Luis Suárez Did Not Allow Poverty To Stop Him From Being Successful moral lessons that all Nigerian youths should learn from, poverty does not stop you from not being great or achieving the level of success , read more of this story and be inspired!
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz was born on the 24th day of January 1987 at Salto in Uruguay. He was the fourth of seven children born to mother, Sandra Suárez and father, Rodolfo Suárez (a former soldier and ex-footballer).
Regarding his family background and ethnicity, Suarez is an Uruguayan national of mixed race with African, Spanish and Uruguayan roots. Records also indicate that he had a black grandfather.
Growing up at Cerro neighbourhood in Salto alongside his 7 brothers and not a single sister, Suarez had a first-hand experience of poverty but lived a happy life with his lower-class family and was completely at peace in his village.
Like most kids of his age at the time, Suarez was casually drawn to football which he played with his peers to happily pass time at his hometown’s local team, Sportivo Artiga.
It wasn’t long before Suarez’s family relocated to Uruguay’s capital ‘Montevideo’ after his father secured employment at El Trigal biscuit factory in Montevideo.
The then 7-year-old didn’t fancy joining the family and as a result, stayed back at Salto with his loving grandmother, Mrs Da Rosa for about a month.
Suarez later had no choice but to join the rest of his family after his mother secured a cleaning job at the central bus terminal of Montevideo called Tres Cruces.
Suarez lived with his family at the La Commercial neighbourhood in Montevideo and was enrolled at School No171 in the neighbourhood of Tres Cruces.
It was at Montevideo that the happy go lucky kid requested that he should be enrolled at Urreta FC in La Blanqueada, a request that was made by the 8-year-old regardless the fact that his school at Tres Cruces had its sporting activities.
The development proved that young Suarez was not only confident of his football skills but ready to build on it in a competitive environment. However, he had a hard time adapting to the way of life in the city.
“..We came to a city where it was practically impossible to play barefoot on the grass, they also talked differently there and of course often made fun of me. But I had to get used to all of that as best as I could.” Revealed Suarez in the book Vamos Que Vamos.
While Suarez struggled with adaptation, he was dealt with a heavy blow by his parents’ separation when he was only 9 years old. The development would 4 years later (when he was aged 15) see him take up the odd job of sweeping the streets of Uruguay to help raise money for his family which no longer had a father figure.
Notwithstanding, Suarez continued playing for Urreta FC and not long after, caught the attention of a scout, Wilson Pírez who offered him the opportunity of building a professional career in football at Nacional youth team.
However, Suarez grew to become a distracted teen who lacked focus, began drinking and keeping bad company. So much was his distraction that he failed to gain promotion from Nacional’s seventh team and faced possible release.
“…From 12-14, I went through a phase in which the football wasn’t going well for me and I didn’t want to study. I didn’t like to train. I only liked playing the games and that way it was going to be very difficult for me to achieve something. I got really angry. I was a rebel and that worked against me.” Notes Suarez in the book Vamos Que Vamos.
Wilson Pírez (who had earlier brought Suarez to Nacional youth team) came to Suarez’s rescue by offering him another opportunity to get his acts together and prove himself at the club.
Young Suarez took the opportunity and acted accordingly after realizing he could help his family in the future as well as get a fancy football boot if he sticks to football.
“I thought about my family, my brothers, and resolved that I’ll be able to help them if I go far in football … I have to get on with it… I also looked at some team-mates who turned up to training in boots and thought; ‘ If you want those boots you’ve got to train’”
Thus Suarez rose through the ranks of Nacional and in 2005, helped his side win the 2005–06 Uruguayan league with 10 goals in 27 matches.
His impressive performances subsequently earned him moves to Groningen, Ajax, Liverpool and finally Barcelona where he was signed for £64.98 million (€82.3 million) to become one of the most expensive players at the time.
Luis Suarez has over the last decade, grown to become one of the most controversial and widely misunderstood players in Football. Little do many realize that his actions are informed by his poverty-ridden childhood experience and the hard life events of his teens?
The player who initially grew up learning how to win and celebrate victories has not strayed from treading the victorious path as he passionately hates losing.
“When I was a child I never liked to lose. From seven-years-old, I started to do competitions and things like that and I never liked to lose”. He revealed to Daily Mail. Below is a rare video that captured one of Suarez’s childhood competitions.
As the years went by Suarez grew to become a bad-tempered teen who got frustrated with situations around him, particularly his parents’ divorce, economic hardship and his inability to get a football boot when he desperately needed one.
Thus he developed a mild monstrous persona and became one who would trade morals to do what he knew best; winning.
“I even want to win when playing games with my wife Sofia and kids. I can’t help it.”
Notwithstanding, Suarez has an off-pitch personality portrays him as an ideal friend to many as well as a loving husband and father.
In the same light, he has body tattoos that communicate his appreciation for family. His hobbies include playing video games and spending time with his family.
Suarez is not a fan of showbiz despite having an estimated net worth of $70 Million.
Similarly, his exquisite homes in both the United Kingdom and Uruguay do not receive attention from the press which is solely centred on his career and controversies surrounding him.
However, he is often seen driving different brands of cars including Range Rover Sports SUV, BMWs, Cadillacs and Audis.
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