Luis Suarez has spoken about his time on Merseyside and revealed how he helped Jordan Henderson become a ‘role model for English football’.
The Uruguayan returns to Anfield on Wednesday for just the second time since he left the Reds back in 2014 and has commented on how he helped the current Liverpool skipper settle at the club.
“When he joined Liverpool, he came with the tag of somebody who had cost a lot of money. He was a young, English, coming from Sunderland. This may have put some pressure on him,” the 34-year-old told UEFA.com (via TEAMtalk). “But as he grew in confidence with the team, he took many things from [Steven] Gerrard, and from experienced players such as [Jamie] Carragher. He took things on board from me.”
The No.14 did struggle to adapt to life at Anfield following the 2011 transfer from Sunderland and eyebrows were raised when he was given the armband following Steven Gerrard’s departure in 2015.
The 31-year-old has since gone on to prove his doubters wrong and lift a number of trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League.
“Winning a Premier League title with Liverpool must have been fantastic for him, and it’s made him greater than he already was,” Suarez added. “I think that, as a captain, he has matured a lot. During his career, he has helped the club grow, with his personality and playing better football. He’s a role model for English football.”
We are all aware of the masterful performances Suarez is capable of and he will have another opportunity to remind us of his talent on Wednesday after only entering the action in the 80th minute in the reverse fixture at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Without the calming presence of Fabinho in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Brighton, the frailty of Liverpool’s midfield was eye-opening and the Seagulls created chances far too easily.
The Brazilian did return to training tonight at the Axa Training Centre and may be in contention for some minutes on Wednesday, which will undoubtedly be a boost as we prepare to face the attacking threat that Atleti pose through Antoine Griezmann, Joao Felix and Suarez.
With a five-point gap on our Group B rivals, we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for another big win from Jurgen Klopp’s men, which would see us progress through to knock-out stages with two games remaining.