The Uruguayan has stepped up during his first months in Florida, silencing any doubters in trademark style
Lionel Messi commands the spotlight everywhere he goes and, if you don't understand how or why, you probably haven't followed this sport very closely. Few people in sporting history have been the subject of more attention. No matter what Messi does, the world watches.
Throughout his career, though, Messi has had plenty of sidekicks to help carry that spotlight, and none have been better than Luis Suarez. If Messi was the lead singer of the Barcelona band, Suarez was the drummer behind him, the man smashing the snares and hi-hats with brute force while also ensuring the group's rhythm never fell apart.
Messi has built himself a familiar band in Miami. It features Sergio Busquets, the midfield tone-setter, and Jordi Alba, the dynamic fullback whose solo efforts create some of Messi's best moments of magic. It's Suarez, though, that has been the standout. Yes, even more so than Messi. Even in the twilight of his career, Suarez continues to set the tone, for better or worse.
Generally, Miami has seen the 'better' part of Suarez so far this season. The Uruguayan is leading from the front, picking up the slack during Messi's recent absence. And, because of that, it's Suarez, not Messi, who has emerged as Miami's key player. The Uruguayan icon, therefore, may be the player most likely to determine this team's success or failure by the time all is said and done.
Watch Inter Miami with the MLS Season PassStream nowGettyInitial concerns
When Suarez arrived, there were major doubts, and it was easy to see why. The man himself said his knees were gone. By signing up to play in a league as rough on the body as MLS, the 37-year-old forward was taking a massive, massive risk.
You could understand why he would do it, though, as it was a chance to play with his friends as part of a fun project. Messi and Suarez have been close for years, and so laying alongside him while enjoying everything Miami has to offer? How could he say no?
That's largely the off-field part of this, though. How Suarez fared on the field would dictate how he his Miami career was measured. He shown few signs of slowing down at previous club Gremio, scoring 29 goals in 54 games for the Brazilian outfit. But could he do it in MLS, where turf fields, short turnarounds and long flights were the norm?
In hindsight, it was crazy to doubt him. This was Suarez, after all.
AdvertisementGettyTurning back the clock
Busquets was fighting the good fight back in January. Long before Suarez even stepped on the field for Inter Miami, his longtime Barca teammate was backing him to score boatloads of goals in MLS.
“We're very excited," Busquets said earlier this year. "He's very excited. We know what to expect from him. He has scored goals his entire career. He just won the best player of the Brazilian League, which is very challenging and tough league. He scored many goals, many assists and hopefully he's coming here to continue with that streak.”
Well, Busquets was right. Suarez has already scored many goals, provided a few assists and, most importantly, helped Inter Miami survive without Messi in the matches the Argentine missed.
In just eight MLS games, six of which were starts, Suarez has already scored six goals while providing three assists. That's a goal contribution every 60 minutes or so. As a striker, you'll absolutely take that. You can add two goals and two assists from Miami's CONCACAF Champions Cup run, too, even if that ended prematurely.
Making it all the more impressive is that Suarez has shone in the moments Messi has been gone. He was brought in to be the finisher to Messi's creator, but oftentimes, Suarez has had to do both. He scored three goals in the games Messi missed, helping keep Miami afloat during that stretch.
"We know it's a long season, we have a lot of injuries, but we have a big team and we have a lot of really good players that can replace the others," Suarez said of Messi's absence. "Play continues, if the team stays together and keeps going forward that's the focus."
Miami, of course, are at their best when Messi is involved. Suarez, though, has been just as important this season.
Getty ImagesFiring back at the critics
Oftentimes, footballers say they don't pay attention to the doubters or the critics. And, oftentimes, they're lying. Athletes at that level are acutely aware of what's going on around them, even if they say they aren't. Suarez, though, isn't shy about saying it. No, he's glad to be proving his doubters wrong.
“From an individual standpoint, I am happy to be able to help the team," he said after scoring in a 5-0 rout of Orlando City in March. "A striker and professional soccer player has to be accustomed to living with daily criticism. People in soccer do not have memory, so in that sense I am very used to it. I have been playing professional soccer for almost 20 years, so I do not worry about things that people might be saying.”
Suarez's new teammate Julian Gressel says that Suarez has used the criticism as fire, helping him rediscover his old self rather early in the season.
“It was perfect because look at him now," Gressel said. "He’s getting more comfortable. I think it's something that you can't just write off, in a sense, where you can't just be coming into a new team and a new club, a new city for the family, everything. It takes a little bit of time and that happened for him, that happened for me, those things just are just normal.
"And for him to be called out a little bit, I think helped him to kind of get that edge where now he's clinical and he's the Suarez we’ve known, so he can come in and change the game like he did for us.”
That edge has certainly shown itself. There have been plenty of moments that have felt like vintage Suarez, the good and the bad.
GettySame old Suarez
If you thought Suarez would mellow out a bit as he aged, think again. No, the Suarez that has arrived in Miami comes with the same fervor and chaos as the one that dazzled in Liverpool and Barcelona. He may know how to walk the line a little bit better but, boy, does he walk it.
It's what makes Suarez one of the most polarizing players of a generation, if not the sport's history. Where he goes, controversy follows. Some see Suarez as a player with an unmatched will to win, no matter the cost. Others see him as an unsportsmanlike figure who will be remembered as much for the controversies he created as the goals he scored.
Thus far, there have been no real controversies, but there have been a few close calls. Suarez remains as physical as ever, and as irritable, too. Opponents and referees have felt his wrath. Monterrey's Victor Guzman was lucky not to have his arm broken by Suarez as the clock ticked away on Inter Miami's CONCACAF Champions Cup campaign. Officials have heard plenty from the Uruguayan, too, dating all the way back to his debut against Al-Hilal during preseason.
He's only earned two yellow cards this season, surprisingly enough, but Miami will take whatever tradeoff comes from Suarez finding that side of himself. When in that kind of mood, Saurez has always been unplayable, and it's clear that he cares enough to discover it during his time in Miami.