led the Uruguay team at several major tournaments.
He was the top scorer in the South American qualifiers for Russia 2018, with 10 goals.
Cavani first played in Uruguay’s top division with Danubio but left for Europe very soon.
He established himself as a great striker with Palermo and attained world- class status at Napoli.
Napoli fans adored him like they only did Diego Maradona and very few others, but he struggled with that early fame.
He then finally found a place called home in Paris. Over five seasons, he has managed to become the top scorer in PSG’s history.
Although both men share Uruguay’s trademark fighting spirit, their styles of play are different, and they complement each other perfectly.
Suarez is a powerful forward with accurate shots, good ball control and devastating dribbling skills that keep rivals off the ball.
Cavani, on the other hand, is a more flexible and subtle player, though less involved in the team build-up play.
Although the likes of France and Argentina have impressive forwards, Suarez and Cavani allow Uruguay to command a similar level of respect from rival defenders and to dream of even more epic wins in Russia. – dpa
2018 i s likely to witness Andres Iniesta’s l ast outing with the national team as well as the first World Cup for his long-awaited successor – Isco Alarcon. The challenge will not be easy for the Real Madrid midfielder, 26, who will be expected to take the baton from the man who changed Spain’s football history. In South Africa 2010, with a goal in the 116th minute in the final against the Netherlands, Iniesta made Spain world champions. “For now, and by its very nature, it is likely that the World Cup will be my last appearance with the national team. “I don’t want to be there just for the sake of it. “I don’t feel the need to be anywhere just because of who I am or who I have been,” Iniesta said, leaving some room to change his mind. If he were, for instance, to follow the example of Italy’s Andrea Pirlo, with whom he i s often compared, t he Barcelona midfielder could stay on with the national team until at least Euro 2020, to try to win his third regional title with La Roja. By then he would be 36, the age at which former J u v e n t u s a n d Mil a n playmaker Pirlo retired from the Azzurri. But Iniesta does not seem inclined to go that far,. “I hope (the farewell) is as we all dream of it, in the final,” he said, to make it clear that he is very unlikely to stay on. Iniesta’s dream seems like a real possibility. With their “Magician” at the helm and with a squad t hat appears t o have recovered from their failures in Brazil 2014 and Euro 2016, Spain are now, under new manager Julen Lopetegui, among the favourites for the trophy in Russia, particularly after they dealt Argentina a humiliating 6-1 thrashing at a friendly in March. The 2014 finalists did not have Lionel Messi, but Spain fielded Iniesta and Isco, and the latter shone with a hattrick.