Unrepentant Luis Suarez Still a Potential Time Bomb for Barcelona
There is something compelling about Luis Suarez. His backstory, his character. His propensity to explode at high-pressure moments.
It is that explosive mix of aggression and passion in his blood which makes him a ticking time bomb but also renders him impossible to handle on the football pitch.
Barcelona believe there is a way to harness the most admirable aspects of his character and footballing profile, while hacking off the unseemly and controversial parts, like someone brushing the soil and dirt off of a diamond buried in the earth.
Or maybe they don't, but they have decided that the positives of possessing such a lethal marksman outweigh the negatives.
If the latter is true, they're certainly not letting on, with figures at the club from top to bottom toeing the party line and saying the worst is behind him.
From sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta through to Suarez's fellow new signing Ivan Rakitic, per the London Evening Standard, Barcelona have gone out of their way to point out that Suarez is "humble" and "polite."
Suarez, for his part, has been following suit and agreeing that he will never bite another football player again. But deep down, he still feels harshly done by.
Back in late 2011, he was found guilty by the Football Association of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, while playing for Liverpool.
Although at the time he issued a general apology for causing offence to anybody, in an interview with Barca Magazine he claims that he was accused without evidence. Per Barcelona's official site he said:
"When I say I’m sorry it’s because I regret something. Being sorry implies regret. But they have also sometimes judged me on things that aren't true, such as the racism thing. I was accused without evidence and that’s what grieved me the most. The others were actions when it was me who did wrong. I accepted that and begged forgiveness, but the racism thing, when I was accused without evidence, that did upset me.
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Furthermore, after his third biting incident (first Otman Bakkal, second Branislav Ivanovic and then Giorgio Chiellini) he claimed at first that he "lost his balance" and fell onto his opponent, as reported by the Daily Mail.
That was clearly not true, and in the Barca Magazine interview, he admits he lied. Suarez said:
"I left it a few days because you have to remember that I’m only human and sometimes it’s hard to face the truth. I found it hard to take in and to realise what I had done. Those were days when I didn't want to know about it. I just wanted to be with my wife and children, who supported me through that time. I didn't want to listen to anybody, or speak to anybody. I didn't want to accept it.
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In an unmissable piece by Wright Thompson for ESPN (warning: NSFW language), essential reading for anyone who wants to begin understanding the rags-to-riches transformation of the impoverished boy from Salto, Uruguay, into one of the most recognisable faces in the world today, Suarez's "origin story" is explored.
If that makes him sound like he belongs in a superhero film, then it's not far from the mark. He is a villain that football supporters love to hate. Like the Joker, he is at once malevolent and impossible to take your eyes off.
Thompson explores how Suarez allegedly headbutted a referee at 15 years old, fell in love with a girl named Sofia and had her cruelly taken away from him when her family moved to Spain. How the penniless Suarez concocted a plan to become good enough at football to be signed by a European team so he could see her again. How it worked, and how he married her in 2009.
The piece states that his friends and mentors believe that when Suarez bites it is out of a fear reflex, a defense mechanism to stop his wife and children being taken away from him. Because football for him became more than a sport; it was the only way he could ever be reunited with his soul-mate.
And if these people are right, then Suarez saying, pledging or swearing that he will never bite again is meaningless. Just worthless words. Because if he feels that fear again then who knows what he will do?
Suarez has admitted taking psychological help, which may have an impact. But it's impossible to know what he will do until he is there, in the middle of the war zone.
And he may find himself there in a matter of days. Suarez's four-month ban for biting Chiellini expires the night before Barcelona face Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on October 25.
He has been building his fitness up, scoring two goals against Oman and preparing to return in style against Barca's archrival, as we discussed on Monday.
If he returns against Madrid, he possesses the quality needed to make a difference in the game, although equally he could explode once again, under provocation from wind-up masters Pepe and Sergio Ramos.
Between the biting, the diving, the kicking, the handballs and worse, the goals, the dribbles, the cunning movement and the skills, lies Luis Suarez.
The most exciting, enthralling thing about him is that it's impossible to guess which part of the mix will float to the top on any given day.
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