Admirer, above all, of Professor Tabárez (“he has had a lot of influence on my career”), but also of Luis Enrique (“he knew how to get the best out of me”), Luis Suárez has had coaches of all kinds in his career for Europe. From strangers like Ron Jans in Groningen, to legends like Van Basten in Ajax and Dalglish in Liverpool, to coaches who try to leave some kind of label like Brendan Rodgers or others who earn the conviction of the players from a discreet conviction , like Valverde. Setien may be, who knows, his last coach on the continent. Because, it must be remembered, Suárez has not yet played at the command of the Cantabrian.
The last time Suárez jumped onto a pitch to play an official match was in Jeddah on January 9. Barça lost against Atlético de Madrid and he, despite having a good performance, said enough. The right knee asked for rest and decided to have the most important part of the season to play. Suárez was diagnosed with a period of discharge of about four months, so everyone assumed that the season was over for him. Setien, therefore, did not consider it in his plans and after Dembélé's injury, asked Braithwaite. But Suárez, like everyone else, had a pandemic. So he devoted himself to training confinement to training “like a savage.” This is how Eder Sarabia, Setien's assistant, defined what he saw of the Uruguayan. First, telematically. Now you will have had the opportunity to verify it live. Suarez is a competitive animal. Before May it was already to return.
There are two unknowns to solve now. First, the physical state of the player, who wants to express himself in collective training, with the rest of his teammates, and check the state of his knee in turning actions and real match trials. And then, what can tactically contribute to a team that cried out for a killer. In addition to not having any more reference in the position, the idea of Setién, of kneading the ball, needs people with stripes who know how to skip the norm when the situation requires it and attack the goal. Suarez is one of them. Without being in the figures of his glory years, Suárez had 11 goals and seven assists in LaLiga. In addition, he was proving to be the team's best asset away from home and is an incomparable support for Messi. Transfermarkt, the specialized website, gives a value of 28 million euros to the Uruguayan. Despite his injuries to his right knee the past two seasons, it would be better not to underestimate this gigantic player, fourth goalscorer in Barça's history.