Suarez ready to escape Quixotic trap in Champions League final
Miguel Cervantes' ‘Don Quixote’ is the revered and beloved Spanish text that's studied in schools, oft-quoted and generally regarded as a literary masterpiece. It centers on a protagonist who, obsessed with stories and tales of knights and their adventures of ridding evil and doing good, steps into his own imaginary and idealized world. His aim, he says, is to redress 'all manners of wrongs' and, throwing on some old and rusty armor, rides off into the distance on his equally old and rusty horse.
At first, his quirky ways are just romantic, naive and wide-eyed – with a loyal servant by his side, he does everything in the name of love for a peasant woman he meets and reimagines as a princess. But he quickly becomes tormented by his perceived 'knighthood' and strikes out at those who cross him or question his authority. In the end, after many failed attempts at trying to change the world for better, he's felled by fever, disillusioned and defeated by his attempts to follow the code. The noble qualities that fueled his quest to begin with are finally worn away.
For Luiz Suarez, there was a time earlier in the season when he seemed to be falling into the Quixotic trap, destined to grow disenchanted by the fantasy, destined to only be remembered for his violence and anger towards those whom he felt didn't understand him or looked down upon him. There was a time too when Barcelona seemed to be doing likewise.
The Catalan club began the season desperate to forget the previous one. Over the course of two months last year, Barcelona lived one nightmare after the next. On the pitch, a team from Madrid were crowned league champions – Atletico, not Real, but still a painful ordeal. But it wasn't long before Real had their moment too – a bigger, better moment. Just a week later, they were crowned European champions for the tenth time in their history – the longed-for La Decima. In Madrid, there was a carnival. In Barcelona, a period of mourning.
But it wasn't just about league position. In April, Tito Vilanova, their former coach and assistant to Pep Guardiola during the immensely-successful period between 2008 and 2012, died of cancer at 45. Hovering over their heads was a transfer ban from FIFA (later suspended) and the fall-out from being found guilty of tax fraud over the signing of Brazilian attacker Neymar as well as the accusations of tax-evasion that were leveled at superstar Lionel Messi. At the end of such a turbulent and traumatic campaign, they had to find a new coach as Tata Martino moved on, as did others. Legendary defender Carles Puyol retired, goalkeeper Victor Valdes wasn't offered a new contract while rumors circulated that iconic midfielder Xavi was ready to leave too.
It seemed never-ending. Where just a few years previously Barcelona made sense of everything with their style, grace and elegance – doing something Quixote couldn't and seemingly redressing 'all manners of wrongs' - they now faced up to a new, uncomfortable reality. Others questioned them and they didn't like it. Others pushed them and prodded them. And they grew weary, tired by it all.
Suarez arrived in the summer – Barca taking full advantage of their transfer ban being put on hold due to an appeal. Arriving too was Luis Enrique – a former Barcelona player – now taking on the imposing and intimidating manager's job. And in the beginning, it was difficult for everyone.
There are two worlds in Don Quixote: the real one and what the leading man sees in his head. For Suarez, there's something similar. He cuts two separate personas, or at least he did. There was the magnificent, rampaging, gifted, subtle, explosive, joyful bundle of exuberant energy and talent that thrilled so often for Liverpool in the Premier League. And then the other guy. And the other guy was dark and violent and threatening.
He was only available to play for Barcelona from October onwards because of the ban imposed for having infamously sunk his teeth into the shoulder of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup – the third time he'd bit an opponent during a game. And he struggled at the start. He struggled with a lot.
Just before he made his debut for Barcelona in a derby with Real Madrid, he gave an interview to The Guardian. He spoke openly about the bite and the aftermath, not even wavering when asked if he ever considered his actions bordered on the mildly autistic. But in an instant, he changed. He switched to a difficult and tetchy figure and brought the chat to an abrupt halt before walking off with his agent in tow. Unbeknownst to him, his microphone was still on and he was heard raging at the repeated questions about that vicious, bizarre assault that he'll forever be associated with.
Like Quixote, there was a real world that Suarez chose to ignore, focusing instead on a place of make-believe, a place where he was right and others were wrong. A place where he grudgingly accepted his faults and mistakes only to a point. A place where he seemed unable to repent properly because he failed to grasp what all the fuss was about in the first place.
But as the season has developed, so too has Suarez. Many wondered how he would gel and interact when playing alongside other high-profile figures like Messi and Neymar. But ever since the turn of the year, it's been effortless. His tireless work-rate, that incessant harrying of defenders – the real epitome of a nuisance – has been there since the beginning but he's finally added a litany of goals and a multitude of assists too.
When he faces Juventus in Saturday's Champions League final, he'll live reality – not the fantasy he's occupied for so long. And that's important because everyone should want to escape the shadow of Don Quixote – the misguided hero and a most tragic and upsetting character.
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