Phil Jagielka made 659 appearances in his entire career – plus 40 caps for England. He’s played against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, but it’s Luis Suarez he hated playing against the most.
Why did Jagielka hate playing against Suarez?
Jagielka was asked about players who he had a hard time trying to defend. Speaking on talkSport, Jagielka said: “Suarez at that time was unplayable.
“He was so game off the ball. The ball would drop to him and he’d finish it at times – he showed both ends of the game, would work as hard as anyone else and he’d get the goals.
“Obviously Stevie G [Steven Gerrard] in a similar area would score lots of goals, but I think, striker wise, Suarez was, should we say the most annoying? That might sum up how to describe him.
“I suppose if you’re a striker that’s what you want to hear that other defenders think of you.
“We had other people like Kevin Davies, John Carew, he was almost impossible to play against, he’s probably twice my size but for a different reason to obviously people like Suarez.”
Jagielka played and lost against Suarez on six occasions, five of which came in the Premier League for Everton and one in the 2014 World Cup with England.
Suarez’s career
In 768 career appearances, Suarez has scored 471 goals. Most of his goals came from his time at Barcelona. The Uruguayan scored 209 goals for the La Liga side. He won 13 trophies for them – including four La Liga titles and one Champions League.
Before he joined Barcelona, he was a Liverpool player. He spent three years at the club and only left Merseyside with a League Cup win. However, he left a legacy in England. Fans still talk about his football genius and reminisce his performances and goals. I’m sure Norwich City fans will want to forget Suarez though.
On the Rest Is Football podcast, Gary Lineker called Suarez the greatest Liverpool striker ever. Alan Shearer started the discussion by claiming Ian Rush is the best. Rush is Liverpool’s all-time leading goalscorer with 346. “It’s got to be Rushy, hasn’t it? Got to be Ian Rush, said Shearer,
Lineker replied with an alternative pick with Suarez: “He’s up there. He’s obviously the second best striker of his time… he was unbelievable. But I think Suarez, you know.
“Steven Gerrard said he’s the best player he’s ever played with. He’s probably a better all round footballer than Rushy.”
Before he became massive, Suarez started out his career at Ajax. In 2011, Liverpool signed him for £22.5m and the rest is history.
Where is Suarez now?
The 37-year-old now plays in Inter Miami. He is reunited with Lionel Messi. The two were involved in one of the world’s most iconic trios at Barcelona; titled ‘MSN’ – Messi, Suarez and Neymar.
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