Uruguay striker Luis Suárez mentioned he is aware of he’s inching nearer to retirement however is hoping to benefit from the last stretch of a stellar profession, no matter what number of minutes he will get on the pitch on the Copa América.
Suarez is Uruguay’s all-time prime scorer with 68 worldwide objectives and though the 37-year-old has solely come on as a late substitute in two video games on the the event — totalling eight minutes to this point — he’s not one to complain.
“I am having fun with each second very a lot. It’s one thing that at my age, as you grow old, you get pleasure from it an increasing number of whether or not you are enjoying so much or enjoying a bit, as a result of you already know that the flame of soccer is dying out,” Suarez informed AUF TV.
“I am only one extra [player in the squad], you’ve got already seen it. Enjoying or not enjoying, I am proud of the half I am doing and attempting to assist as a lot as I can.”
As soon as one of many most-feared strikers in Europe, Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone had described an important interval within the 2020-21 title race as getting into the “Luis Suarez zone”, when the striker’s expertise guided them to their final league title.
However with Uruguay set to face Brazil in Saturday’s high-octane quarterfinal, Suarez is putting his confidence within the younger gamers coming by way of the ranks to get the job accomplished.
“I hope it [the zone] would not seem on this Copa as a result of that may imply that Uruguay is doing effectively and that it is not mandatory. If it is wanted, we’ll be there as a result of we hope to jot down one other chapter within the nationwide workforce,” he mentioned.
“This group gave a really large blow within the World Cup qualifiers by beating Brazil and Argentina. They earned that energy on the pitch by exhibiting that they will beat anybody… The time has come to show it and it is an awesome check for us.”
Suarez has additionally been mentoring 25-year-old striker Darwin Núñez, who adopted in his footsteps by signing for Premier League facet Liverpool and has scored twice within the event.
“I attempt to assist as a lot as I can, I used to be in Darwin’s place, I used to be Darwin’s age,” Suarez mentioned.
“El ‘Loco’ [Sebastian Abreu] was the primary to assist me and in the present day, being in that place, you need to be a motivation for him.”
