Signed from Deportivo de la Coruña, the Golden Galician, as he was well known, made his debut with Barça on May 2, 1954, against his former team, and on the same day he turned 19. Suarez was a left midfielder with all the tools: superior technique and ball skills, a privileged vision of the game, and great ability to score. Mainly, however, he stood out for his elegance in playing the game. It was said he could have played with a tuxedo. Or, as a journalist wrote at the time, ‘Luisito’ was "part velvet, part howitzer", that is, smooth and forceful.
Barça coach Helenio Herrera (1958-60) owes a good part of his achievements to the Galician midfielder, who nevertheless had to deal with the pressure of an artificial media campaign that divided the fans among ‘suaristes’ (those who supported Suárez, and ‘kubalistas’ (those who supported Kubala), when, in fact, both stars were good friends.
In 1961, shortly after winning the Ballon d’Or (so far, Luis Suárez is the only Spanish player to have won the award), the Club’s economic crisis forced it to transfer Suárez to Inter Milan for 25 million pesetas. This came at the most inopportune time, five days before Barça’s unfortunate European Cup loss to Benfica in Bern, Switzerland. After leaving FC Barcelona, Suárez achieved glory for the Italian team, with two European Cups and many other titles.
Luis Suárez passed away in Milan, Italy on 9 July, 2023 at the age of 88.
CAREER
- Seasons at the Club: 1954-1961
- Games played: 253
- Goals scored: 141
HONOURS
- 2 Fairs Cups (1957/58 and 59/60)
- 2 Leagues (1958/59 and 59/60)
- 3 Copas del Rey (1956/57 and 58/59)
