The Anfield goal machine IS the best player on the planet right now and here’s five reasons why.
If you were to ask any footballing fanatic who they deemed to be the best player on the planet right now you are sure to garner a reply of either ‘Lionel Messi’ or ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’, or perhaps a more cultured ‘knowing’ expert on the beautiful game will opt for a ‘Xavi’, ‘Andres Iniesta’ perhaps even ‘Franck Ribery’.
All these responses are wrong.
The best footballer on planet earth at this very moment in time is Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, here are five reasons why.
1) The Premier League
As well as being perhaps the most exciting league in European football the Premier League is also arguably the highest quality league to boot.
A league where on any given day any team can overcome another. Therefore every 90 minute run out can result in any result and battles between two sides are rarely ‘cakewalks’.
Therefore scoring goals on a regular basis is not a ‘given’ as it is in La Liga or even to some extent the Bundesliga.
2) Liverpool are not Real Madrid/Barcelona/Bayern Munich
Liverpool are not the force they once were, though they are clearly moving in the right direction, therefore Luis Suarez is very much ‘holding the fort’ up front, a lot of responsibility is heaped on his shoulders, responsibility he has shouldered with some aplomb.
Whereas Real Madrid and Barcelona merely have to turn up to defeat the likes of Getafe, Elche and a host of very average sides, Liverpool can not be expected to just plough through the opposition, it takes a masterful forward to see off their rivals.
To prove this point you only have to see just how easily Barcelona and Real Madrid see off the opposition even when mercurial talents such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not available.
The point being that scoring 20 goals in 15 Premier League fixtures is a far superior achievement than doing likewise for Barcelona/Real Madrid/Bayern Munich.
3) Something out of nothing
There’s no doubting that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are capable of making ‘something out of nothing’ though Luis Suarez is a more rounded attacking force who takes the art-form of creating chances from nowhere to a whole new level.
The Uruguayan harangues opponents, is a constant menace throughout a game, never allowing defenders to settle and is capable of beating his man, speeding past opponents, drifting in, pulling out of the box and is a lethal finisher and a set-piece specialist.
Simply put, Luis Suarez can score every type of goal imaginable, his attributes mean that the Liverpool man can score the net the scruffiest attempt ever and the next moment bend in an unstoppable free-kick into the top corner.
4) Strike-Rate
Luis Suarez has been a prolific forward throughout his career, be it at Montevideo side Nacional, Dutch minnows FC Groningen, Eredivisie giants Ajax, Liverpool or indeed for his national team. The guy just can’t stop scoring.
A record of 71 goals from 105 starts for a Liverpool side that has at times struggled is hugely impressive, just think how many goals he would have racked up for the Merseyside club had he not been ruled out for two long spells due to suspension.
Suarez has scored 248 goals in his career, not bad going for a 26 year old, he is also Uruguay’s record goal-scorer.
5) ‘Team Player’
Though Luis Suarez, rightly or wrongly, has come in for a fair amount of abuse for a range of issues, from simulation to displaying bad sportsmanship, there is always a sense that the striker is doing all he can to secure victory for his side.
Though clearly goal-scoring is in his blood you’ll never see the striker celebrating the netting of a consolation goal. His efforts are concentrated solely to securing success for club and country, though clearly he is willing to do all he can to do so, which at times angers opposition supporters but at the same time makes him an idol with Uruguayan national team fans and the Anfield faithful.
Basically, he’s the type of player you want playing for your team.
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