By scoring once with his left foot and once with his right, with two headed goals sandwiched in between, Luis Suarez used all the weapons in his armoury to crush Chile and dominate the sporting headlines across South America. In inspirational and unstoppable form, the Liverpool striker became the first Uruguayan to score four goals in a single FIFA World Cup™ qualifier and earned a rousing standing ovation from the fans in Montevideo’s Estadio Centenario.
“It makes you want to cry, it fills you with joy when you receive an ovation like the one I got today. Especially for someone like me, who’s felt so much love for Uruguay since I was a child,” said the man of the hour after the match. “The game went like a dream and I tried to enjoy every minute I was on the pitch,” continued the Salto-born star. “My goals? It doesn’t matter who scores them, what matters is the team winning at home and moving up the table.”
Voted the most valuable player at the 2011 Copa America, which Uruguay won, in electric form for his club and included in the shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011, Suarez’s performance on Friday night lived up to every possible expectation. Even shorn of the guile of injured strike-partner Diego Forlan - the adidas Golden Ball winner at South Africa 2010 - Suarez proved more than capable of sinking Chile and giving La Roja goalkeeper Claudio Bravo nightmares.
As well as taking charge of all his side’s set-pieces using his wand-like right foot, Suarez found the net with his left from distance and with a close-range header before the first half was out. Another header and a pinpoint first-time right-foot strike followed in the second period to complete the rout and carve his name into Uruguayan football history.
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