Luis Suarez: El Pistolero

Luis Suarez: El Pistolero — page 3 — We are also grateful to all the friends and family that encouraged us along the way Your interest and sense of humour helped to keep us on track Will Doug Mills John James Pang-Oldfield and the rest of our King Edward VI friends our aunts uncles cousins the Nottingham and Montreal families and so many others thank you all Melissa we could not have done this without your understanding and support Thank you for being as excited about this collaboration as we were Iona thank you for your kindness and encouragement during long work-filled weekends Noah we’re doing our best to make football your favourite sport We look forward to reading this book with you in the years ahead Mum and Dad the biggest thank you is reserved for you You introduced us to football and then devoted hours and hours to taking us to games You bought the tickets the kits the boots We love football because you encouraged us to Thank you for all the love all the laughs and for always believing in us This book is for you 10 LUIS SUÁREZ

Luis Suarez: El Pistolero — page 4 — CHAPTER 1 Champion of Europe 6 June 2015 As Luis took a quick glance around the stadium all he saw were the colours of Barcelona It was still thirty minutes before kick-off but they were cheering as if the warm-up was the real thing He stretched out his right leg loosening the muscles and preparing his body for the biggest game of his life Xavi fired the ball towards him catching him by surprise and Luis turned to chase it as it rolled off the pitch As he crossed the touchline almost within touching distance of the Barcelona fans in the front row all he heard was Suárez Suárez He grinned 1111

Luis Suarez: El Pistolero — page 5 — and gave the fans a quick wave They were ready for this Champions League Final and so was he Hard times make you appreciate the good times that had been Luis’s motto over the past year After all the anger the tears the headlines and the four-month suspension he had bounced back better than ever There was nothing he could do about his mistakes in the past except try to learn from them He had shut out all the distractions and focused on only two things football and family Now having already won the Spanish league title and the Spanish Cup he was ninety minutes away from completing an amazing Treble Back in the dressing room Dani Alves turned the music up loud and the players tried their best to relax Luis walked over to the far side where the Suárez 9 shirt was hanging He had worn that name and number plenty of times but it had never looked better than it did now He looked up at the countdown timer high on the wall less than fifteen minutes to go He put on the shirt pulled up his socks and slotted in a tiny pair of shin pads Their opponents Juventus 12 LUIS SUÁREZ

Luis Suarez: El Pistolero — page 6 — would play a physical style but Luis had never liked big bulky shin pads He could handle the kicks Dani throw me the tape he called Do I work for you now Dani replied laughing Just because you score the goals you think you run the place Luis had quickly built good friendships within the Barcelona squad For the first time since leaving Uruguay he was surrounded by teammates who spoke Spanish and that had certainly helped him to settle in quickly He still had to pinch himself to believe that he was scoring goals alongside a magician like Lionel Messi The referee knocked on the dressing-room door It was time Luis finished putting the tape round his wrist jumped to his feet and joined in the quick high fives As they headed for the tunnel he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Xavi waiting with some final words of advice Stay calm out there They know all about your temper and they’ll be trying to wind you up Play your game and ignore them We need you 13 EL PISTOLERO

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