Óscar David Suazo Velázquez (born 5 November 1979) is a Honduran retired professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
turned
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
who played as a
striker.
Suazo played more than 300 league games and scored over 980 league goals in Italy during a span of 7 years.
Club career
Early career
Nicknamed ''La Pantera'' (The Panther) or ''El Rey David'' (The King David),
Suazo was born in
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula () is the capital of Cortés Department, Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country in the Sula Valley, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 671,460 ...
. In his early career, he developed alongside his cousin,
Maynor Suazo, who also went on to play for the
Honduras national football team
The Honduras national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Honduras) represents Honduras in men's international football. The team is governed by the Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras (FENAFUTH). They are nicknamed ...
. Suazo took his first steps at
Olimpia Reserves and later went on to play at the
Liga Bancaria
Liga or LIGA may refer to:
People
* Līga (name), a Latvian female given name
* Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter
Sports
* Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain
* Liga ...
. After his participation in
1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, he was acquired by domestic club team Olimpia. He continued to impress playing for Olimpia's youth system under the coaching of the late
Angel Ramón Paz ("Mon Paz") and earned a spot on the top squad before turning 20 years old.
Cagliari
Óscar Tabárez
Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva (; born 3 March 1947), known as ''El Maestro'' (The Teacher), is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player. He most recently coached the Uruguay national team.
After an unassuming career as a ...
, then-coach of Italian side
Cagliari
Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
, was impressed by Suazo's performance and did not hesitate in bringing him to Europe,
for US$2 million transfer fee and US$200,000 tax to
National Autonomous Federation of Football of Honduras
The National Autonomous Federation of Football of Honduras ( es, Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras), known as FENAFUTH, is the official association football, football governing body in Honduras and is in charge of the Honduras ...
, as well as 15–20% of the future capital gain if Cagliari sold the player above the US$2.2M price tag.
Suazo officially joined the club ahead of the
1999–2000 Serie A season. In his first year with the team, he scored one goal in 13 league appearances, and at the end of the 1999–2000 season, Cagliari were relegated to
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
, where they would remain until the
2003–04 season. In four years in Serie B, Suazo played 113 matches and scored 40 goals for the club. His scoring efficiency was impressive enough for him to earn the nickname ''La Pantera'' (the Panther). Suazo's time in Serie B provided him with great experience which would help ease his transition into more difficult competition at the top of the Italian
Lega Calcio
The Lega Nazionale Professionisti (Italian for National Professionals League), commonly known as Lega Calcio (Football League), was the governing body that ran the two highest football divisions in Italy, namely Serie A and Serie B, from 1946 to ...
.
In the
2004–05 Serie A season, Suazo scored seven goals in 22 matches in a 4–3–3 scheme in which he performed as a reserve behind
Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola (; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a forward. He was most recently the assistant manager of Chelsea.
He spent the first decade of his playing career playing i ...
,
Mauro Esposito
Mauro Esposito (; born 13 June 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played mainly as a right winger.
Club career
Born in Torre del Greco, Campania, Esposito made his professional debut in 1997 with Pescara Calcio after having ...
and
Antonio Langella. Suazo's scoring proved vital in helping Cagliari avoid relegation and impressed top clubs across Europe, despite only scoring six goals. In 2006, he became a starter for Cagliari and scored 22 goals in
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
. For his play that season, Suazo was honoured with the
Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year
The AIC Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore calciatore straniero AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the List of foreign Serie A players, non-Italian footballer who was consider ...
, which he shared with
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
's
Kaká
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime as a playmaker at AC Milan, a period marke ...
.
In 2007, Suazo continued his great play for Cagliari, where he scored 18 more goals in the Serie A and helped save Cagliari from another relegation to Serie B. During his spell with Cagliari, Suazo was known for his attacking partnership with both Langella and Esposito.
Internazionale
On 13 June 2007, reports arose that Suazo had agreed terms with Serie A champions
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
. Six days later, however, crosstown rivals and reigning European champions Milan announced that they themselves had acquired Suazo. While Milan claimed they had successfully negotiated with Cagliari, the deal with Inter was confirmed by Cagliari chairman
Massimo Cellino
Massimo Cellino (; born 28 July 1956) is an Italian entrepreneur and football club owner. Through his family trust Eleonora Sport Ltd he is the owner of Italian club Brescia Calcio, and is the former owner of italian club Cagliari, and English cl ...
