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In his time at Liverpool FC, it became clear that if Suarez was to win any individual accolades, they were going to have to be ones based on things that could be impartially measured rather than anything left to the subjective voting of his peers or the media. Suarez's final season with Liverpool was so phenomenal that even those who might normally avoid saying anything positive about him ended up voting him Player of the Year, based in part of the fact that he had the stats to back it up.
It's unsurprising, then, that Luis Suarez will be honoured with the European Golden Shoe, which is awarded to the player(s) who scored the most goals in league play in all European leagues in a given season. Though he'll share the honour with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, who also scored thirty-one goals last season, Suarez was hoping to share the honour with a few other people: ex teammates, managers, and fans at Liverpool FC.
Though he was denied the opportunity to receive the award at Anfield in front of Liverpool fans — it will be presented in Barcelona instead — and captain Steven Gerrard was invited but unable to attend, King Kenny Dalglish will be on hand when the Uruguayan receives the award. Suarez's best ever season was under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, but clearly the striker has maintained a fond relationship with the manager who first brought him to Merseyside.
In many ways, it's a lovely sentiment on Suarez's part to want to celebrate the achievement with the fans who were there while he was scoring the goals that made it all possible. He hasn't yet kicked a ball competitively for Barcelona and it's unlikely their fans would care as much about Suarez's achievements with his previous club as Liverpool fans would.
Like his visit to Melwood at the beginning of September, though, there's a bit of a TOO SOON edge to what are no doubt Suarez's good intentions. There's a slight tone deafness to wanting to celebrate with Liverpool and Liverpool fans a mere three months after engineering a £75 million move to Barcelona under highly dramatic circumstances, but self-awareness was never one of Suarez's immeasurable gifts.
It's too soon to tell what Suarez's overall Liverpool legacy will be, but when it comes to sheer numbers he'll be able to add another bauble to his trophy case. Congratulations, Luis!
