Suarez is.without any doubt,the best striker in the world(Messi is not striker). So how highly do you rank him in all time ranking (overall player and striker)?
Suarez became the first player ever in La liga to scorer 4 goals in consecutive games, a great achievement.......... and not a mention by anyone on this forum, I feel there are a few Messi fans as oppsoed to Barcelona fans on this forum, maybe they will support Man City instead of he ever goes there !
Outstanding player. One of the best in this generation. He's definitely in the coversation for the best player in the world which is some accolade. I would imagine he will be somewhere around the top 100 players of all time once he retires.
Amongst forwards, I certainly rank him below these names; Pele, Messi, Puskas, Ronaldo, Van Basten, Romario, Cristiano, Eusebio, Rummenigge, Thierry Henry, Hristo Stoichkov, Dennis Bergkamp, Oleg Blokhin, Raul Gonzalez, Gabriel Batistuta, Andriy Shevchenko ...Sindelar, Sarosi, Florian Albert, Leonidas, Kocsis, Uwe Seeler, Gunnar Nordahl, Silvio Piola, Gigi Riva, Josef Bican, Dixie Dean, Jimmy Greaves are some that I have no footage to go by but I guess they'd be ranked higher. Then there's the group that blurs the lines between attacking midfielder and forward - Johann Cruyff, Alfredo di Stefano, Jose Moreno, Giuseppe Meazza, Ronaldinho, Roberto Baggio, Fritz Walter, Adolfo Perdenera, Omar Sivori, Nandor Hidegkuti, Kenny Dalglish, Francesco Totti So Top 35-50 forwards and around Top 100 overall or slightly below
Suarez is better than Shevchenko, Raul, Batistuta without doubt. Has a good chance to surpass Blokhin, Henry, Rummenigge and Bergkamp.
Suarez delivers at both club and international level, which Raul and Shevchenko did not. Suarez beats Batistuta in being part of a historical side (Barcelona 14-15), plus having a bit more quality.
How did Shevchenko not deliver at intl level? The qualifying campaigns for Euro 00 and WC 02 plus qualifying and getting to the quarters in 06? Apart from the penalty miss vs France in 2000, Raul usually performed for Spain. Can't blame him for things such as the officiating vs S.Korea in WC 02 when Spain looked well placed, especially considering the form of other big nations bar Brazil. Sheva was 6 times in the Ballon D'or top 10, Raul was one of the main pieces of a Madrid side that won the CL three times in 5 years.
I personally rate Suarez very highly. I think his 13-14 season was the single best season anyone's ever had in the EPL. I admire him a lot for his drive and determination. I have a soft spot for these "9 and a half" strikers though.
It has become an overrated season. What counts against it is a) the high proportion of the goal against the bottom teams, and the number of goals/assists against the top sides. And b) how many points his goals won (for a supposed one man show). It's behind many other great seasons, and even his team mates (his goals won 15 points). Among pure attackers only, I wouldn't say it was better than CR7 2007-08 or Henry his best seasons. More recently, RvP of 2011-12 was also a claimed one man show (not nearly as much hype) and his goals did win a lot of extra points for his team (24 points). But with Suarez several forces and trains joined forces. It was great season and great television, no doubt, but not better than Henry, CR7 or perhaps even seasons that came a couple of years before him.
Every high scoring goalscorers pad their numbers with goals against bottom tier teams. Unlike CR7 and Henry, Suarez didn't take his team's penalties. Suarez can't claim to have the best season of anyone playing in the EPL because those that have similar seasons, usually were also playing very well in the FA Cup or the UCL. However, as far as just the EPL goes though, I can't think of a better one. It's the best scoring rate, and hindsight has taught us that he basically transformed a mid-table team into a title-challenger.
I totally disagree. Outstanding club career, no doubt. But not much to speak of in Spanish colors. True, he was Spain's all-time leading scorer with 44 goals until David Villa broke his record. But in finals tournaments of the World Cup and Euros he played in 18 matches and only scored six goals, NONE of which came in the knockout rounds. His penalty miss in the dying minutes of the Euro 2000 quarterfinal against France his best opportunity and he choked. He was great in friendlies and qualifiers but when the going got tough, he never showed up.
Did you see the level Ronaldo or even Henry were performing at in their best epl seasons or did you come to the conclusion that suarez was "close" because of his goal tally? Ronaldo was on par with peak George Best 1967/68 in his 06/07 and 07/08 seasons. Henry 03/04 remains the best individual season performance wise by any striker since r9 1996/97.i would say r9 in 97/98 in inter was a hybrid/mixture between a striker and playmaker similar to Messi 09-12 . Scoring 49% of your goals against 17th,18th,19th and 20th placed premier league teams while not scoring a SINGLE goal against top 4 doesn't get categorised as the greatest prem season ever and it isn't even close. Suarez 13/14 could be in the same category as Drogba 09/10,Rooney 10/11 or possibly even rvp 11/12 Ronaldo's 07/08 season is untouchable Henry is the only one who got close but cr7's 07/08 campaign blows away anything Henry did in the UCL Suarez is not in this category the only thing similar between him and CR7 was their identical goal tallies.in terms of magic and all round performances their is only 1 winner. And the majority of people/fans who watched cr7's later years in United would tell you that 07/08 wasn't even his best season . his 06/07 season when he was being booed at every away stadium he went to because of the Rooney incident was even more devastating and week in and week out was destroying teams almost single handedly Having said this I would say suarez for 3 consecutive seasons 2013/14-2015/16 has been performing like an all time 20-25 forward playing at the same or similar level as a peak Hugo sanchez,rumminge,Henry if he maintains this level for let's say 1-2 seasons he can comfortably enter their category which would mean that he would be a definite all time 100 player.