. Meanwhile, one of Suazo's agents, Carlo Pallavicino, added to the confusion by saying, "Suazo has not had any contact with Milan and he still has not given his consent to the transfer." It was later announced that Suazo was confirmed with Inter on 26 June for €14 million fee (with about US$2.5 million was required to pay by Cagliari to Olimpia)
[ after Milan officially withdrew their contract offer. Since Suazo himself wanted to keep his initial agreement with Inter. "It was an issue of respect. The ''Rossoneri'' (nickname of Milan) understood that I had a promise with coach ]Roberto Mancini
Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team.
As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Samp ...
, Marco Branca
Marco Branca (born 6 January 1965) is an Italian former professional football striker who was, until February 2014, sporting director of Serie A club Internazionale.
Club career
Early career
Born in Grosseto, Branca started his playing career ...
and chairman Massimo Moratti
Massimo Moratti (born 16 May 1945) is an Italian billionaire petroleum businessman, the former owner of Inter Milan and chairman of the Saras Group, founded in 1962 by his father, industrialist Angelo Moratti. The main production site of the Sara ...
." He scored his first Inter goal against Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
and scored a total of eight goals throughout his first season with the ''Nerazzurri'' (the nickname of Inter).
Loans
After a less-than-impressive first season with Inter, Suazo was loaned to Portuguese club Benfica for the 2008–09 season. Suazo however, appeared in just 12 league matches and scored just four goals during the season. Following his return to Inter in June 2009, he was given limited squad space and failed to make any starts for his club.
On 29 December 2009 it was confirmed that Suazo had been authorized to play friendly match for Genoa, two days before the opening of the winter transfer window. After the opening of the transfer window, Suazo officially joined Genoa on a six-month loan deal, where he replaced Sergio Floccari
Sergio Floccari (; born 12 November 1981) is a former Italian footballer who plays as a striker.
Club career Early career
Floccari began playing football as a junior with the local side of his town, Nicotera, before moving into the youth system ...
, who was transferred to Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
on 4 January. This was part of a deal that completed a three-way, three-man swap in which Inter also received Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev ( mk, Горан Пандев, ; born 27 July 1983) is a Macedonian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
After establishing himself at Lazio, Pandev moved to Inter Milan in early 2010. While playing for the ''Ne ...
from Lazio on free transfer.
Suazo made his debut for Genoa against Milan in a losing effort, appearing on the scoresheet in the process. He scored the second goal for Genoa and was eventually substituted in the 80th minute for Hernán Crespo
Hernán Jorge Crespo (; born 5 July 1975) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player. He is the current manager of Qatari club Al-Duhail.
A prolific striker, Crespo scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 19 years. At in ...
. His loan with Genoa proved to be highly unsuccessful, as the player scored a mere 2 goals in 16 Serie A appearances.
Return to Inter
After his Genoa loan expired, Suazo returned to Inter but, in part because of a long-term injury, he was not included in the first-team, thus failing to make a single appearance in the entire 2010–11 season. Suazo's contract with Inter expired on 30 June 2011, leaving the player without a contract. Since then, he was linked with a comeback at Cagliari following a trial period. This was a possibility that was later confirmed by club chairman Massimo Cellino, who, on 13 July 2011, confirmed Suazo's return to Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
by the end of the transfer window, and defined his signing as "a cherry on the pie". The transfer, however, collapsed after Suazo was asked to leave Cagliari's pre-season camp after Cellino opted against the move and changed his decision about the transfer.
Catania
On 12 August 2011, Suazo signed for Catania
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
on a one-year deal. He was officially presented on the same day alongside new arrivals Mario Paglialunga and Davide Lanzafame. Suazo was assigned the number 9 jersey, though only would make six appearances during his time in Sicily, which ended upon the expiration of his contract on 30 June 2012.
On 27 March 2013, at the age of 33, he announced his retirement from football, due to his persisting struggles with knee injuries.
International career
Suazo played for the Honduras national under-20 football team
The Honduras national under-20 football team is the national under-20 association football team of Honduras. They have made nine FIFA U-20 World Cup appearances.
Tournament history
Current squad
The following 20 players were named to the squa ...
at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. He made his senior debut for Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
in a May 1999 friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
and has earned a total of 57 caps, scoring 17 goals. He has represented his country in 30 FIFA World Cup qualification
The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup.
Qualifying tournaments are hel ...
matches and at the 2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. He also played at the 2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
and at the 2003 UNCAF Nations Cup as well as at the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the association football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).
For the first time since 1993, the tournament was held in more than one c ...
. He also played a few minutes of Honduras' first match at the 2001 Copa América
The 2001 Copa América was held in Colombia, from 11 to 29 July. It was organised by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. Colombia won the tournament for the 1st time without conceding a goal.
