Luis Suárez (football player, 1935)

Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez, 1962
Personnel
Surname	Luis Suárez Miramontes
birthday	May 2, 1935
place of birth	A Coruña ,  Spain
size	175 cm
position	midfield
Juniors
Years	station
1949-1953	Deportivo La Coruña
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1953-1954	Deportivo La Coruña	17 0(3)
1954-1955	SD España Industrial
1955-1961	FC Barcelona	122 (61)
1961-1970	Inter Milan	256 (42)
1970-1973	Sampdoria Genoa	63 0(9)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1957-1966	Spain	32 (14)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
1973-1974	CFC Genoa (youth)
1974-1975	Inter Milan
1975	Sampdoria Genoa
1975-1976	SPAL Ferrara
1976-1977	Como Calcio
1977-1988	Cagliari Calcio
1978-1979	Deportivo La Coruña
1980-1988	Spain U-21
1988-1991	Spain
1992	Inter Milan
1994	Albacete Balompié
1995	Inter Milan
1 Only league games are given.

Luis Suárez Miramontes , known as Luis Suárez or Luisito (born May 2, 1935 in A Coruña , Galicia ), is a former Spanish football player and coach .

Club career

Suárez was born and raised in A Coruña, Galicia. At the age of 10 he started with the school team of Accion Catolica Tomas in his hometown A Coruña with the organized football, then served his way up with two other smaller clubs, so that his way led in 1951 in the youth department of Deportivo La Coruña . Those in charge did not misjudge his footballing qualities and so he made his debut in the first team on December 6, 1953 at the age of 18 in the 6-1 defeat against FC Barcelona in the Primera División . By the end of the season, midfielder Suarez had completed 17 games (3 goals) and had become a regular.

After this strong second half of the season he moved to FC Barcelona in Catalonia in the summer of 1954 , where he first played in the reserve team SD España Industrial and had to earn his spurs first. But in 1955 "Luisito" made the leap into the first team and also became a regular player in midfield. At "Barça" he played with László Kubala , Zoltán Czibor , Sándor Kocsis and goalkeeping legend Antoni Ramallets , which was extremely helpful for his football development. He was soon an indispensable part of the team and developed into a technically perfect playmaker who could read the game and provide his teammates with millimeter-accurate passes.

But he not only shone as a preparer, he also looked for the way to the goal and scored in every second game in the league (statistically speaking!). Under coach Helenio Herrera , the team won the double of the Spanish championship and cup ( Copa del Generalissimo , today Copa del Rey ) in 1959 . Barca won the championship in 1958/59 with 96 goals in 30 league games (51: 9 points) and arch-rivals Real Madrid were kept four points behind. With the goal-threatening internal storm Kocsis, Evaristo and Suarez, the first championship title in six years was brought to Camp Nou. The next championship followed in 1960 and Suárez had made himself a world-class player. As an expression of his skills, he was voted Europe's Footballer of the Year in the same year , making him the only player born in Spain to receive this honor until 2012 ( Andrés Iniesta won the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award) (apart from him, only the naturalized Argentine Alfredo Di Stéfano as Spaniards this price). His last game for Barcelona was the 1961 European Cup final , which the Spaniards lost 3-2 to Benfica Lisbon .

Coach Herrera left Barcelona towards Italy , to Inter Milan to train. Suárez followed the successful coach after 139 league games and 62 goals in the Primera Division (122/60 of which for Barcelona) and also moved to Inter in 1961 for the then record sum of 250 million lire (equivalent to 142,000 pounds sterling ). Suárez, as the most expensive player in the world, is said to have received a significant amount of cash for this transfer. But the change should be worthwhile for the players and the club, the era of "La Grande Inter" should dawn and Suárez experienced the most successful period of his career. Coach Herrera built Suárez into his Catenaccio system as a playmaker, who should act as the control center between defense and attack.

He later put him in Sandro Mazzola, a talented player who supported him. Inter was considered the best club team in the world in the mid-1960s and won the Scudetto in 1963, 1965 and 1966 . The team also caused a stir internationally and won the European Cup in 1964 (3-1 against Real Madrid ) and 1965 (1-0 against Benfica Lisbon ) . The World Cup was also won in 1964 and 1965 (each against CA Independiente ). In 1970 the veteran left Inter Milan after 257 Serie A games (42 goals) at the age of 35 and joined Sampdoria Genoa for three years before ending his active career in 1973 - after 64 games with eight goals.

Career in the national team

1957 Suárez made his debut in the national team . He was part of the Spanish squad that took part in the 1962 World Cup in Chile, but was eliminated in the preliminary round. But two years later the " Selección " celebrated their first international title with playmaker Suárez and won the 1964 European Football Championship . In the final, the Soviet Union was beaten 2-1. This was to be the only title until 2008, before Spain became European champions again.

After this success and with top stars like Francisco Gento , José Ángel Iribar and Pirri , Spain was considered a secret favorite for the 1966 World Cup in England . But the team again disappointed across the board and had to return home after the preliminary round like four years earlier. After this bitter disappointment, Suárez ended his career in the national team.

titles and achievements

societies

• Spanish champion (2): 1958/59 , 1959/60
• Spanish Cup Winner (2): 1957 , 1959
• Italian champion (3): 1962/63 , 1964/65 , 1965/66
• European Champion Clubs' Cup (2): 1964 , 1965
• World Cup Winner (2): 1964 , 1965

National team

• European Champion : 1964

Personally

• European Footballer of the Year : 1960 (second in 1961, 1964; third in 1965)

Career as a coach

After returning to his Spanish homeland, he took over the coaching position at Deportivo La Coruna in 1978. However, similarly great successes as as a player were denied him. In 1980 he accepted an offer from the Spanish Football Association and was responsible for the youth work. In 1984 he won the European Championship with the U21 selection, and the European title two years later with a final victory over Italy. At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico , he acted as assistant to national coach Miguel Muñoz , whose successor Suárez took over after the 1988 European Football Championship .

In 1990 the 55-year-old led the “Seleccion” to the World Cup in Italy, where the team was eliminated in the round of 16 against Yugoslavia . In the summer of 1994 Suarez returned to the Spanish league and briefly coached Albacete Balompié . As a coach, what made him stand out was his open interaction with the players. He also sat at Inter Milan three times in the coaching bench, 1974-1975, as well as 1992 and 1995, both times, however, only as an interim coach.

literature

• Matthias Weinrich: The European Cup. Volume 1: 1955 to 1974. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 2007, ISBN 978-3-89784-252-6 .
• Michael Horn: Lexicon of international soccer stars. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-89533-466-9 .

Web links

• International match details on rsssf.com

Individual evidence

1. ^ Matthias Weinrich: The European Cup Volume 1: 1955 to 1974, page 97
2. ^ Matthias Weinrich: The European Cup Volume 1: 1955 to 1974, page 98