Suarez had goals and assists against bottom teams in an extreme amount. Usually other competitions and international games give an extra perspective, but he hadn't. He did a lot more than scoring goals (also without ball) but they also missed their 2nd and 3rd scorer in 2014-15, as well as their three foremost assisters. For a team that conceded 50 goals in 2013-14. Plus, they played in other comps again.
Of course I've seen them all play. As an Arsenal fan, EPL is 80% of the football I watch. There was never a title challenging team in the modern EPL that was as much a one man team as Liverpool in 13-14. Liverpool had no business challenging for the title in the first place with that defense of theirs. The Suarez's attack was all they had going for them. This was unlike the Man Utd 07-08, which had one of the meanest defense in EPL history, and probably the best defense in Europe that year. It's not just the goals. Arsenal and Man Utd, without their talisman, were a lesser team, but could still play their football. Arsenal still achieved 4th place in Henry's final season, and after he left. Man Utd still came 2nd the year after Ronaldo left, and probably would have won the league, except Chelsea had a +100 goal season. In that season, Man Utd actually scored more goals than in 07-08. Two years after Ronaldo left, Man Utd was back to winning the league. Fergie's Man Utd was always very good. No one had to be that influential because everyone was pulling their weight. In 13-14, without Suarez, Sturridge would never have scored all those goals. Sterling and Coutinho would struggle, without Suarez as their go to guy (compare how they performed with more static strikers.) Forget the pressing, which only worked when Suarez set the tempo. Brendan Rodgers Liverpool was mediocre. For one season, Suarez pushed them far above their weight. I don't know of anyone else, who was that influential to their team, everything from striker partner, midfield functionality, and even defensive style.
Suarez being the most crucial player in 2013/14 is a myth that has been debunked several times. 1.)Suarez goals earned his team 16 points while Sturridge earned his team 20 points http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...r-goals-earned-points-Luis-Suarez-season.html 2.)Suarez didn't score a single goal vs top 4 3.)his season was really a tale of 2 halves in his first 16 games he scored 22 times including 10 alone in December.compare that to his last 17 games where he scored 9 times https://basstunedtored.com/liverpoo...many-league-goals-can-suarez-score-in-201314/ 22 goals in 16 games is impressive by any standard but let's take a look at the opposition 2 goals vs Sunderland 14th place 1 goal vs crystal palace 11th place 2 goals vs West Bromwich 17th place only 3 points above drop zone 2 goals vs Fulham 19th place( relegated ) 1 goal vs Everton 5th place 4 goals vs Norwich 18th place (relegated) 2 goals vs West ham 13th place 2 goals vs Tottenham 6th place 2 goals vs Cardiff 20th place (relegated) 1 goal vs hull 16th place 2 goals vs Stoke 9th place http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/luis-suarez-hits-30-league-7034501 Out of the 31 league goals Suarez scored 9 came against the top 10 ,none against the top 4,and wait for it .....14 goals against the bottom 4!!!! If this the greatest premier league season of all time I dread to know what is the worst. what Suarez did was demolish the bottom half of the bottom half of the premier league. A better argument could be Suarez being a candidate for the player with the most wc goals in a single premier league season ,his catalogue of impressive strikes was almost spellbinding. or maybe you could even argue he had the greatest season by a forward who never won the league. as for him having the best season he has no chance In front of him I would definitely have 1.)Cr7 07/08 won the league,pfa player of the year,European golden shoe,world player of the year,ballon dor,dominated the ucl etc... B.)Henry 03/04 won pfa, the league European golden shoe should of clearly won the 2003 ballon dor instead of nedved and had a case for the 2004 award but not as strong as the previous year.he was nearly unstoppable 2.)Cr7 06/07 first player to win pfa young player and pfa player of the season in a single season at 21 years old,won the league and finished runner up in ballon dor behind kaka 3.)Berkamp aka the most underrated legend in modern football history 97/98 won pfa won the league,came 3rd place in world player of year in 97 etc...to put it simply Zidane hasn't had a league season on par with this(his 97/98 and 00/01 seasons were close but not close enough only his 01/02 debut Los blancos season comes close if you factor in his champions league performance) Absolutely phenomenal 4.)Cantona 93/94 won pfa, the league and 3rd place ballon dor behind berkamp and baggio 5.)Alan shearer 95/96 won pfa,the league with Blackburn scored 34 league goals and came 3rd place ballon dor behind fenomeno and sammer Suarez 13/14 can possibly compete with Henry 02/03,rvp 11/12,Drogba 09/10 etc but has no chance against the best ever seasons category @Pipiolo @lessthanjake @PuckVanHeel
"One of the main pieces". Suarez is/was the piece for Uruguay and Liverpool, while lifting those teams to heights they hadn't experienced in decades.