Brazil national football team, Brazil ...
.
His final international appearance came on 12 June 2012, in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying
The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...
match against Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
Post-playing and coaching career
Following his retirement as a player, Suazo was hired by his former team Cagliari
Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
as a scout. In 2014, he joined the first team coaching staff as an assistant to Ivo Pulga
Ivo Pulga (born 20 June 1964) is an Italian association football coach and former player, who played as a midfielder. He currently works as a scout with Brescia in the Serie B.
Career
Playing career
A physical centre midfielder, Pulga started ...
for the final part of the season; he successively was appointed to the same role by the end of the 2014–15 season, supporting new head coach Gianluca Festa
Gianluca Festa (born 15 March 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. Festa played as a defender for clubs such as Internazionale and Roma, and is best known playing for Middlesbrough and Cagliari.
Playing career ...
.
For the 2015–16 season, he was named new youth team coach for the ''Giovanissimi Nazionali''.
On 5 June 2018 he was appointed manager of Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
side Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
by Massimo Cellino
Massimo Cellino (; born 28 July 1956) is an Italian entrepreneur and football club owner. Through his family trust Eleonora Sport Ltd he is the owner of Italian club Brescia Calcio, and is the former owner of italian club Cagliari, and English cl ...
, former chairman of his while at Cagliari. He was however sacked on 18 September 2018 after a negative start to the new season.
On 13 May 2021, Suazo returned into management as the new head coach of struggling Sardinian Serie D
The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...
side Carbonia. After guiding Carbonia to safety, on 31 July 2021 he agreed a two-year contract extension with the club. On 24 June 2022, Carbonia and Suazo parted ways, following the team's relegation to Eccellenza at the end of the 2021–22 Serie D season.
Style of play
A quick and physically strong striker, Suazo is considered to be one of the greatest players Honduras has ever produced. His main characteristic as a forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
was his incredible speed, both on and off the ball, which made him arguably one of the fastest Serie A players of his time. His pace and acceleration made him a dangerous offensive threat on counter-attacks and allowed him to create space and provide depth to his team with his runs from behind. In spite of his ability, however, he was often injury prone throughout his career. He also possessed notable determination and great leadership skills on the pitch, serving as Cagliari's captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
. Suazo also took several penalties
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
* Penalty ...
and occasionally scored from free kicks.
Personal life
David's brothers are Nicolás and Ruben Suazo. Former internationals Maynor Suazo and Hendry Thomas
Hendry Bernardo Thomas Suazo (born 23 February 1985), also known as ''Buchuca'', is a Honduran former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Thomas has been described as displaying a "rugged approach driven by his ample physical gift ...
are his cousins. He holds Italian nationality due to his marriage to an Italian woman, Elisa Secchi, in 2005. They have two sons, David Edoardo and Luis Gabriel, with the latter (born 2008) having followed on his father's footsteps and having been signed by Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
in 2022, joining the Under-15 team.
Career statistics
Club
International goals
Honours
Club
;Olimpia
* Honduran Liga Nacional: 1998–99
* Honduran Super Copa: 1996–97
*Honduran Cup
The Honduran Cup was the top knock-out Association football, football tournament in Honduras.
The first tournament was played in 1968 Honduran Cup, 1968, four years later the second tournament took the name ''Copa Presidente'' ( en, President's Cu ...
: 1998
;Internazionale
*Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 2007–08, 2009–10
*Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...
: 2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
*Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 2009–10
*UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
: 2009–10
;Benfica
*Taça da Liga
The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...
: 2008–09
International
;Honduras
*CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
The CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was a quadrennial, international, age-restricted football tournament organized by CONCACAF to determine which men's under-23 national teams from the North, Central America and Caribbean region qual ...
: 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
Individual
*Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year
The AIC Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore calciatore straniero AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the List of foreign Serie A players, non-Italian footballer who was consider ...
: 2006
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suazo, David
1979 births
Living people
People from San Pedro Sula
Naturalised citizens of Italy
Italian people of Honduran descent
Association football forwards
Honduran footballers
Honduras international footballers
Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers of Honduras
2001 Copa América players
2003 UNCAF Nations Cup players
2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
2010 FIFA World Cup players
C.D. Olimpia players
Cagliari Calcio players
Inter Milan players
S.L. Benfica footballers
Genoa C.F.C. players
Catania S.S.D. players
Honduran expatriate footballers
Honduran expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Expatriate footballers in Portugal
Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional de Honduras players
Serie A players
Serie B players
Primeira Liga players
Brescia Calcio managers
Honduran football managers