 Suárez in 1962 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luis Suárez Miramontes | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1935-05-02)2 May 1935 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | A Coruña,Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 9 July 2023(2023-07-09) (aged 88) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Milan, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder,inside forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Perseverancia | |||||||||||||||||
| 1949–1953 | Fabril | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1953–1954 | Deportivo La Coruña | 17 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 1954–1955 | España Industrial | 21 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 1955–1961 | Barcelona | 122 | (62) | ||||||||||||||
| 1961–1970 | Inter Milan | 256 | (42) | ||||||||||||||
| 1970–1973 | Sampdoria | 63 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 479 | (122) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1957–1972 | Spain | 32 | (14) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1974 | Genoa Primavera | ||||||||||||||||
| 1974–1975 | Inter Milan | ||||||||||||||||
| 1975 | Cagliari | ||||||||||||||||
| 1977 | SPAL | ||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1978 | Como | ||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1979 | Deportivo La Coruña | ||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1989 | Spain U21 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1991 | Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Inter Milan | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995 | Albacete | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995 | Inter Milan (interim) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Luis Suárez Miramontes (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈlwisˈswaɾeθmiɾaˈmontes]; 2 May 1935 – 9 July 2023[1]) was a Spanish professionalfootballer and manager. He played as amidfielder forDeportivo de La Coruña,España Industrial,Barcelona,Inter Milan,Sampdoria; he also represented theSpain national team between 1957 and 1972. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Spanish football players of all time,[2][3] Suárez was noted for his elegant and fluid style of play and also regarded to be one of the greatest midfielders in the history of the sport.[2][4][5][6]
NicknamedEl Arquitecto[1][7] – The Architect – orLuisito,[8][9] in 1960 Suárez became the first Spanish-born player to win theBallon d'Or.[3][10][nb 1] In 1964, he helpedSpain win their firstEuropean Championship title.[11] Suárez originally achieved prominence as a creativeinside forward, orattacking midfielder in modern terms, during his spell at Barcelona in the 1950s,[9][12] before reaching his prime as adeep-lying playmaker at Inter Milan, where he played a pivotal role in the success ofHelenio Herrera's side, and was one of the primary creative forces in the squad, thanks to his skill on the ball, vision, and passing range.[9][12] He retired as a player in 1973, after three seasons at Sampdoria.[11]
Suárez subsequently began a career as a coach and managed Inter Milan on three separate occasions, the latter two of which on acaretaker basis.[9] He was also at the helm of both theSpain under-21 national team, which he led to aEuropean Under-21 Championship title in 1986,[10][13] and theSpanish senior national team, which he led to the round of 16 of the1990 World Cup.[3][9] He died inMilan on 9 July 2023, aged 88.[1][9]
Luis Suárez Miramontes was born on 2 May 1935, inA Coruña,Galicia;[7][8] the last of three brothers,[7] he was raised in thebarrio of Monte Alto, where his family owned abutcher shop.[14][15]
He started playing football at Perseverancia, a local team administered by the Santo Tomásparish;[15][16] in 1949, aged 14, he joinedDeportivo La Coruña,[7][17] following a successful trial he had attended after reading an advertisement left onLa Voz de Galicia by managerAlejandro Scopelli, who was helping the club establish a youth academy.[15][18]
After coming through the club's youth ranks and playing for their reserve team,Deportivo Fabril,[17] Suárez was promoted to the first team during the1953–54 season,[7][17] as part of a squad that was managed byCarlos Iturraspe,[7][19] and included players such asPahiño andArsenio Iglesias.[15][19] On 6 December 1953, he made his senior debut for Deportivo, starting in a 6–1 league defeat toBarcelona at theCamp de Les Corts.[14][17] Throughout the rest of the campaign, he established himself as a regular starter for the Galician club,[7] attracting interest by bothReal Madrid andBarcelona.[15] He played 17 games and scored three goals for Deportivo.[14][17]
