Luis Suarez: Spain’s star in the first European Championship | European Nations Cup 2024

Described by Alfredo Di Stéfano as “the architect”, Luis Suárez Miramontes remains one of the most successful players in football history, winning league titles in Spain and Italy, two European Cups, the UEFA European Championship and the Ballon d’Or. .

After developing his skills on the streets of A Coruña playing with canvas balls, Suárez made his debut for RC Deportivo La Coruña in 1953 at the age of 18. His time at his hometown club was short and the youngster struggled to fit into a team with tougher players much older than himself.

FC Barcelona took on the services of the playmaker, who was already beginning to show when Helenio Herrera arrived at the Camp Nou in 1958. Everyone knew how hard it was to please the Argentine coach, but he immediately liked Suarez, who he said was a “great team organiser” and had “a life.” perfect.”

The Galician was pleased with the importance Herrera gave him in a team that had the attacking talents of Laszlo Kubala, Evaristo de Macedo, Justo Tejada, Zoltan Chebur and Sandor Kocsis. Barcelona was at a great level and won the league and cup titles in 1959 and then the league again the following year. In 1960, Suarez became the first and so far only Spaniard to win the Ballon d’Or, an award he presented to the Barcelona Museum on April 29.

“I was the organizer,” he said. “I started from the back but covered a lot of ground and had a great perspective and good vision of the game. He had a change of pace, good technique and he could shoot from outside the area.” His role in Herrera’s team. The Galician shares a particular affinity for one of his successors at the club: “I recognize myself in Andres Iniesta Because he is looking for depth to finish the play himself or to look for another colleague.

Suarez came close to European glory with Barcelona in 1961, losing 3-2 to Benfica in a final that defied logic when the Catalans hit the woodwork five times. That night in Bern was one of his last performances for Barcelona, ​​as that summer his mentor Herrera signed him with Internazionale Milano for a record transfer fee of 25 million pesetas, around €150,000.

“I don’t think I would have ever come to an agreement to leave Spain had it not been for Herrera. He was ahead of his time. His training sessions took half as long as the rest of the teams, but they were twice as tiring because of their intensity,” Suarez expressed..

The feeling was mutual. “To build a great Inter I need a great midfielder and Suarez was the best,” Herrera explained. With Suarez being the final piece of Herrera’s puzzle, Inter won their first Serie A title in nine years in 1963, after which they lifted the European Cup by defeating Real Madrid CF 3-1 in the final.

“My best memory is undoubtedly the final in Vienna against Real Madrid for many reasons. It was then that we realized we were a great team. We beat a great team that dominated European football. For me, an ex-Barcelona footballer, it was a double satisfaction. I will never forget the light in Our chief’s eyes [Angelo Moratti] After the victory in Vienna. If I were a painter and I had to paint “happiness”, I would try to reproduce those eyes, “Suarez recalls.

But Suarez’s destiny wasn’t just to conquer Europe with his club, as he helped Spain to the UEFA European Championship on home soil that summer. Then at 29 and being the oldest in the national team, he led a young team to victories against Hungary in the semifinals and the Soviet Union in the Grand Final.

He then had another success with Inter in the 1965 European Cup, this time against Benfica. The Italian side reached the 1967 final again, although injury prevented Suarez from taking part in the defeat against Celtic.

Suarez finished his football career in Sampdoria, and later returned to Inter, where he coached three times. He also managed Spain in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, although despite two decades as a coach Suarez always felt more comfortable on the pitch. He admits: “I didn’t go far as a coach, I was better as a player.”

Luis Suarez was the coach of the Spain national team in the 1990 FIFA World Cup© Getty Images

Although he had a painting dedicated to La Coruña, Suarez continued to live in Milan and did not regret Spain changing Italy 54 years ago. “I was attracted by the challenge of seeing if I could achieve something away from home. I left a huge team at Barcelona to go to Inter, who were not very well known at the time in Europe. It was great because we won so many trophies and it made Inter a great device. “.