Luis Suárez recalls how Di Stéfano nicknamed him ‘The Architect’

Spanish football is mourning the passing of Luis Suárez, the first and only Spanish-born player to win the men’s Ballon d’Or. He passed away in Milan on Sunday, his former club Inter announced. Widely considered one of the greatest Spanish players in history, Luis Suárez started out with his hometown club Deportivo but is known for his time at Barcelona and particularly in Italy, with Inter and Sampdoria. He also enjoyed a lengthy coaching career, spending two years at the helm

Out on the pitch, Suárez was an intelligent playmaker blessed with both skill and unparalleled vision, he gained the nickname El Arquitecto (The Architect). In this interview with Catalan television TV3, he explained how the nickname came about as well as why the other legendary player of his era, Alfrédo di Stefano was his great idol.

“Yes because he was a complete player. He could play in every part of the pitch, he was drop back to help out in defence, he’d start all of the team’s attacking moves - and finish them off. And the decisions he made - for example, Madrid had a winger with tremendous pace - Paco Gento, but Alfredo would arrive in the area to finish off the move. He ended up as the top scorer during several years - he was such a complete player, with incredible performance levels,” he said of the Saeta Rubia.

As for the origins of his nickname, that was all down to Di Stéfano. “Yes, that was because of him. One day, he gave an interview and said that, the way this guy plays, he’s like an architect - how he organizes play, how he prepares... he was like that, he had a very unique way of explaining things in his own way with his sayings and terms of phrase. But when he was in a bad mood, it was best to leave him alone. When he was in good mood he was great to be with, joking all the time but if he was bothered about something... he could be short-tempered at times”.