In March 1954, Suárez joined fellowLa Liga sideBarcelona, together with team-mateDagoberto Moll,[17][19] for a reported total fee of 600,000pesetas.[18] The two players were officially registered by the Catalan club at the end of1953–54 league season, and as such deemed eligible to play in theCopa del Generalísimo of the same year.[7][17][nb 2] He made his debut for Barça on 2 May 1954, the day of his 19th birthday,[20] in a 4–0 victory over his former team Deportivo in the cup's first round;[7] he then served as a regular starter forFerdinand Daučík's side throughout the rest of the competition,[7] as they eventually lost toValencia in thefinal.[7][21]
During the1954–55 season, the midfielder gained limited playing time with the first team,[15] under managerSandro Puppo,[7][22] while also featuring for Barcelona's reserve side,España Industrial, in thesecond division.[7] Throughout the following campaigns, he steadily established himself as a regular starter,[7] although some of his coaches considered him "too frail" physically,[22] with managerFerenc Plattkó notably forcing him to do extra work-out on apunching bag in order to raise hismuscle mass.[7][23] At the end of the 1956–57 season, he won his firstSpanish Cup with the club.[20][24]
Following the appointment ofHelenio Herrera as Barça's manager at the start of the 1958–59 season,[7] Suárez started performing at a consistently high level in theleft inside forward position,[9][15][25] becoming one of the most important players in a team that also includedLadislao Kubala,Zoltán Czibor,Sándor Kocsis,Ramón Villaverde,Justo Tejada,Evaristo andEulogio Martínez, among others.[7][25] With Herrera as coach, the club and Suárez won a domesticleague–cup double in the 1958–59 season,[7][25] and then aleague–Fairs Cup double in the following campaign,[26][27] when they also reached theEuropean Cup semi-finals.[7][27]
However, during his stint under the French manager, Suárez's relationship with Barcelona fans progressively deteriorated, due to a perceived rivalry between him and Kubala;[15][22] as a result, the midfielder started getting booed by his own supporters in every game he played.[23][28]
On 19 October 1960, Suárez scored a goal after a solo action from over the middle of the pitch in a 4–3Fairs Cup win overZagreb XI.[10] On 9 November 1960, he scored 1000thEuropean Cup goal in history in a First round 2–2El Clásico draw. In December of the same year, Suárez received theBallon d'Or by French magazineFrance Football,[29][30] with a total of 54 votes.[7][31] In the process, he became the first Spanish-born footballer to ever win the prize;[3][26][nb 1] afterAlexia Putellas's back-to-back victories in2021 and2022, he retained the title as the only Spanish-born men's footballer to ever receive the award.[13][32] Suárez received the Ballon d'Or on 9 March 1961,[13] just a few minutes before the start of aEuropean Cup match againstSpartak Hradec Králové.[29]
During his last season at Barcelona, which sawEnric Rabassa,Ljubisa Brocic andEnrique Orizaola take turns to sit in the dug-out, after Herrera had left forInter Milan, Suárez did not win any trophy.[22] Nevertheless, the team reached thefinal of theEuropean Cup,[7] where they eventually suffered a 3–2 loss toBenfica:[33] it was the midfielder's last game for the Catalan club.[27][28]
Throughout seven seasons, Suárez played a total amount of 253 matches for Barcelona, scoring 141 goals.[20][26]
On 26 May 1961, five days before thefinal of theEuropean Cup,[33] Barcelona and Italian clubInter Milan reached an agreement for the transfer of Suárez for 25 million Spanish pesetas[22][27] (£152,000).[24][34] He subsequently became theworld's most expensive footballer,[26][34] having overtaken the previous record set byOmar Sívori in 1957.[34] He also became the first Spanish footballer to play inSerie A,[35][36] along withJuan Santisteban.[35] The transfer, which saw Suárez re-unite with manager Herrera,[9][26] has been considered one of the most controversial decisions in Barcelona's history,[10][22] as the Catalan club's board reportedly aimed to maximize the revenue in order to repay part of their financial debts,[22][27] as well as complete the construction of theCamp Nou.[9][22]
On 27 August 1961, he made his debut and scored his first goal for Inter Milan in a 6–0league win overAtalanta.[37] In October of the same year, he suffered a knee injury in aFairs Cup match againstKöln, which limited his impact on the pitch during the rest of his first season in Italy.[38] He finished second in the final ranking for the1961 Ballon d'Or, behind only winner Omar Sívori.[39][40]
At the start ofthe following campaign,[9] manager Herrera moved Suárez to thedeep-lying playmaker role,[7][9] where he became one of the key players of theGrande Inter side that famously adopted a counter-attacking style of play.[9][12][15] On 10 March 1963, he scored three goals in a 6–0 league win overGenoa: in the process, he became the first Spanish player to ever score a hat-trick in Serie A, and remained the only one to have ever done so untilSuso hit the same achievement in 2016.[41] At the end of the 1962–63 season, the midfielder won his first national title with Inter.[24][42]
