Suarez loses arbitration case... and joins Ajax
09 August: Ajax have landed FC
Groningen's Luis Suárez, after all. The Uruguayan
forward has committed to the Amsterdam club for five
seasons. "A dream has come true," said the player after having
penned his contract at the ArenA. "I am happy and proud that I
will get to play for one of the greatest clubs in Europe."
Directors Maarten Fontein (Ajax) and Hans Nijland (FC
Groningen), meanwhile, stated that they are both very happy
with this "happy ending". All's well that ends well, as they
say.
The agreement marks the end of a long
'soap opera'. A breakdown...
Suárez was linked with
Ajax almost immediately after the departure of
Ryan Babel to Liverpool on 12 July. However, the
Uruguayan youngster had only just signed a five-year contract
renewal at FC Groningen, a reason for the northern side to say
'no' and reject Ajax's bid of 3.5 million euros. It was,
however, clear from the outset that Suárez was very eager to join
Ajax. The player's agent (not Suárez himself)
expressed his disappointment and anger about the fact that
Groningen were denying the player this obvious 'step forward'
in his career and announced that they would take the case to
the KNVB arbitration committee. The committee put it on the
agenda for Monday 30 July. Hans Nijland, meanwhile, said in the
media that Ajax were behind it: "This is not what
Luis himself wanted. Come on: he doesn't even know what an
arbitration case is."
Days before the case, however,
Suárez and his agent decided to call the arbitration
case off, as all parties agreed that such a case 'would only
have losers, no winners'. Director Hans Nijland announced that
Groningen were willing to talk to Ajax, but he added that the
Amsterdammers would have to offer considerably more than
3.5 million euros, a bid which he dismissed as
laughable.
According to media reports
and Hans Nijland, Ajax raised their bid to 6.5 million
euros, although the Amsterdam club strongly denied this: in an
official statement published on Ajax.nl the club claimed
to have offered 3.5 million, still their highest and only
formal bid. A joke, repeated Hans Nijland: Groningen demanded
9.5 million euros and not a penny less. That was on Thursday 02
August. FC Groningen and Ajax announced that the deal was
off. Regional TV station RTV Noord reported that Luis
Suárez had skipped training, devastated and
disillusioned. His agent, meanwhile, announced an arbitration
case... again.
That case was today and, not
entirely unexpectedly, Suárez lost it. Suárez's
(and Ajax's...?) attempt to force a relatively cheap transfer
had failed, but just before the book was closed, there was
a remarkable plot twist: Ajax raised their bid, Groningen
lowered their price - and the two parties smoked the pipe of
peace at 7.5 million euros. Everybody seems to be
over the moon: Ajax with their new forward, Suárez with
his new club and Groningen with the money.
Luis Alberto Suárez
(born Salto, Uruguay, 24 January 1987) is regarded as one
of Uruguay's greatest football talents. His career started
at Nacional, one of Uruguay's supreme football powerhouses from
the capital of Montevideo. Suárez made his top flight
début in the fall of 2005 and finished his first season
with 29 league appearances and 12 goals behind his name. His
performances had drawn the attention of FC Groningen, who
landed the young forward for approximately 1.5 million
euros in the summer of 2006.
At Groningen's Green
Cathedral, Suárez would soon develop into a
revelation. He had 29 league appearances in his first (and
only) season for FC Groningen, in which he netted 10 times. His
form didn't go unnoticed in Uruguay. Suárez was called
up for the national team, in which he had an
unfortunate début earlier this year: Suárez
was sent off in the 85th minute.
The 20 year-old forward has
been given jersey number 16 in Amsterdam. Ajax's technical
director Martin van Geel was a happy man: "Luis can play in
several different positions and tactical formations, so our
head-coach can use him in various ways. He can score goals and
he is a brave player. What I'm trying to say by the word
'brave' is that he always goes for it and seems totally
unimpressed by the circumstances, no matter what they are.
We are very pleased that Suárez has joined
us."
The man himself just listened
and smiled. "My goal for the next seasons? I want to play as
many games as possible in the jersey of Ajax. I'm hoping for
many wonderful moments in the upcoming years. The past few days
have been stressful. I'm glad we have found a way out of it."
(MP)
Sources: Ajax.nl,
Wikipedia
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