Uruguay’s shining star

Gabriele Marcotti

• Last Updated: November 20. 2009 8:51PM UAE / November 20. 2009 4:51PM GMT

Any young Uruguayan footballer can tell you about the ghosts. Especially those who, like Luis Suarez, come through the ranks at Nacional.

They are the legends, the men who once made Uruguay the most successful footballing nation in the world, the paradigm against whom everybody else is judged. This tiny country of three million people won two World Cups by 1950, setting the benchmark not just in terms of ability, but in terms of coaching, organisation, know-how and mystique.

Back then, the all-conquering team were to football what the All Blacks became to rugby.

But that was a long time ago.

The world has moved on, leaving Uruguay behind, as evidenced by a single World Cup appearance in the past 20 years.

Everybody who has worn that sky-blue shirt knows the greats of the past gazing down upon them from their place in history.

Hector Scarone, Jose Nasazzi, Obdulio Varela, Alcides Ghiggia, Jose Santamaria, Juan Alberto Schiaffino – these are the icons who won World Cups and European Cups and helped write the history of not just Uruguayan but world football.

These are the men whom every promising young footballer in the South America country need to live up to, even though the world has changed and, practically speaking, it’s a losing battle.

Suarez was tipped for greatness from a young age and, even when he made his debut a few months after celebrating his 18th birthday, there was controversy: why did it take so long?

The fact of the matter is that the people who looked after him were careful. Yes, he was a genuine talent, fleet of foot and with a predator’s eye for goal.

Maybe the most gifted player of that age seen in Montevideo since the days of Enzo Francescoli.

But football is littered with prospects who never pan out, young men who simply do not develop with the weight of expectation on their shoulders.

So, after a debut season at Nacional which saw him score 10 league goals (plus another two in the title-deciding play-offs) he moved to Europe in the summer of 2006.

But, even though he had opportunities at bigger clubs, he opted for little FC Groningen in the Dutch Eredivisie, becoming the club’s record signing.

Why? Because the provincial club in the north of Holland was seen as the right place to acclimatise himself with the European game.

He was just 19 and needed an opportunity to develop away from the limelight. He spent a season at Groningen, again hitting double figures in goals and establishing himself as one of the most exciting players in the Dutch top flight.

But you could tell, even then, that he had already outgrown the club.

A year later, Ajax signed him for around €10million (Dh54.8m) to replace the departed Ryan Babel.

It was a difficult transfer, one which had to go an arbitration tribunal, since Suarez’s agent had inserted a release-clause in his contract with Groningen which the league initially failed to recognise.

But now, here he was, at Ajax, a club admired the world over for their ability to nurture brilliant young natural talent.

He came out of the gate quickly, scoring 17 goals in his first season.

In the eyes of many observers, he outshone Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the darling centre-forward, and much the same happened the following year.

Ajax made Miralem Sulejmani their all-time record signing, but, again, it was Suarez who stole the show, especially after Huntelaar left for Real Madrid last January.

The young Uruguayan scored 27 goals in all competitions, most of them from his position playing out on the wing.

But there was a flip-side too. Some felt he was trying to do too much, that he was looking to win games single handedly.

This tendency saw him accumulate bookings at an alarming rate, 12 in all competitions, a phenomenal amount for a lightweight winger.

But could you blame him? Could you criticise him for doing everything he could in tough times – Ajax, once again, were underachieving – while some of his teammates seemed content to fade into the background?

This season has seen his scoring spree continue. He already has 16 goals in the league, plus another five in the Europa League: that’s 21 in just 19 outings.

Ajax are, once again, performing below expectations, stuck in third place behind Steve McClaren’s FC Twente and PSV Eindhoven.

But Suarez is firing on all cylinders and has even managed to curb his propensity for bookings.

There is talk of a new contract – his current deal expires in 2012 – but Suarez is in no rush. He’s progressing nicely and he knows the next move will be crucial.

The ghosts are still watching him. He knows he will probably never join them in the pantheon of Uruguayan football, but, at the very least, he does not want to disappoint them.

And, thus far, he hasn’t.

Gabriele Marcotti is an expert in world football and lives in London.

gmarcotti@thenational.ae