In the 1963–64 season, although Inter Milan lost theleague title toBologna in the final tie-breaker,[43] Suárez helped theNerazzurri win theEuropean Cup.[7][44] In the second leg of the cup'ssemi-finals againstBorussia Dortmund, the midfielder caused controversy after violently kicking the opposing right-half and injuring him, with referee Branko Tesanić eventually opting against sending the Spanish player off.[24] He then went on to feature in thefinal inVienna,[24] where Inter gained a 3–1 win over Real Madrid to win the European title.[25][45]
On 26 September 1964, Suárez was a part of the Inter side that won the1964 Intercontinental Cup, having gained a 1–0 victoryafter extra time overIndependiente in the tie-breaking match.[46][47] In December of the same year, he finished second in the final standings for the1964 Ballon d'Or, behind winnerDenis Law:[13][48] the Spanish player publicly expressed his disappointment over this outcome in multiple occasions during his lifetime.[10][13][15] After winning his secondleague title with Inter[24][49] – and being voted as the best player of the season by the Italian sporting press – ,[50] Suárez also helped the Italian club claim their second consecutiveEuropean Cup,[44] thanks to a 1–0 overBenfica in thefinal.[24][51]
On 25 August 1965, Suárez took part in afriendly match against his former club Barcelona at the Camp Nou:[13] at the 38th minute of the match,[7] he abruptly left the pitch after being on the receiving end of boos fromblaugrana supporters since the start of the game, and made abras d'honneur towards them before reaching the exit,[13][52] a gesture he eventually came to regret throughout the years.[23] On 8 September of the same year, he once again helped Inter Milan beat Independiente to lift their secondIntercontinental Cup in a row.[53][54] In December of the same year, he was the third most-voted player in the final ranking of the1965 Ballon d'Or, behind team-mateGiacinto Facchetti and winnerEusébio.[40][55] Throughout the1965–66 league campaign, Suárez scored five goals,[56] helping Inter lift their second consecutive national title;[24][56] his team also reached the semi-finals of theEuropean Cup, before losing to eventual champions Real Madrid.[57]
In May 1967, Suárez was forced to miss theEuropean Cup final againstCeltic due to an injury, being subsequently replaced byMauro Bicicli:[58] Inter eventually suffered a 2–1 defeat.[59][60] In the following weeks, the Italian club also missed out on their thirdnational title in a row on the last day (in favor ofJuventus),[61][62] and got eliminated byPadova in theCoppa Italia semi-finals: as a result, they finished the campaign without winning a single trophy.[63]
During the1969–70 campaign, his last season at Inter Milan, Suárez's performances declined due to his deployment as asweeper:[24] he scored just one goal in the league, as his side finished runners-up behindCagliari.[64]
Between 1961 and 1970, Suárez made a total amount 333 appearances for Inter, scoring 55 goals.[9]
In July 1970, Suárez was signed by fellow Serie A clubSampdoria,[24][65] as part of a swap deal that sawMario Frustalupi join Inter.[65] InGenoa, he moved back into his favoured position in midfield,[24] and became one of the team's most notable players and leaders,[24][66] together withGiovanni Lodetti.[9][66] He scored 13 goals in 73 total appearances for theBlucerchiati.[67]
After completing three seasons at Sampdoria,[7][9] with the club managing to retain their top-flight status in each occasion,[67] he announced his retirement from professional football in 1973, aged 38.[11][13]
Suárez won 32 caps for theSpain senior national team,[1][3] having made his debut on 30 January 1957 in a 5–1 victory overthe Netherlands,[20] and represented Spain at both the1962 and1966FIFA World Cups. He was part of the Spanish side that won the1964 European Championship.[1][3] He played his final game for Spain in 1972, at almost 37 years of age, in a draw againstGreece.[15][20]
Suárez managed his former team Inter Milan on three separate occasions: during the1974–75 season as a head coach, and then on acaretaker basis during the1991–92 and1995–96 campaigns.[9]
In 1986, he led theSpain under-21 national team to aEuropean Under-21 Championship title;[10][13] in 1990, he was the manager of theSpanish senior national team at the1990 World Cup, where they got eliminated in the round of 16.[3][9]
Suárez had two older brothers,José [gl] (b. 1924) andAgustín [gl] (b. 1926), who also played football, having both started their respective careers at Deportivo La Coruña.[7]
