Luis Suarez - Simply the best

Liverpool have had a rich history of men wearing the number 7 jersey. Be it King Kenny or Kevin Keegan, Steve McManaman or Peter Beardsley, all of these Liverpool legends wore the haloed no ‘7’ jersey and the Kop rallied behind them, pushing them to greater heights.

Today, the man wearing the number ‘7’, is a man that bites Russians, a man who is the talisman for club and country, a man who knocked Ghana out of a World Cup, a man who has 19 goals in 12 Premier League appearances. He is the man who has attempted the most shots in the Premier League this season and who has completed the most dribbles. That man is Luis Suarez.

The word ‘enigma’ is thrown around too often these days. But for the Uruguayan it fits perfectly. When on song the Liverpool forward is a force of nature. He is adept at shooting with either foot, he can head a ball pretty well, nutmegs the life out of defenders for just the cheek of it, and scores outrageous goals for fun.

Looking at his performances in the current season, it is easy to see why he is the best player in Britain right now. He is the biggest reason that Liverpool sit on top of the table. Luis Suarez is playing at a level that was previously on display by the likes of Ronaldo and Messi in the present day.

Liverpool have a very good unit backing him, and manager Brendan Rodgers has expertly created the team and tactics to fit to utilize the most out of Suarez. Yet the ‘one man’ team tag sounds justified. One needs to understands how Suarez plays to really appreciate his value.

Suarez is without a doubt one of the busiest forwards in the game. He constantly drops into midfield if he feels the ball is getting stuck in there. He starts as a number nine but is often seen dropping into the number 10 position, while men like Sturidge and Coutinho make runs further forward. At other time Suarez just flows out to either wing and tries to make something happen.

Yet for all his exertions, he is the man who seems to be at the end of mot of their chances. His work-rate is fantastic and now that he has shown signs of maturing and becoming a better player(he has only one yellow card this season) the sky does seem to be limit for the bright eyed forward.

Another thing Suarez brings to the table is the space he creates for his teammates with those runs he keeps making. Sturridge, Sterling, Henderson and Coutinho all have been beneficiaries off his hardwork. He has five assists already this season, and averages at 3.2 passes per game. (whoscored.com) Not only does he score goals by the bagful he sets up others too.

Like all great players Suarez has always looked to add more facets to his game. And for Suarez that facet has been his skill over a dead ball. He has become amazing at free kicks and his free kick against Norwich earlier in the season was a ‘Goal of the season contender.’ Actually that game did highlight all Suarez was about as a player. His first goal a screamer when he caught out the keeper with a beautiful dipping shot from just five meters into the opposition half. His second was brilliant, he went past half the Norwich team and after a wonderful flick over a defender he slammed the ball into the bottom corner. Next he scored an opportunistic poacher’s goal from a corner and he rounded off the night with a wonderful free-kick.

I am a lifelong fan of Manchester United. I hate Liverpool from the gut, but one cannot ignore genius so obvious. Like another legendary number ‘7’ albeit who adorned the grass at Old Trafford, Suarez has a swagger about him, a strut that says, ‘I am the best and I know it’.

It may be close to hearsay but I see traces of the brilliance of Eric Cantona in Luis Suarez. Cantona’s arrival at Old Trafford was the catalyst for their first league championship is two and a half decades. Whether or not Suarez’s growth into one of the best in the world will help Liverpool win their first Premier League remains to be seen.

Liverpool fans would be glad that the club decided to hold onto their number ‘7’ in the transfer window, who knows, he may finally drive Liverpool to the elusive number ‘19’.