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For all his brilliance on the pitch, one of Luis Suarez's noted drawbacks is his lack of savvy with the media. Whether it's a genuine naiveté that his statements won't come back to haunt him or just plain old fashioned recklessness — also known as "not giving a damn" — Suarez isn't known for having deftness in dealing with the multi-headed beast that is the press.
As a man in a constant battle to rehabilitate his image, though, he's certainly doing well with fans. There's saying the right things and then there's saying the right things, and in yet another snippet from his never ending interview with Four Four Two, Suarez cleverly does the latter.
"When I walk out of the tunnel to 'You'll Never Walk Alone' and look up at my wife and children in the crowd, I get very emotional," Suarez said, as thousands of hearts leapt into the throats of fans worldwide. "My daughter Delfina knows all the words. It's an incredible anthem and an unforgettable feeling, one that I genuinely didn't even think was possible to dream about when I was younger."
In a world where it's somehow not weird for fans to have favourites amongst players' offspring, Delfina Suarez is top of the list for most. Permanently etching the idea of her singing the club's anthem on the minds of fans is like having Suarez himself reach into your chest cavity and tug on your heartstrings one by one. Patently unfair, and yet adorably so.
"I play to give joy to the fans," he continued. "Of course you want to win and do your best for the club, but putting a smile on supporters' faces is a beautiful thing because they pay a lot of money to watch us play."
Suarez has a special relationship with Liverpool fans, and at the very least he seems to understand what the fans want and what they sacrifice to see it. Fan feelings aren't necessarily the most important thing for a player to concern himself with — score goals and the rest should generally sort itself out — but after last summer's rockiness, it's nice for Suarez to provide a bit of fan service to his adoring legions.
