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Dutch Debate: Is Luis Suarez Ready To Join A European Powerhouse Like Barcelona?
Ajax forward Luis Suarez has been in amazing form and this has not gone unnoticed at FC Barcelona. Goal.com’s Stefan Coerts takes a look at the forward's career so far and asks whether the Uruguayan international is ready to take the next step…
| Bet: | Returns: | NAC Breda £42.00 | Draw £35.00 | Ajax £17.27 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | NAC Breda £42.00 | Draw £36.00 | Ajax £17.30 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | NAC Breda £45.00 | Draw £37.50 | Ajax £17.30 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | NAC Breda £43.00 | Draw £33.00 | Ajax £17.70 |
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Sep 26, 2009 1:00:00 PM
Luis Suarez was born in Salto, Uruguay on 24 January 1987. He started his professional footballing career at Nacional and made his official debut for the club’s senior team in May 2005 in the Copa Libertadores match against Atletico Junior. Four months after having made his official debut, Suarez scored his first official goal for the Uruguayan side. The tricky forward eventually ended up playing 29 league matches in his first season and he played a major role in his side’s league title campaign by scoring twelve goals.
His good performances at Nacional nudged the interest of several European teams. Suarez was keen to make the next step in his career and opted to join Eredivisie side Groningen for € 900 000. The promising youngster went on to become a fan’s favourite within months and Suarez eventually made 29 league appearances in the 2006-’07 campaign, scoring ten goals in the process. The Uruguayan attacker’s performances helped Groningen to eighth spot in the table and they even qualified for UEFA Cup football, after Suarez scored three of Groningen’s four goals in the end of season play-offs.
When Ajax lost Ryan Babel to Liverpool in the summer of 2007, they didn’t need too long to target a replacement. The Amsterdam outfit almost immediately approached Groningen to express their interest in Suarez. However, Groningen were reluctant to let go of their star player and set a €9 million asking price for Suarez. Ajax made it clear that they refused to pay such an amount and the transfer appeared to have collapsed.
Suarez was desperate to join Ajax, though, and started a case before the Dutch Football Association's arbitration committee. The attacker lost, but got his desired move anyway as Ajax and Groningen agreed a transfer fee on the same day. Suarez left Groningen for the Amsterdam powerhouse for a reputed fee of €8 million.
The Uruguayan international scored in his debut for Ajax and set up three more goals. Suarez went on to become a deadly duo with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar up front that season, as he ended the season with seventeen league goals in 33 matches. However, Ajax failed to win the league title and even missed out on Champions League football, much to Suarez’s frustration. In 2008-’09, Ajax again ended the season without winning any trophies and missed out on Champions League football, despite Suarez’s 22 league goals and fourteen assists.
Despite the lack of Champions League football with Ajax, Suarez repeatedly stated that he was not considering leaving the Amsterdam side for a bigger club and this apparently prevented European powerhouses such as Inter, Milan, Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who are all supposedly interested in the 22-year-old, from making a move for Ajax’s star player.
However, Suarez’s brilliant start to the current season did not go unnoticed by the aforementioned teams. He scored a hat-trick in Ajax’s second match of the seasons against RKC, followed by a brace against PSV and four goals in the Europa League match against Slovan Bratislava. Furthermore, he scored a goal while on international duty with Uruguay, before continuing his domestic hot streak with one goal against NAC and four against VVV last weekend.
On Thursday, a report from Spain emerged claiming that Barcelona are considering making a move for Suarez this summer and the frustration of missing out on Champions League football with Ajax and the lack of silverware might tempt Suarez to leave the Dutch club for the Champions League holders. The attacker recently made it clear that he has always dreamed of playing for Barcelona and it appears unlikely that Suarez will let the opportunity to join his dream club go by that easily.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether Suarez is ready to make an impact at a European powerhouse such as Barcelona. He will face stiff competition from Thierry Henry for a spot in the stating XI at the Spanish champions, assuming that Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are untouchable. His silky dribbles, intelligent movement, unpredictable actions and his ability to set up a team-mate are certainly attributes that will help the Uruguayan international in making it at a big club though. Therefore, Suarez could be the perfect successor of the ageing Henry.
What are your views on this topic? Is Barcelona indeed the right club for Suarez or should go somewhere else? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think…
Stefan Coerts, Goal.com
His good performances at Nacional nudged the interest of several European teams. Suarez was keen to make the next step in his career and opted to join Eredivisie side Groningen for € 900 000. The promising youngster went on to become a fan’s favourite within months and Suarez eventually made 29 league appearances in the 2006-’07 campaign, scoring ten goals in the process. The Uruguayan attacker’s performances helped Groningen to eighth spot in the table and they even qualified for UEFA Cup football, after Suarez scored three of Groningen’s four goals in the end of season play-offs.
When Ajax lost Ryan Babel to Liverpool in the summer of 2007, they didn’t need too long to target a replacement. The Amsterdam outfit almost immediately approached Groningen to express their interest in Suarez. However, Groningen were reluctant to let go of their star player and set a €9 million asking price for Suarez. Ajax made it clear that they refused to pay such an amount and the transfer appeared to have collapsed.
Suarez was desperate to join Ajax, though, and started a case before the Dutch Football Association's arbitration committee. The attacker lost, but got his desired move anyway as Ajax and Groningen agreed a transfer fee on the same day. Suarez left Groningen for the Amsterdam powerhouse for a reputed fee of €8 million.
The Uruguayan international scored in his debut for Ajax and set up three more goals. Suarez went on to become a deadly duo with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar up front that season, as he ended the season with seventeen league goals in 33 matches. However, Ajax failed to win the league title and even missed out on Champions League football, much to Suarez’s frustration. In 2008-’09, Ajax again ended the season without winning any trophies and missed out on Champions League football, despite Suarez’s 22 league goals and fourteen assists.
Despite the lack of Champions League football with Ajax, Suarez repeatedly stated that he was not considering leaving the Amsterdam side for a bigger club and this apparently prevented European powerhouses such as Inter, Milan, Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who are all supposedly interested in the 22-year-old, from making a move for Ajax’s star player.
However, Suarez’s brilliant start to the current season did not go unnoticed by the aforementioned teams. He scored a hat-trick in Ajax’s second match of the seasons against RKC, followed by a brace against PSV and four goals in the Europa League match against Slovan Bratislava. Furthermore, he scored a goal while on international duty with Uruguay, before continuing his domestic hot streak with one goal against NAC and four against VVV last weekend.
On Thursday, a report from Spain emerged claiming that Barcelona are considering making a move for Suarez this summer and the frustration of missing out on Champions League football with Ajax and the lack of silverware might tempt Suarez to leave the Dutch club for the Champions League holders. The attacker recently made it clear that he has always dreamed of playing for Barcelona and it appears unlikely that Suarez will let the opportunity to join his dream club go by that easily.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether Suarez is ready to make an impact at a European powerhouse such as Barcelona. He will face stiff competition from Thierry Henry for a spot in the stating XI at the Spanish champions, assuming that Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are untouchable. His silky dribbles, intelligent movement, unpredictable actions and his ability to set up a team-mate are certainly attributes that will help the Uruguayan international in making it at a big club though. Therefore, Suarez could be the perfect successor of the ageing Henry.
What are your views on this topic? Is Barcelona indeed the right club for Suarez or should go somewhere else? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think…
Stefan Coerts, Goal.com
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