London - Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has heralded Liverpool
manager Brendan Rodgers for finding the perfect tactical system
for him during the two years they worked together at Anfield.
Rodgers introduced a slick, passing style following his arrival
from Swansea City in 2012 and Suarez was one of the chief
beneficiaries, scoring 61 goals during his last two seasons on
Merseyside.
The Uruguay international left Liverpool for Barcelona during the
close season after being pilloried for biting Italy's Giorgio
Chiellini at the World Cup, but he says that he will always owe
Rodgers a debt of gratitude.
"There was a moment during the first real, in-depth conversation
that I had with Brendan Rodgers when I looked at him and it hit
me: 'He's right,'" said Suarez, in an extract from his new
autobiography published by British newspaper The Guardian on
Tuesday.
"We had been talking for a little while, he was explaining the way
that he wanted the team to play, and everything was falling into
place. Everything he said made perfect sense. I was completely
convinced."
Suarez said that Rodgers's playing philosophy, encouraging the
goalkeeper to play like an outfield player and asking a central
midfielder to drop deep in search of possession, was something
he had never encountered before.
"I listened and I was sold. It seemed so simple that way, but no
one had ever walked me through it like that before," Suarez
writes in Crossing The Line: My Story.
"I thought: 'He's right. It is impossible in a 30-metre space, with
the players Liverpool have got, with the ability that (goalkeeper)
Pepe Reina has with the ball at his feet, for them to get the ball
off us."
He adds: "The new style suited me. Playing in England where all
the centre-backs are tall and strong, the long punt up the pitch is
no good to me, but a quick ball to release me either side of them
works well.
"He (Rodgers) was keen to play to my strengths, and my style
suited his."
Tuesday, 28 October 2014
Suarez credits Rodgers for Reds success
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