Rauls peak was very high similar to sheva/Henry and better than batigol and he definitely deserved 1 ballon dor(2001) to represent his peak period after del pieros injury he was the most impressive attacker in the champions league for 3 consecutive seasons. He won 3 consecutive uefa club forward of the year awards between 1999-00-01/02 and it comes as no surprise that during this period real Madrid won 2 champions leagues Raul top scored with 10 goals in the 1999/00 and scored in the final vs valencia and also scored in the 2002 final playing a less crucial role. Suarez is yet to dominate the ucl like Raul did. also Raul was in the ballon dor top 10 6 times in 1997,1999,2000,runner up in 2001,2002 and 2003 compared to suarez's being in the ballon dor top 10 twice 2011 and 2015. Raul was consistent top 10 player during his peak. you could argue suarez is more direct,technical,helps more in defence etc and that is debatable primarily because Raul played second fiddle to many strikers and even players(ie Zidane, r9,Figo etc)the type of players suarez would also play second fiddle to(as good as suarez is no manager would build a team round him when he has players like fenomeno,Zidane etc at his disposal) suarez certainly has the potential to surpass Raul but it isn't as easy as you made it sound
1. First of all, CR7 2007-2008 only had his goals earn 19 points, so I think we can agree Sturridge (and plenty of other players) being above that means not that much. In any case, Suarez's goals and assists actually earned his team 34 points. Meanwhile, CR7's goals and assists in 2007-2008 only earned his team 25 points (note: this data used wide rules, which is particularly appropriate here, where CR7 got to be the pk taker and Suarez didn't, so Suarez should at least get credit for when he drew pks--which is the primary difference between wide and normal rules). So, to the extent that a player's contribution to his team's points matters, Suarez's season was superior to CR7. 2. It is true that Suarez did not score in the 6 matches against the other members of the top 4. However, he did get 3 assists in those matches. CR7 got 3 goals and 0 assists in his 6 matches against the other members of the top 4 in 2007-2008. Are you really going to hang your hat on the difference between 3 goals and 3 assists? 3. You try to act like Suarez's last 17 games were not great. The problem is that it's really just not true. The problem for you is that Suarez got 10 assists in those 17 games. 9 goals and 10 assists in 17 matches may not be as good as the first half of his season, but it's still quite good. And, to the extent that you don't consider it good, let's take a look at CR7's first 17 matches of the 2007-2008 season: In his first 17 matches, he got merely 13 goals and 2 assists. Is 9 goals and 10 assists really worse than 13 goals and 2 assists? I don't think so. 4. You say that only 9 of Suarez's goals came against the top 10. But that doesn't tell the whole story. Suarez got 9 goals and 13 assists against the top 10. CR7 got 13 goals and 4 assists against the top 10 in 2007-2008. You tell me which is better. Your response to all this will be to whine about wide rules. But as I mentioned above, they're particularly appropriate here. Suarez drew a TON of penalties that season. If he had been the pk taker like Cristiano Ronaldo was, he would've gotten goals, not assists when he did this. So using wide rules basically just goes a bit of the way towards equalizing the fact that Suarez didn't take penalties while CR7 did; wide rules allows us to at least count Suarez as contributing when he himself drew the penalty (though he still remains at a disadvantage because CR7 took penalties that he did not draw, while Suarez did not). That seems clearly fair, since CR7 already gets credit for times when he drew the penalty (since he then could score the penalty).
Your assists stats for suarez are HUGELY exaggerated Suarez had 12 league assists in the ENTIRE 13/14 league campaign so how did he get 13 assists against the top 10 LOL suarez got 12 league assists according to the official Liverpool website http://lfcstats.co.uk/20132014playerassists.html According to the official barclays premier league website http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/history/season-2013-14.html And other sources https://footballfragmento.wordpress.com/2014/05/15/201314-premier-league-season-stats/ http://www.squawka.com/football-stats/english-barclays-premier-league-season-2013-2014 Get your facts straight. Suarez scored 31 league goals in 33 games 9 goals vs the top 10 ,none vs the top 4 and 14 vs the bottom 4 these are the facts.
Suarez 2013-16 is not inferior to Fenomeno 2002-05. Suarez 2013-16 is also not inferior to Zidane at any point in Zidane's club career. Suarez 2013-16 arguably is more consistent than R9 post-injury ever was, and also more consistent than Zidane ever managed to be at club level. R9 (post-injury) was prettier to watch, but R9 (post-injury) was clearly inferior to Suarez in terms of defensive pressing and overall work-rate. And of course, Suarez is much stronger in the air.