Barça and Inter Milan legend and Spain's first Ballon D'Or winner Luis Suárez Miramontes has passed away at the age of 88.
Luis Suarez played as a midfielder for Deportivo de La Coruña, España Industrial, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Sampdoria and the Spain national team. Suárez is regarded as one of the greatest Spanish football players of all time. He was noted for his elegant, fluid, graceful style of play.
Nicknamed El Arquitecto – The Architect – Suárez was noted for his perceptive passing and explosive shot, and in 1960, he became the first and only male Spanish-born player to win the Ballon d'Or. In 1964, he helped Spain win the European Championship. Suárez originally achieved prominence as a creative inside forward, or attacking midfielder in modern terms, for the great Barcelona team of the 1950s before he joined Inter Milan where he reached his prime as deep-lying playmaker for the legendary Grande Inter team of the 1960s. He played a pivotal role in the success of Herrera's Inter Milan side, and was one of the primary creative forces in the squad, due to his skill on the ball, vision, and passing range. He retired as a player in 1973, after three seasons at Sampdoria.
Between 1955 and 1961 Suárez played for FC Barcelona - the team that also included the Hungarian trio Ladislao Kubala, Zoltán Czibor and Sándor Kocsis, alongside Ramallets and Evaristo. With Helenio Herrera as coach, the club and Suárez won a domestic league–cup double in 1959 and a league–Fairs Cup double the subsequent year. As a result, Suárez won the Ballon d'Or in 1960, beating Real Madrid's Ferenc Puskás. One of his last games for the club was the final of the European Cup in 1961 which they lost 3–2 to Benfica. In 1961, Suárez became the world's most expensive footballer and the first £100,000 transfer when FC Barcelona sold him to Inter Milan for 250 million Italian lire (£142,000). The move saw him follow his mentor Helenio Herrera. Along with Juan Santisteban, he became the first Spanish player in the Serie A.
Suárez subsequently began a career as a coach and has managed Inter Milan on three occasions, the last two on a caretaker basis. Suárez has also coached both Spain U21s and the senior Spain team. He was in charge of the latter for 27 games and led them to the second round of the 1990 World Cup. He has also coached several Italian and Spanish club sides.
Luis Suarez's legendary career
Club career
1953–1954 Deportivo La Coruña 3 goals in 17 appearances
1954–1955 CD Condal 6 goals in 21 appearances
1955–1961 Barcelona 61 goals in 122 appearances
1961–1970 Inter Milan 42 goals in 256 appearances
1970–1973 Sampdoria 9 goals in 63 appearances
Total 121 goals in 479 appearances
International career
1957–1972 Spain 14 goals in 32 appearances
Managerial career
1973–1974 Genoa Primavera
1974–1975 Inter Milan
1975 Cagliari
1977 SPAL
1977–1978 Como
1978–1979 Deportivo La Coruña
1981–1989 Spain U21
1988–1991 Spain
1992 Inter Milan
1995 Albacete
1995 Inter Milan (interim)