First Luis Suarez was a winner too 5
Before the Luis Suarez of today, there was the Luis Suarez of yesterday. He, too, played for Barcelona. He, too, scored goals, won titles. But the first Luis Suarez, he alone was voted european footballer of the Year. Here he is being presented with his award in 1960.
What is strange to behold is that this ‘Luisito’ Suarez, the original, Spanish, Suarez, remains the one and only Spaniard ever to be voted european footballer of the Year — the Ballon d’or winner.
The great Alfredo Di Stefano was a Spanish citizen when he won the award in 1957 and 1959, but Di Stefano was born in Argentina — and played for Argentina before he was naturalised by Spain.
It means that while players of the calibre of Amancio, emilio Butragueno, raul, Xavi and Andres Iniesta have been in the top three in the 50 years of the award, only one player born in Spain has collected it. That was Luisito Suarez.
It is a remarkable fact, but then the first Luis Suarez was a remarkable player.
Born in 1935 in Galicia — not considered a hotbed of Spanish football — Suarez joined his local club Deportivo La Coruna as a teenager. Barcelona noticed him immediately and signed him at 19.
Suarez stayed six seasons at Camp Nou, winning La Liga twice, the Spanish Cup twice and the fairs Cup — forerunner of the UefA Cup and europa League — twice. His nickname was The Architect due to his spatial awareness and fine-line passing. And he was slicked-back handsome.
In 1960, the year of Suarez’s european award, Barcelona met real Madrid in the european Cup semi- final. real won 6- 2 on aggregate but in an earlier round Barcelona had faced AC Milan and defeated them 7-1. In the first leg, won 2-0 at San Siro, Suarez scored for Barca.
The following season, 1960-61, Barcelona and real again met in the competition and Barca progressed — in part, due to two goals from Suarez in Madrid. They made it to the final where they lost 3-2 to Benfica. Suarez came second in the Ballon d’or vote that year behind omar Sivori of Juventus.
Serie A was calling Suarez and he was transferred to Inter Milan for 250 million lire — around £152,000. It was a world record transfer fee.
Helenio Herrera had been one of Suarez’s managers at Barcelona and now he was at San Siro.
Known as Il Mago — the Wizard — Herrera knew of Suarez’s superstitious nature and would knock over a glass of wine during pre-match meals. ‘I knew that Luisito was ferociously convinced,’ Herrera once explained, ‘that a glass of wine, when spilt during a meal, meant an announcement that he would score a goal. Naturally I was not going to wait passively for this to occur.’
While a waiter dealt with a ruined tablecloth, Suarez was dipping his finger in the wine, tapping his forehead and then the tip of his shoe.
Herrera was constructing a team to win consecutive european Cups, in 1964 and 1965, with Suarez so influential he was runner-up to Denis Law in 1964’s Ballon d’or, then third behind eusebio and Giacinto facchetti in 1965.
So: 1st in 1960, 2nd in 1961, 2nd in 1964 and 3rd in 1965 — Suarez was some footballer.
He was essential to Inter, who won three Serie A titles in four seasons as well as those european Cups. In all Suarez would stay nine years, leaving for Sampdoria aged 35.
He was still playing for Spain. The first of 32 caps came in 1957, his international high in 1964 when Spain won the european Championship — held in Spain.
His transfer to Italy, considered unpatriotic, meant Suarez’s popularity at home suffered and he was booed on his return.
But at euro 1964, although not captain, Suarez was his country’s leader. The final was played in Madrid in front of a crowd reported at somewhere between 80-125,000, including General franco. Playing inside right, Suarez helped Spain defeat the Soviet Union 2-1.
‘It was a team, rather than a selection of top players, and this teamwork was the crucial element in our triumph,’ Suarez later recalled. for someone who had received constant individual recognition, it was a comment on the collective.
But then Suarez had become a coach after playing.
In 1975 he returned to Inter Milan as manager — the first of three spells there. At the World Cup of 1990, he was manager of Spain, but they were beaten in the last 16 by Yugoslavia.
Still going strong today at 82, Suarez handed over his 1960 trophy to the fC Barcelona museum three years ago. In so doing, he referenced not today’s Luis Suarez, but Andres Iniesta.
Iniesta’s winner in the 2010 World Cup final was mentioned but, just as significantly, so was ‘everything else’ Iniesta does.
Suarez added: ‘I see myself in him.’ High praise from one Spanish architect to another.