Luis Suarez - The Man Everyone Loves To Hate

Luis Suarez – The Man Everyone Loves To Hate

Since the day Luis Suarez arrived on Merseyside, he raised ire among many a football follower of English clubs. Be it in a Liverpool shirt or recently at the London Olympics with Uruguay, he is booed everywhere he goes. Football fans in their nature are tribal, we have seen this more prevalently due to the magnification of the game with the media, wanting to get their next seller for the day or week ahead.

In my time following Liverpool, one man, Eric Cantona a foreign player in English game who similarly garnered so much hatred by fans like Suarez. Particularly where Leeds Football Club is concerned which Eric left for Manchester United in 1992. As with Luis Suarez, Cantona had a gift to entertain and do spectacular pieces of skill on the pitch, due to the magnificence of his football brain would get more so United fans off their feet and the opposition cursing him.

Cantona's brilliance on the pitch wasn't the primary focus for the best part of 9 months in 1995 while he served a ban for kung-fu kicking a Crystal Palace supporter having been sent off in the fixture at Selhurst Park. Which had an impact on the title race no doubt with Blackburn Rovers, who ended their long wait for a top flight title. The chances United created against West Ham on that last day of the season, I think a lot of supporters of Manchester United cursed their luck due their talisman being banned.

Similarly to Eric, Luis Suarez has endured well over 12 months of focus. Be it the racial incident with Manchester United's Patrice Evra or the diving, which at times has being justified but like Cantona in 1995 redemption among the media cohorts is nearing for the magical Uruguayan. The 1995/96 season proved to be Cantona's season in English football, the media who castigated his antics early in 1995 when the incident occurred were less than 18 months later toasting the man who carried Manchester United to their second League and Cup double in 3 seasons. Comparing Luis Suarez on this account wouldn't be fair as the Liverpool side he plays in are not the well oiled machine of the United 96 vintage.

Instead his 2012/13 season could be one where the man everyone loves to hate much like Eric Cantona, can be appreciated for his brilliance and marvel at his abilities as a footballer thus looking beyond what has gone before. His goal return of 10 goals in 12 League games, plus 2 assists attest to his form and what he recorded before his move from Ajax to Anfield. Who knows what the next 6 or so months will bring, but finally Suarez is getting some of plaudits as a footballer he deserves like Cantona did after his brush with controversy.

I was one of those people in 1995 in regards to Eric Cantona, at 11 going on 12 years of age you don't appreciate seeing players at their zenith. As you get older, you appreciate the quality of the player was despite your allegiances. Hopefully like me when you read this you can look beyond these trappings and appreciate the man you love to hate as a world class player which English football should be privileged to have plying his trade.