Luis Suarez knows what it takes to score against Hugo Lloris and it has been written in the stars. Or, at least, in the Barcelona FC and Uruguay striker’s autobiography “Mi Vida, Luis Suarez” published in 2014.
In a career as controversial as the Salto native’s, primary concerns of course were hot topics such as the infamous biting incident on Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini in the same year as the book’s publication, which led to a lengthy suspension for El Pistolero and consequently La Celeste’s last 16 elimination at the hands of Colombia by way of a James Rodriguez double that clinched the Golden Boot for the Bayern Munich star.
In Russia this summer, Suarez has achieved redemption for this with a string of Man of the Match displays that have brought about goals, assists and a quarter-final showdown with France on Friday. And while evidently an admirer of Les Bleus goalkeeper Lloris, he remains fully aware of what is required to put one past the Tottenham Hotspur number one.
“Hugo Lloris always comes out, and fast, very fast when he does.”
Suarez begins in “Mi Vida”. “You know that you have to react quickly or he will leave you without space, but it’s also possible to lob him because he will leave his goal line” he explains, before showering his adversary with praise. “He is really good. He has a rare agility and speed of reaction that is rare to find. He’s an example” it is concluded on this matter.
In total, Suarez and Lloris have met on six occasions with the former scoring four times and their encounters resulting in three victories, two draws and just a single loss for the former Liverpool icon. The pick of these was a 5-0 thumping from the Reds in December 2013, in which Suarez provided assists for Jon Flanagan and Raheem Sterling in an annihilation at White Hart Lane while lobbing Lloris exactly as described in his tell-all book for the second of two goals (7.10 in the video below).
Yet Suarez has never managed to get the better of Lloris on an international front in matching 0-0 draws in a friendly in Saint-Denis in November 2008 and a group fixture at the 2010 South Africa World Cup. In that tournament, Suarez again achieved notoriety by handballing on the line against Ghana and in turn blocking a surefire 120th minute goal for the west Africans that put a mountain of pressure on penalty taker Asamoah Gyan, who could only hit the bar, and paved the way for Oscar Tabarez’s troops to advance in a subsequent shootout.
Eight years older and wiser, it’s unlikely that a matured Suarez will resort to such lengths against the French as he leads his country’s attack pretty much alone in light of an injury to strike partner Edinson Cavani. If so, he would risk missing a potential semi-final clash against either Brazil or Belgium next week in the same manner that his red card in South Africa played its part in the Uruguayans’ elimination to eventual finalists Holland shortly after.
Rest assured, though, however things turn out in the heat of the battle, the Blaugrana marksman knows exactly how to get one over on Lloris and break hearts back in France should the chance present itself.
