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Luis Suarez Can Surpass Diego Maradona And Romario's Barcelona - Sports - Nairaland

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Luis Suarez Can Surpass Diego Maradona And Romario's Barcelona by sojihandsome: 1:08pm On Nov 17, 2015
Apart from the overriding aim of beating Real Madrid on Saturday in the El Clasico, Luis Suarez can pass a major career milestone by scoring his 39th goal for Barcelona and passing Diego Maradona's goals tally.

Argentina legend Maradona scored 38 goals in his two seasons at the club, while Romario found the back of the net 39 times.

When Suarez so nearly dragged Liverpool to the Premier League title two seasons ago some saw a similarity between what he was achieving and what Maradona had achieved at Napoli. It was a temperamental talisman taking an unfancied sleeping giant to unimagined glory.

It was also Maradona who, at the end of that season, donned a 'Luisito we are with you' t-shirt to support the striker after he had been sent home from the World Cup and banned for four months for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini.

Now 'little Luis' is leaving Diego in his wake as he continues to thrive at the Nou Camp. Romario will be his next victim. His 39 goals came in 66 games from 1993 to 1994. Suarez is currently on 38 goals in 60 games.

The speed at which Suarez has racked up his tally is surprising. In recent years great strikers signed by Barcelona have struggled to match the goalscoring feats their achieved elsewhere.

SUAREZ VS MARADONA VS ROMARIO

Luis Suarez: 38 goals in 60 games.

1x La Liga, 1x Copa del Rey, 1x Champions League, 1x Super Cup

Diego Maradona: 38 goals in 58 games.

1x Copa del Rey, 1x Copa de la Liga, 1x Spanish Super Cup

Romario: 39 goals in 66 games.

1x La Liga, 1x Spanish Super Cup

David Villa never scored as many goals for Barca as for Valencia, Thierry Henry could not repeat his Arsenal figures for the Catalans and the only place where Zlatan Ibrahimovic did not feel king of the world was at Barcelona where he struggled in the shadow of Lionel Messi.

The Argentine's frightening numbers have tended to mean a slight fall in productivity from anyone who has played alongside him and it was almost taken for granted that the same would happen with Suarez.

At Liverpool he scored 69 league goals in 110 games. At Barca the scoring ratio has been even more impressive. And that hasn't been the only thing that has surprised Barca fans.

He came with a reputation for controversy. Many were sceptical about bringing a player to the club who had been banned for biting three times and would not be able to start the season because of his latest suspension.

There was talk of an anti-biting clause in his contract rubbished by Suarez in his book, 'Crossing the Line', but most Barcelona supporters still saw the signing as a new low in the club's values – first we take shirt sponsorship from the controversial hosts of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and now we sign the 2014 World Cup's biggest 'villain' they argued.

They have been won over, however, not just by the goals but by Suarez's impeccable behaviour both on and off the pitch. Every media appearance, every gesture towards team-mates or with supporters has been faultless. There have been no tangles with opponents. There were only four yellow cards last season and only three so far this campaign.

Far from being trouble he has been the embodiment of mature responsibility and the perfect team player – everything that Maradona was unable to be when he arrived from Boca Juniors aged just 22.

Like Suarez, Maradona's first season was marked by a long absence. He contracted hepatitis and missed 14 games across three months of the campaign. He recovered to play his part in the team winning the Copa del Rey and the Copa de la Liga.

Four games into his second season he had his ankle broken by Athletic Bilbao's brutal defender Andoni Goikoetxea - dubbed 'the butcher of Bilbao'. He came back from what doctors said would be a six-month lay-off in just three months and played his part in Barca reaching the Copa del Rey final again.

Athletic were the opponents so he crossed paths again with Goikoetxea. After another extremely physical encounter that Barca lost 1-0, a pitched battle broke out and Maradona was given a three-month ban after hitting Miguel Angel Sola. He never served it moving to Napoli instead and they enjoyed the best years of his playing career.

For Barcelona and Suarez the timing has been far better. He arrived aged 27 with the ambition to finally make his mark in the Champions League, denied him at Ajax and Liverpool. He made up for lost time by winning the tournament last season, scoring in the final.

With Romario there are also striking similarities and major differences. The Brazilian arrived in Spain having proved he could score goals in Holland, netting 165 in 163 games for PSV Eindhoven. But unlike Suarez, who came at a time when Barcelona were needing to rebuilding having seen Real Madrid win their 10th Champions League, Romario came to the Nou Camp after Barca had won their first ever European Cup in 1992 at Wembley. Instead of being part of that historic triumph, he was part of a 4-0 defeat by Milan in the 1994 final in Athens. He fell out with manager Johan Cruyff and returned to Brazil.

There looks to be no falling out with Luis Enrique on the horizon. The manager sees his own battling style in the man from Salta and has been delighted by his level of professionalism since joining the club.

This time last year Suarez was ready for his first game in a Barca shirt. It was also the first Clasico of the season and it was also at the Bernabeu. He started the match brightly, setting up Barca's opening goal but Real Madrid won the match 3-1.

Twelve months on and with three trophies won, his team achievements far outweigh those of Maradona and Romario, and with a couple of goals in the home of the old enemy he will have surpassed both on a individual level too.

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