Sixteen minutes that proved Liverpool's Luis Suarez is more than a match for Fernando Torres as a Kop cult hero
Uruguayan striker immediately endears himself to Anfield faithful.
It will take a long time for Luis Suarez to know his place in the annals of great strikers to play for Liverpool, but thanks to the Uruguayan's fairytale 28-minute debut, Fernando Torres has already been consigned to history at Anfield.Like Torres, the £22.8 million signing from Ajax took exactly 16 minutes to score his first Anfield goal. Like Torres, the Kop has instantly taken Suarez to their hearts. The void took less than 48 hours to fill.
'"Suarez, Suarez" went up the chant around Anfield when the 24-year-old emerged to warm-up for the first time during Wednesday night's 2-0 win over Stoke City. The whole stadium burst into life when he was introduced in the 63rd minute, Reds fans desperate for a new hero to adore.
A home cameo against a mediocre Stoke side is not the time to judge how Suarez will fare in England, but the signs were there that he will be a top class signing for the Merseyside club.
His touch is assured, his runs off the ball well-timed and into the right space. Some of his touches around the penalty box were sublime and one flick through his legs must have made the referee pause to wonder if he was wearing illegal wing mirrors. It was a performance that justifies Liverpool's dogged pursuit of Suarez after they made him their top target, it also alleviated for the time being any doubts over whether his stunning scoring record in the Netherlands will count for anything now he's in the Premier League.
Questions are always raised when players arrive from Holland following some high profile flops, but the way he rounded Asmir Begovic, the Stoke goalkeeper, suggested he will be more of a Ruud van Nistelrooy than an Alfonso Alves. The ball needed a helping hand from Andy Wilkinson on its way to the net, but rest assured Suarez will be chalking it up on his board even if the dubious goals panel decide otherwise.
Earlier in the day, a giant mural showing Torres in action was removed from the outside of the Kop. The message was simple: life goes on. That was hammered home emphatically by Suarez, whose commitment and work-rate are sure to endear him to the Liverpool faithful, to make him worthy of the hallowed No.7 shirt handed to him by Kenny Dalglish, one of its previous owners.
Dalglish has united the players, the staff and the supporters, he's emphasised the Liverpool way of doing things, he's spoken ambitiously without sounding unrealistic, he's made a perfect pitch to become permanent manager without ever publicly declaring he wants the job.
The Reds have now won three Premier League games in a row, the mood is positive and Dalglish has great expectations for his new strikeforce of Suarez and Andy Carroll.
Carroll, 22, the club record £35m deadline day signing, was introduced to the crowd before kick-off, wearing a smile as wide as the Mersey and a suit that made him look as though he was the club's new chief executive.
The England striker, sat next to director of football Damien Comolli, appeared as thrilled as anyone to watch Suarez score on his Anfield debut and salute the Kop. The Geordie will no doubt be dreaming of doing the same thing when he recovers from a thigh injury that is expected to keep him out for another four weeks.
After the match finished, the streets around L4 hummed with the sound of Reds fans talking about their new striker, comparing his debut to that of another Spanish-speaking striker who scored after 16 minutes in August 2007.
It's now official – the period of mourning Torres' departure is over. Now for the future, for Suarez. If the impact of his first 28 minutes in Liverpool red are anything to go by, it won't take long.
mykopieeboy
