Luis Suárez Miramontes (; born 2 May 1935) is a Spanish former 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 ...

and manager. He played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They currently p ...

, España Industrial,

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

and the Spain national team. Suárez is regarded as one of the greatest Spanish football players of all time. He was noted for his elegant, fluid, graceful style of play. Nicknamed ''El Arquitecto'' – The Architect – Suárez was noted for his perceptive passing and explosive shot, and in 1960, he became the first and only male Spanish-born player to win the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...

. In 1964, he helped

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

win the European Championship. Suárez originally achieved prominence as a creative

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, or

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

in modern terms, for the great Barcelona team of the 1950s before he joined Inter Milan where he reached his prime as

deep-lying playmaker A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for the legendary ''

Grande Inter 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 ...

'' team of the 1960s. He played a pivotal role in the success of Herrera's Inter Milan side, and was one of the primary creative forces in the squad, due to his skill on the ball, vision, and passing range. He retired as a player in 1973, after three seasons at

. Suárez subsequently began a career as a coach and has managed Inter Milan on three occasions, the last two on a caretaker basis. Suárez has also coached both Spain U21s and the senior

team. He was in charge of the latter for 27 games and led them to the second round of the 1990 World Cup. He has also coached several Italian and Spanish club sides. He is currently a scout for Inter Milan.

Club career

Early career

Luis Suárez Miramontes was born on 2 May 1935, in

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

, Galicia. He lived on Avenida de Hércules in the working-class neighborhood of Monte Alto where he was known by the diminutive Luisito. He began his career with local side

in 1949 and worked his way through the junior sides before making his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

debut with Deportivo on 6 December 1953 in a 6–1 defeat to

. Among his teammates at Deportivo were

Pahiño Manuel Fernández Fernández (21 January 1923 – 12 June 2012), known as Pahiño, was a Spanish footballer who played as a striker. Over 12 seasons, he played 278 games in La Liga, scoring 211 goals for Celta, Real Madrid and Deportivo. He w ...

and Arsenio Iglesias. He played 17 games and scored 3 goals for Deportivo during the remaining season. In 1954, he was transferred to

but spent most of the 1954–55 season playing for their reserve side, España Industrial, in the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

FC Barcelona

Between 1955 and 1961 Suárez was a regular in a

team that also included the Hungarian trio

Ladislao Kubala Ladislao is a given name, a Hispanic variant of Vladislav. Notable people with the name include: * Ladislao Cabrera, Bolivian hero during the War of the Pacific * Ladislao Diwa, Filipino patriot * Ladislao Martínez, Puerto Rico musician * Lászl ...

Zoltán Czibor Zoltán Czibor (23 August 1929 – 1 September 1997) was a Hungarian footballer who played for several Hungarian clubs, including Ferencváros and Budapest Honvéd, and the Hungary national team before joining CF Barcelona. Czibor played as ...

and

Sándor Kocsis Sándor Péter Kocsis (; ; 21 September 1929 – 22 July 1979) was a Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencváros TC, Budapest Honvéd, Young Fellows Zürich, FC Barcelona and Hungary as a striker. During the 1950s, along with Ferenc Pu ...

, alongside Ramallets and

Evaristo Evaristo is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: * Evaristo Avalos (born 1933), Mexican equestrian * Evaristo Barrera (1911–1982), Argentine football striker * Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677), Ital ...

. With

Helenio Herrera Helenio Herrera Gavilán (; 10 April 1910 – 9 November 1997) was an Argentine, naturalized French, football player and manager. He is best remembered for his success with the Inter Milan team known as ''Grande Inter'' in the 1960s. During ...

as coach, the club and Suárez won a domestic

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

–

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

double in 1959 and a

–

Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecessor to the UEFA Cup (no ...

double the subsequent year. As a result, Suárez was voted

in 1960, beating Real Madrid's

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward, ...

. One of his last games for the club was the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the

European Cup 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 ...

in 1961 which they lost 3–2 to Benfica.

