<
>

Suarez: Street football has shaped me

Luis Suarez says he often still feels like a young boy playing on the streets of Uruguay when he steps onto the pitch with Liverpool.

#INSERT
type:image
caption:Luis Suarez joined Liverpool from Ajax in 2011.
END#

Usher: Memories of Molby

His 24 Premier League goals have helped fire Brendan Rodgers' side to second in the Premier League table as they seek their first title since 1990 and a return to the Champions League after four years without a place at Europe's top table.

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has previously hit out at Suarez for "giving you small kicks all the time," while the striker was handed a 10-match ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic last April.

But it is his experiences growing up in Salto, almost 500 kilometres north of Montevideo, and later in Uruguay's capital that Suarez insists have formulated his relentless will to win and combative style.

"Sometimes, it's 100 percent from the street," Suarez told Liverpool's official website.

"But sometimes it's another person, because you tried your best, you perform and you change your head, it's not the same. It depends on the moment.

"When I was a child, I never liked to miss. From the age of seven, I was involved in competitions, and I never liked to lose.

"I've worked very hard in my life to get to this level, and I can't miss one ball. When the ball is out, I try to be ready for when the ball comes back in, because I love football.

"If I score and we win, it's unbelievable. But if I don't score and we win, it's just as unbelievable, so best I work for the team, not just for me. If Liverpool win the game, that's the important thing."