Monday 12 December 2011

Luis Suarez - The Tony Soprano of Football


By Lee Jaundrell   12/12/11
Tony Soprano really isn’t very likeable. He is a gangster mafioso who kills people, cheats on his wife and is extremely (as Daffy Duck would say) despicable. But don’t ya just love him!?
Jimmy McNulty is a character from The Wire, he is ‘good police’, who drinks, cheats on various women, and even, to keep police funding up, fakes a serial killer who attacks homeless people. But don’t ya just love him!?
Luis Suarez is a footballer for Liverpool, who allegedly cheats by diving,  who may be racist, though probably not, and was insulting towards Fulham fans. But don’t ya just love him!?
Suarez is the bad guy that you’re actually routing for (though I am biased). He has cheated Ghana out of the World Cup, and bit an opponent in Holland before he even arrived in England. But right now, he is the most watchable player playing in the Premier League and possible the world. He is always involved, continuously on the move, trying to win at all costs, both legally and by the Dick Dastardly rule book. 
He gave a performance against Q.P.R on Saturday which was amazing, turning and twisting everywhere, creating chances, shooting on goal, how he came away with only 1 goal and no assists is bewildering, though if he could finish he would already be on 30 goals for the season and Liverpool would be riding much higher in the league. He has given this type of performance numerous times this season without due reward. One such performance came for Uruguay against Chile where he scored 4 goals, and could have scored 10, there will be games like that this season, and I pity the opponent it comes against.
There are currently two FA charges against him, one of racism towards an opponent, and the other for an insulting gesture towards fans. Liverpool fans will tell you it’s a witch hunt, while opposing fans will want him banned for their game against him. Now I don’t condone double standards but it really would be a shame if Suarez was banned for several games, as everyone loves a good villain, a good bad guy, a Tony Soprano, a Jimmy McNulty. The racism charge is fraught with enough language difficulties and nuances that it would be difficult for the charge to be upheld by the FA, though the insulting gesture charge will end with a ban, and that would be a bad thing for everyone, because as I said he is the most watchable player around. 
You wouldn’t watch The Sopranos without Tony, and The Wire without McNulty would just be like watching Treme! English football would be much less enjoyable without Luis Suarez.