Our Man Without Qualities

Eulogy for Suárez

Lately, when asked by people to talk about Luis Suarez, I have struggled to come up with sentences which reflect my feelings about him. ‘Greatest player I have seen at Liverpool’, ‘Best number nine in the world’, ‘my favourite player’. These are all true, but all reductive.

Luis Suarez is the most interesting football player I have ever watched. I have tried to write about him repeatedly since bite #3 (this is the 4th draft) but seeing as he just left Liverpool, time is running out for a relevant piece.

Where to start. The good times then: When he did that dribble against Manchester United, causing Carrick and Rafael to collide, leaving Wes Brown sprawled on the floor and bringing back some joy to Liverpool after Hodgson’s tenure. His Fulham backheel for which the commentator could only say ‘Oh yes’. Waking up to headlines of ‘SUAREZ SCORES A TREBLE’, when it was still a new thing for Hat trick #1 against Norwich. Not having internet, going on Teletext to manually calculate the score for the game from the league table and doing a double take at the 5:2 result, then going home and seeing Hat trick #2 against Norwich. Hearing the talksport commentator literally lost for words after the ‘touch of a genius’ vs Newcastle. Watching his through ball to himself while on holiday and jumping for joy. His first against West Brom, a goal I had to watch many times to realise what just happened. Goal #2 of Hattrick #3 against Norwich, messaging ‘SUUUAAAREEZZZ!!!!’ to all who would listen on facebook, and his celebration, a perfect reflection of the joy and disbelief we all felt. That goal streak and the realisation that the best player in the world played for us (don’t expect to feel that again for a long time). When he was made captain, then led the 5:0 at Tottenham, an unbelievable result at that time. Two of the most ridiculous attempts I have ever seen in the 5:1 at Arsenal, an unbelievable result even now. Borrowing my friend’s phone at Law Camp to find out the Cardiff 6:3, and already knowing that it was one of those Suarez games. Those tears at Palace, a perfect reflection of the misery and disbelief we all felt. And those two schadenfreude-laced goals against England, seeing him crying with joy and realising he was my favourite player.

As you can probably see by the length of that paragraph, Suarez gave me a lot of joy. And not only did he do all sorts of amazing stuff, he also worked hard for the team. He pressed opponents, he set up teammates and he was incredibly determined. I have not seen a player who seems to want it more than Suarez. My primary want in football is to see Liverpool win. Maybe the reason I like Suarez so much is because he seems to do everything he can to see Liverpool win.

And maybe this determination to win can kinda explain (but not excuse) the many unsavoury things he has done. You see, the hardest thing about liking Luis Suarez is that everyone else hates him. It’s not easy to see why. Name another player who has been banned for biting three times, as well as charged with racist abuse (BALANCE OF PROBABILITIES, THOUGH) and also that handball and the diving and damn. So I suppose another reason I am writing this is to explain how I can like such a player, if not to everyone else then at least to myself.

Tennessee Williams once said, “Hate is a feeling that can only exist where there is no understanding”. The most illuminating article on Suarez I have read is by Wright Thomson, where the writer investigates Suarez’s past in an attempt to understand him. (Below quote makes much more sense if you read the piece)

“Basically, the theory goes, anything that threatens his ability to score, and win, isn’t processed in his subconscious as the act of a sportsman but, rather, as an act of aggression against his wife and his children.”

The article views Suarez not as an asset in the football industry, or some cheating, diving, racist scum who plays for a football club you don’t support, but as a human being. I find it very hard to hate someone once you see them as a human being. Brian Phillips shares similar sentiments in a beautifully written piece:

“We have no idea what’s going on in athletes’ heads or what their experience is like, and instead of seeing them in their full complicated humanness, we just decide they symbolize a value we don’t like and then spend all our time getting revenge on them for something that may not be real.”

I feel too often (and I am as guilty as the next person) we don’t see footballers as humans, but as threats to our own team/tribe, and this leads to hate. You see, one of the reasons I like Suarez is because everyone else hates him. The injustice felt from seeing people calling him the C word, saying he is ‘definitely a terrible human being’ and abusing him at every single away ground he visited just made me want to support him more. Seeing a player who made me so happy look so sad after those incredibly harsh bans did not make me support him less. I like him because of how good he is, but also because of everyone else’s reaction to how bad he can be. This isn’t entirely rational of course, and probably seems very tribal, but yeah, you know?

It is probably impossible to come up with sentences to reflect my feelings about Luis Suarez. Our understanding of things is tied so much to our memories and character that nothing I write will be read the way it means to me. So, he has left for Barca now and all I can do is say thanks, for getting us back into Europe, for giving me an unforgettable season and for making me feel a thrill from watching sports I haven’t felt before. All the best Luis.