Luis on edge of greatness
Brendan Rodgers knows Celtic aren’t just going to have to shackle one of the world ’ s best players on Tuesday night. They’re going to have to tame one of the world’s hardest competitors. The Celtic boss is given huge credit for building the plat for m for Luis Suarez’s rise to greatness with Barcelona. But he insists the Uruguayan’s edge came from within – and made him the ultimate pro in the former Liverpool manager’s eyes. Rodgers said: “The troubles he had with the biting and stuff, there was never any sign of that for me. The edge comes from within. And you need to have that edge – the best players have it.
“If you were to pick a world- class competitor, that’s Luis Suarez. He was a striker but he was like an oldschool centre-half – tough.
“You could kick him all you want and he still trained every day. One time after he had travelled all around South America playing for Uruguay he got back and came into training on the Friday night.
“We had Wigan away on Saturday and I’m thinking: ‘I’m going to need to rest this guy.’ He looked absolutely shattered.
“But he said: ‘ let’s just see how I am tomorrow.’ He played, we won 4- 0 and he hit a hat-trick. He ran as much as anyone. I thought: ‘ Wow, this is a special mentality.’
“He set the tone of training and when you work with world-class boys it’s not just talent, it’s availability. “These guys put the games in – Ronaldo, Neymar, Suarez, Bale. They are playing 50-plus games.
“Luis didn’t want to rest. He was an incredible pro. His hunger and desire to play and train is infectious. He’s a great man”