It's Time We Started Appreciating Luis Suarez

For those of you who don't know, Luis Suarez had the game of the season last night. In the fourth game of his career that he's played against Norwich City, he scored his third career hat-trick against them in as many seasons. Suarez has always had the quality of one of the world's best players but a checkered past has frequently overshadowed his skill. A biting incident while playing for Ajax, a 'Hand of God' against Ghana in the 2010 World Cup, accusations of racial abuse by Man U right back Patrice Evra, and a second biting incident on Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic. That list is daunting, it's undeniable that Suarez hasn't always behaved himself in the past. However, after last night's display, it might be high time for us to start recognizing Suarez as the great player he truly is, rather than focus on his past.

There's a special list of athletes who have the ability to win games singlehandely for their teams. It's an elite list that's only meant for the highest quality of athletes. Sure, there are several players that can do this for their teams, but being able to do it on a consistent basis is a different thing entirely. LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi are the only athletes in the world that I think fit this distinction. I think it's high time that Luis Suarez is recognized as one of these special athletes. What he did against Norwich defies any explanation: a goal from 40 yards out, a brilliantly taken header, expertly skilling his way through three defenders for a third, and the capping it off with a brilliant 30 yard free kick that would have stolen all the headlines if not for his 40 yard stunner earlier. Liverpool had had a difficult weekend, a loss against Hull City brought up questions whether they'd be good enough to survive without their other elite striker, Daniel Sturridge. The loss exposed the team's flaws, the panic was setting in, and Liverpool fans started to think that maybe their slide out of the top 4 had begun. Suarez meanwhile refused to have any of this and delivered against Norwich because that's what big players do. Big players make big plays in big games, it's an overused saying but an apt one in this scenario. Sure it was Norwich, sure it was one game, but Luis Suarez reminded Liverpool fans of his brilliance. It's not like this is a new revelation either, Suarez has been ripping up defenses for the past two seasons with expert skill, worthy of greater credit than he's given. Last season, when Liverpool came to the Emirates to play Arsenal, I was wowed by Suarez's performance. His work rate is incredible, chasing the ball up and down the pitch with tireless enthusiasm. He ran Arsenal's centre-back's into the ground that day and made a strong case for Man of the Match, even in a 2-2 draw. Every week, we are treated to Suarez's brilliance, he's a truly special player. There's not another forward player in the world who can do things Suarez can do (with the exception of Cristiano Ronaldo): skills, speed, headers, freekicks. Each game is a new opportunity for him to show off another tool from his constantly growing toolbox.

Shame on the English fans who tried to chase him out of England, shame on those who let these incidents obscure the player's brilliance or had they forgotten that the great Eric Cantona once karate kicked a fan? At this point, it's more of a question of whether England is really deserving of his talents. It would have been a real shame if the Premier League was without Luis Suarez this season. I'm hardly condoning his past behavior, by no means were those actions acceptable. But I think it's finally time that we see Luis Suarez for who he really is, a fantastic player and one that we should consider ourselves lucky to watch.