He married his first wife, Nieves, in 1967;[68] the couple had two children, and they lived inNervi, aquartiere of Genoa, during the footballer's spell at Sampdoria and for several years following his retirement.[69] His younger son, who had been born withcongenital cleft palate, died in 1977, aged seven.[69]
Following adivorce, he married his second wife, Valentina (who died in 2020);[70] the couple moved toMilan in 1988, settling in thequartiere ofSan Siro, close to theeponymous stadium Suárez had played in while at Inter Milan.[28]
In June 1989, he received theCastelao Medal by theXunta de Galicia for his notable contributions in the sporting field.[71][72]
Since the early 2000s, he worked as a guestpundit for several sports programmes broadcast on Italian and Spanishtelevision networks.[9][73]
On 20 November 2001,[74] Suárez was awarded the Gold Medal of theRoyal Order of Sporting Merit by theMinistry of Education, Culture and Sport for his sporting merits.[13][74]
In 2008, he received theGolden Foot as afootball legend, together withAldair,Igor Belanov andZinedine Zidane.[75]
In 2014, he started working forCadena SER's radio programmeCarrusel Deportivo,[72][76] where he primarily served as acommentator and ananalyst for Barcelona's matches.[7][72]
In July 2015, as part of the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of theFC Barcelona Museum, Suárez donated the Ballon d'Or trophy he received in 1961 to their collection.[22][77] On 14 December 2016, Spanish sports newspaperMarca awarded him theMarca Leyenda prize for his career and achievements.[32][78]
Suárez died on 9 July 2023, at the age of 88.[3][9][11] The news was first confirmed by former Inter Milan presidentMassimo Moratti, who revealed the former player and manager had been hospitalized at theOspedale Niguarda in Milan several days before his death.[9][79] He was the fourth 1964 European Nations' Cup champion to die in a few months, afterAmancio died in February 2023,Fusté in April 2023 andOlivella in May 2023.
A public funeral was held on 11 July, at theSaint Joseph Calasanz Church in Milan: the service was attended by several fans,[70][80] as well as representatives from Barcelona (Rafa Yuste andJuan Manuel Asensi),[70] Inter Milan (Gianfranco Bedin, Massimo Moratti andGiuseppe Marotta)[80] and Real Madrid (Emilio Butragueño).[70][80] Deportivo La Coruña, Real and theSpanish Football Federation all reportedly sent flower garlands to pay homage to Suárez.[70][80]
.JPG)
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain[81] | 1957 | 6 | 4 |
| 1958 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1959 | 5 | 5 | |
| 1960 | 7 | 3 | |
| 1961 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1962 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1963 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1964 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1965 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1966 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1967 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1968 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1969 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1970 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1971 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1972 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 14 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 March 1957 | Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain |  Switzerland | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 31 March 1957 | Heysel, Brussels, Belgium |  Belgium | 2–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 5–0 | |||||
| 4 | 8 May 1957 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Scotland | 2–2 | 2–4 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 13 March 1958 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France |  France | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 6 | 15 October 1958 | Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain |  Northern Ireland | 4–1 | 6–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | 28 June 1959 | Silesian Stadium,Chorzów, Poland |  Poland | 1–1 | 4–2 | UEFA Euro 1960 qualifying |
| 8 | 3–1 | |||||
| 9 | 22 November 1959 | Mestalla,Valencia, Spain |  Austria | 2–0 | 6–3 | Friendly |
| 10 | 3–0 | |||||
| 11 | 17 December 1959 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France | France | 1–0 | 3–4 | Friendly |
| 12 | 10 July 1960 | Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru |  Peru | 2–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 13 | 3–0 | |||||
| 14 | 26 October 1960 | Wembley, London, England |  England | 2–2 | 2–4 | Friendly |
Barcelona
Inter Milan
Spain
Spain U21
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