Two years ago this week, Luis Suarez left Liverpool to sign for Barcelona.
In a £71million deal secured after his ban for biting Georgio Chiallini at the World Cup, it signified the end of an era of controversy and genius in equal measure.
The Uruguayan was never a figure loved by supporters of fellow clubs, but it was almost as if they didn’t ‘get’ what Liverpool had quite like the Kop did.
An easy target for sledging from supporters for his racial abuse of Patrice Evra (the aftermath of which Liverpool handled poorly) and biting of Chelsea defender Branoslav Ivanovic; Manchester United and Chelsea fans relished the idea of tormenting Suarez for His Mr Hyde elements.
But for every Hyde there is a Dr Jackell, and perhaps no football player is a better example of that than Luis.
Every single goal he scored for Liverpool had an element of magic about it, whether it was his debut goal against Stoke City that saw Andy Wilkinson futilely try to keep the ball from crossing the line; or his second goal against Sunderland that was powered in from a seemingly impossible angle; right up to his 82nd and last goal for the club to give us a 3-0 lead against Crystal Palace.
The rest of that particular game doesn’t bear watching, with Crystal Palace inflicting their ‘anti-Istanbul’ on us, but for the majority of that 2013/14 season, it seemed like Liverpool were invincible with Suarez up front.
Despite not being well liked towards the end of his career, it is testament to Brendan Rodgers that Suarez became the force he was.
During the Kenny Dalglish era, although he was adored by fans, there were still questions about Suarez’s ability and how despite his knack of scoring great goals, he missed a few too many chances.
The penalty against Sunderland that season springs to mind, as the Uruguayan blasted the ball well over the left-hand side of the cross bar.
There were also doubts about his suitably, Suarez never flourished with strike partner Andy Carroll, and didn’t receive much service at all from the likes of Stewart Downing or Charlie Adam
The Northern Irishman, however, signed two players that would become as equal a part of Suarez’s success to his own; the arrivals or Daniel Sturridge and Phillipe Coutinho transformed the Reds’ attack from being static and relying on wide players who were not up to the task, to being fluid, dynamic and more often than not, unstoppable.
Sturridge was the perfect partner for the 28-year old. A fast, mobile and dynamic centre-forward who could easily turn provider as well as finisher; and Coutinho had the ability to find either with such consummate ease, it was almost like he was playing with the radar you get on FIFA.
The fact that, despite missing the opening six games that season, he managed to still be the Premier League’s top scorer with 31 goals, and that him and Sturridge managed to score 51 goals between them, shows just how much of an impact he had for us.
Even now he is averaging almost a goal a game for Barcelona, forming an even deadlier strikeforce with Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Picking up honours left right and centre and now being put in the same bracket as his aforementioned team mate and Cristiano Ronaldo.
It’s almost as if his controversies drive him on to being a better player; he came back as one of the best strikers in the Premier League after the Evra affair, and one of the best in the world after biting Chiellini during the World Cup.
Maybe there’s also an element of Suarez that just makes him a pantomime villa.
The best villains in life are the ones that, no matter what they do, you can’t help but hate.
It’s what makes King Joffrey seem such a evil person in Game of Thrones, or CM Punk such a natural heel in the world of pro wrestling, and you got the feeling that Suarez played off it so well; in a way that someone like Jamie Vardy could never do if he received the same level of attention for his racial slur.
Perhaps that’s overthinking it a little though, as he is a player who will always be remembered in the hearts and minds of Liverpool fans for the magic he made on the pitch; a striker who made goal scoring look like balet.
It’s for that reason alone that I still just can’t seem to get enough.
