2 Jul 2012

Luis Suarez admits: £40m Brazil star is the 'most difficult' defender to play against...

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has come up against some of the world's top defenders over the last four years, but who is the most difficult defender he has ever come up against?

In an interview with the official Liverpool FC Website today, Suarez - who was recently selected in Uruguay's squad for the 2012 Olympics - admitted that Anfield team-mate Martin Skrtel is the best defender he's ever played with, but when it came to his most difficult opponent, he selected a fellow South American:

"There are many good ones [defenders] I have played against but the most difficult would be Thiago Silva from Milan.

"He is a very good defender and is always a tough opponent. He is quick, strong and all-round a very good player".


AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani recently confirmed that PSG were in negotiations with PSG over a potential £40m deal, but to date, no transfer has been concluded.

Suarez has faced Silva three times in competitive matches: Once for Brazil (2007 World Cup Qualifier: Brazil beat Uruguay 2-1), and twice for Ajax (2x Champions League games against AC Milan. One draw/on win), and in the CL games, Suarez got 2 assists, so he didn't do too badly against Silva.

Suarez has been named in Uruguay’s preliminary team for the Olympics this year, and it's a foregone conclusion that he'll be named in the final 18 man squad. It's great for Suarez, but bad for Brendan Rodgers as it interferes with Liverpool's first Europa League matches. It also means Suarez will miss a chunk of pre-season training, and opens up the possibility of injury before the Premier League season even begins.

With Craig Bellamy representing Team GB, the need for Liverpool to sign another striker in July becomes even more acute.

Jaimie Kanwar


15 comments:

  1. Hey Jamie! What happened to the Kenny Dalglish article? I was looking forward to that!

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  2. Hey Alanable - Sorry, it's delayed a little.  I'm still trying to refine my World Class theory and make it more objective.  As soon as I've done that, I'll post the article.  Cheers.

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  3. Didn't Suarez play against Milan in the champions league for Ajax? I think getting a new striker should be a priority regardless of Suarez's involvement in the Olympics. Someone with pace who can come on and stretch the game when the opposition are tiring.

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  4. Look forward to that one Jamie. What did you think of the Spain vs Italy game?

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  5. I think Thiago Silva is brilliant. As good as, if not better than, Ramos. Definitely better than Pique, who I think has been luckily enough to be in the right place, right time with Barca. Been impressed with Ramos since he has gone back to centre back for Real, although still gets the red mist aggression now and then.

    Definitely needing reinforcement in the striker department, though who knows what is a priority for Rodgers at the moment in relation to improving the squad.

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  6. Hey Fdotm. I was rooting for Italy, mainly because I love to see the underdog win, and I love watching Pirlo play. Italy definitely looked jaded, but if Motta hadn't gone off injured, there was still a chance they could've come back into the game, albeit a slim one. I don't understand why Prandelli didn't play the same system as he did in the first group game against Spain. Italy were arguably the better side in the 1-1 draw, and the system worked like a charm, yet in the final, knowing that De Bosque would pack the midfield and run them ragged, he opted for 4 at the back when Spain didn't even have a striker (!)

    Pirlo was marked out of the game for long periods, and he need the extra midfielder in there to give him more space, and occupy the endless array of Spain midfielders.

    Have to hand it to Spain though; they played some breathtaking football at times, and if Brendan Rodgers can implement a similar style at LFC, I'll be happy with that. This is why I can't stomach the idea of Carroll leading LFC's attack for the next three years. He will never fit into that quick-passing style of play, and it depresses me that the club's progress could be hampered by trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

    If FSG are truly going to buy into Rodgers' philosophy, the inevitably conclusion is that Carroll has to go. His passing accuracy last season was 57%. 57%! How is that conducive to a successful passing team?

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  7. Yes, you're right. My mistake.

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  8. You rate Ramos and not Pique? lol Ramos isn't in Silva's league shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath. Ramos is a makeshift central defender and isn't much to talk about he's a loose cannon his red cards record speaks for himself in La Liga. I rate Pique more highly then Ramos but even he isn't that great but he has time on his hand to improve.

    Silva is top quality but i was shocked at the price PSG offered and even more shocked at it being rejected by Milan.

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  9. i must say i was very impressed with ramos in the euros,never really rated him before but i think he stepped up to the mark as a leader with puyol being out and he seemed to have his mind on football and not kicking people etc probably because he didn't have that dirty gimp pepe next to him.

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  10. Yes, that is right, I do rate Ramos (but I didn't say I don't rate Pique, I merely don't rate him as highly, so please don't twist my words). Its called an opinion and its not a far-fetched one either, even if you don't agree with the opinion. I rate Ramos highly, almost highly as Silva and more than Pique, and you don't. That is it, what is the big deal, there is nothing 'lol' about a difference of an opinion on a subjective matter. Odd, very odd.

    Ramos was initially used at centre back for Real in his first season, before being used as right back in the following seasons and now of course returning as centre back last season, a league winning season of course. So I wouldn't go as far as saying he is a makeshift centre back just yet. Definitely much more composed at centre back in my view, than he is at right back. 

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  11. Give Carroll a season at least to see if Rodgers can accommodate him into his system. If it doesn't work then sell him at a loss.

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  12. the point that was being made is that silva is on another planet in terms of ability compared to ramos it is like comparing messi to a part time attacking winger

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  13. I disagree with the subjective point that the difference between the two is that big. 

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  14. Thiago Silva is good but not worth 40 million. It's ridiculous how the club inflates the price. Soon enough, John Flanagan will be 30 million pounds right back if that is the case.

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  15. Jon Flanagan is rubbish.

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