Inter Milan

In 1961, Suárez became the world's most expensive footballer and the first £100,000 transfer when FC Barcelona sold him to

for 250 million

Italian lire The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...

(£142,000). The move saw him follow his mentor

. Along with

Juan Santisteban Juan Santisteban Troyano (born 8 December 1936) is a Spanish retired Association football, football midfielder and Coach (sport), manager. Honours Player ;Real Madrid *Intercontinental Cup (football), Intercontinental Cup: 1960 Intercontinental ...

, he became the first Spanish player in the

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 ...

. Suárez was a regular in Herrera's ''Grande Inter'' team that won three Serie A titles, two consecutive European Cups and two Intercontinental Cups. Between 1961 and 1970 he made 328 appearances for Inter and scored 55 goals. On 10 March 1963, he scored three times in a 6–0 win over

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 ...

; this was the only

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

by a Spaniard in Serie A until Suso's for Genoa in 2016, to whom Suárez sent his congratulations.

International career

Suárez also played 32 games for

and scored fourteen goals. He made his debut on 30 January 1957 in a 5–1 victory over

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and represented Spain at both the 1962 and 1966

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

s. However his greatest achievement with Spain came in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

when, together with

Josep Maria Fusté Josep Maria Fusté Blanch (born April 15, 1941) is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder and who was captain of FC Barcelona during the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1964, together with Luis Suárez, Amancio Amaro, José Ángel Ir ...

Amancio Amaro Amancio Amaro Varela, (born 16 October 1939), commonly known simply as Amancio, is a Spanish former football player. Nicknamed ''El Brujo'' (The Magician) he played outside right for Deportivo de La Coruña, Real Madrid, and the Spain nationa ...

José Ángel Iribar José Ángel Iribar Kortajarena (born 1 March 1943), nicknamed ''El Chopo'' ("the Populus, Poplar"), is a Spanish retired Association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and Manager (association football), manager. ...

and

Chus Pereda Jesús María Pereda Ruiz de Temiño (15 June 1938 – 27 September 2011), also known as Chus Pereda, was a Spanish football midfielder and manager. In a 16-year professional career, he played mainly for Barcelona, amassing La Liga totals of 1 ...

, he helped them win the European Championship. He played his final game for Spain in 1972.

Career statistics

International

International goals

Honours

Club

1964–65 European Cup - Inter Milan's Suárez, Facchetti, Peiró and Bedin with the trophy

FC Barcelona *

: 1958–59, 1959–60 *

Copa del Generalísimo The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

, 1958–59 *

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...

: 1955–58, 1958–60 Inter Milan *

: 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66 *

: 1963–64, 1964–65 * Intercontinental Cup:

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

International

Spain * European Nations' Cup:

Individual

: 1960 ** Silver Ball:

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

** Bronze Ball:

* Eric Batty's World XI: 1963, 1964, 1965 *

UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament At the end of each UEFA European Championship tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game. Awards There are currently five post-tournament awards, and o ...

Golden Foot The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 yea ...

: 2008, as football legend * ''Marca'' Leyenda: 2016 Orders * 200px ribbon bar of the Royal Order of Sports Merit

Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit: 2001

References

External links

* * * *
International Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suarez, Luis 1935 births Living people Spanish footballers Footballers from A Coruña Association football midfielders Deportivo de La Coruña players CD Condal players FC Barcelona players Inter Milan players U.C. Sampdoria players La Liga players Serie A players UEFA Champions League winning players Ballon d'Or winners Spain international footballers Catalonia international guest footballers 1962 FIFA World Cup players 1964 European Nations' Cup players 1966 FIFA World Cup players UEFA European Championship-winning players Spanish expatriate footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Spanish football managers Inter Milan managers U.C. Sampdoria managers S.P.A.L. managers Como 1907 managers Cagliari Calcio managers Deportivo de La Coruña managers Spain national under-21 football team managers Spain national football team managers Albacete Balompié managers Serie A managers La Liga managers 1990 FIFA World Cup managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Italy