Izuchukwu OkosiOutpouring of condolences have continued as Barcelona mourn the demise of iconic midifeld star Luis Suarez Miramontes.
Not to be mistaken for Uruguay international Luis Suarez who formed a dangerous attacking triumvirate with Lionel Messi and Neymar, the late Suarez who also starred for Inter Milan and Deportivo La Coruna passed away at the age of 88 on Sunday.
Born in A Coruna on the 2nd of May 1935, Suarez started his career at Deportivo La Coruna in 1953, before moving on to CD Condal the following year. He then joined Barcelona in 1955, where he would become one of the best midfielders in the world.
He won six trophies during his time at Barcelona, including 2 LaLiga titles, but he did also pick up the Ballon d’Or in 1960. To this day, Suarez is the only Spanish-born player to win the famous award.
He moved on to Inter in 1961, where he continued to perform at a very high level, which included helping the Nerazzurri win back-to-back European Cups between 1963 and 1965. He also managed Inter later in his career, as well as Spain between 1988 and 1991.
El Arquitecto is the only Spanish-born player to have ever won the Ballon D’or, which he did in 1960.
Suarez was a pioneering figure in Spanish football, and that has been reflecting in the wave of tributes that have been paid to him. Barcelona led these, alongside their El Clasico rivals Real Madrid.
Inter and Sampodia, the two clubs that Suarez played for in Italy, also paid respects to their former player, with the former releasing a very poignant video on a man that had a very deep connection with the Nerazzurri.
It gives an insight to how respected Suarez was that Real Madrid paid tribute to him, and AC Milan, fierce rivals of Inter, have done the same.
Barcelona are expected to have a full tribute to Suarez in the coming days, as they look to celebrate the life of one of Spanish football’s icons.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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