FIFA World Cup 2014: Uruguay believe in their greatest striker Suarez

Sao Paulo: “Suarez can become the president of our country if elections were held tomorrow,” said a Uruguayan fan, who was celebrating his team’s win over England on Thursday in a Sao Paulo metro station. He was slightly surprised by a question on the popularity of Luis Suarez, probably the greatest striker his country has produced.

A poster at the stadium read “God save the king” with a photo of Suarez. If the British have their Queen, Uruguayans have reposed their faith in the majestic goal-scoring prowess of the forward. No individual is more important to a team at the 2014 World Cup. Not even Neymar is as valuable to Brazil as Suarez is to Uruguay.

The return of Suarez after a knee injury electrified his team. Even though the striker wasn’t completely fit, he had the killer instinct to convert two of the three chances he had in the match. England’s worst fear about Suarez came true. Without him, Uruguay might have lost the match by three goals.

Few forwards are hungrier than Suarez in modern football. Born with six siblings in a poor family in Salto, Uruguay’s second largest city after capital Montevideo, the fan favourite at Liverpool always had a nose for goals. More important, he hated losing.

Putting a premium on winning is a quality that defines players who faced hurdles in childhood and Suarez is no different. An obsession with scoring goals landed him in trouble on more than one occasion.

From facing the music over charges of racially abusing Patrice Evra to serving a lengthy suspension for biting Branislav Ivanovic to stopping a Ghanaian header on the goal line with his hands, Suarez has seen it all. No doubt he has his flaws. In front of goal, however, no other contemporary forward has his sharpness.

Suarez is the embodiment of the saying that strikers are born. A powerful and precise shooter with both feet, the 27-year-old can also head the ball effectively. His dead ball skills are a nightmare to goalkeepers.

The Uruguayan’s superb dribbling at speed and ability to provide perfect assists make him a complete footballer. Suarez is a big match player. After scoring three goals in the 2010 World Cup, he struck four in the 2011 Copa America to win his country the title. Adored by his fans and feared by his opponents, Suarez is every manager’s dream. He can walk into any team in the World Cup here for his razor-sharp finishing alone.