Luis Suarez, a former midfielder for Barcelona and Inter Milan, passed away on Sunday at the age of 88. He was the first and only male player born in Spain to win the Ballon d’Or award.
The Spaniard won the Ballon d’Or in 1960, becoming him the first player born in the nation to do so. He went on to manage La Roja during their run to the 1990 World Cup title.
The Spanish football federation took to Twitter to express their condolences to Luis Suarez Miramontes’s family and close friends. “From the RFEF we want to convey our condolences to all relatives and close friends of Luis Suarez Miramontes,” the tweet said.
After becoming one of the most recognized midfielders in the league while playing for Inter Milan in the 1960s under the direction of coach Helenio Herrera, Suarez was adored throughout Italy as well.
“Saying goodbye to Luisito leaves us with a deep melancholy,” Inter stated in a statement after the player’s retirement. “The nostalgia of his perfect and inimitable football, which inspired generations, is combined with the memory of a unique footballer and a great, great Inter player.”
Suarez began his professional career at La Coruna, where he was born in 1935, playing for Deportivo La Coruna before transferring to Barcelona in 1954. Suarez was born in La Coruna.
In addition to other medals, he was awarded the Ballon d’Or during his time with the Catalan giants, for which he won two La Liga titles.
Alexia Putellas, a midfielder for Barcelona, is the only other player who was born in Spain to win the Ballon d’Or. She has accomplished this feat twice in the women’s competition.
Alfredo Di Stefano, who was born in Buenos Aires but played for Argentina and then Spain’s national team, won the tournament twice but played for both countries.
Suarez went to Inter Milan in 1961 for a transfer price that was at the time the world record. While playing for Inter Milan, he won two European Cups, three Serie A titles, and other trophies during the club’s most successful era.
In 1964, he was a member of the Spain national team that won the European Championships. During his career with the national team, he played 32 times.
Following his retirement from Sampdoria in 1973, Suarez went on to coach both Sampdoria and Inter, in addition to Como and Cagliari.
Sampdoria tweeted on their Twitter account, “Goodbye Luisito,” and posted a photo of the Spaniard as an homage.
The next year, in 1990, he led the Spanish national team to the World Cup in Italy, although they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Yugoslavia. He took over as coach of the Spanish national team in 1988 and led them to the tournament.
In his senior years, Suarez was a pundit for Spanish radio. His work primarily focused on soccer.
Although they had the same name, he was not related to Luis Suarez, the Uruguayan striker who also played for Barcelona and bore the same name.
The Spaniard said with So Foot in 2016 that “his father told me that if he’s called Luis, it’s my fault,” and that “if he’s called Luis, it’s my fault.”