Luis Suárez Miramontes

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Lore & Background

Luis Suárez Miramontes was born on 2 May 1935 in A Coruña, Galicia. He started his senior career at Deportivo La Coruña, making his debut on 6 December 1953. In March 1954, he joined Barcelona. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1960, becoming the first Spanish-born player to do so. In 1961, he transferred to Inter Milan for a world-record fee, reuniting with manager Helenio Herrera. At Inter, he played as a deep-lying playmaker and won the European Cup in 1964, scoring in a 6–0 league win over Genoa on 10 March 1963 to become the first Spanish player to score a hat-trick in Serie A. He finished second in the Ballon d'Or in 1961 and second in 1964. He died in Milan on 9 July 2023, aged 88.

In Their Own Story

The Prater Stadium in Vienna was a cauldron of rain and roaring tension as the 1965 European Cup final hung in the balance against Benfica. For hours, the Portuguese giants had suffocated Inter's attack, but Luis Suárez saw what others missed: a microscopic fracture in their defense. Dropping deep to collect a loose ball, he didn't just turn; he spun away from his marker with a dancer's grace, eyes already scanning the horizon. With a single, surgical pass that sliced through the chaotic midfield, he unleashed Jair on a goal no one else could have found. In that split second of pure clarity, the Spanish maestro turned a defensive stalemate into a coronation, etching his name forever into the heart of Nerazzurri legend. On 25 August 1965, Suárez took part in a friendly match against his former club Barcelona at the Camp Nou: at the 38th minute of the match, he abruptly left the pitch after being on the receiving end of boos from blaugrana supporters since the start of the game, and made a bras d'honneur towards them before reaching the exit, a gesture he eventually came to regret throughout the years.

Reader's Guide

Suárez played as a midfielder, initially as an attacking midfielder at Barcelona and later as a deep-lying playmaker at Inter Milan. He was known for his elegant style, vision, and passing range. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1960, the European Championship with Spain in 1964, and the European Cup with Inter in 1964. He also managed Inter Milan on three occasions, the Spain under-21 team to a European Under-21 Championship in 1986, and the Spanish senior team to the round of 16 of the 1990 World Cup.

Did You Know?

• Suárez was the first Spanish-born player to win the Ballon d'Or, in 1960.
• His Barcelona teammate Evaristo scored the 1000th European Cup goal in history on 9 November 1960, not Suárez.
• He became the first Spanish player to score a hat-trick in Serie A, on 10 March 1963.
• He died in Milan on 9 July 2023, aged 88.