Spanish football legend Luis Suarez, former midfielder for Barcelona and Inter Milan, who remains the only player born in Spain to win the Ballon d’Or, passed away at the age of 88 on Sunday.
The Spanish Football Federation announced on its Twitter account, “The first Spanish winner of the Ballon d’Or, European champion in 1964, coach of the national team, and one of the greatest legends in football. Rest in peace, Luisito.”
Suarez, a midfielder-forward, was the first player born in Spain to win the Ballon d’Or in 1960 (previously won by Alfredo Di Stefano, born in Argentina, in 1957 and 1959).
Inter Milan stated in their statement, “If he played in our times, social media would have been filled with his videos.”
He rose to prominence with Barcelona between 1955 and 1961, winning the domestic league title twice and the Ballon d’Or in 1960. In his final year in Catalonia, he reached the final of the European Cup (now known as the Champions League).
He moved to Inter Milan in the same year and won the club’s prestigious continental title in 1964 and 1965.
Internationally, he contributed to Spain’s triumph in the 1964 European Championship and stood on the Ballon d’Or podium thrice (second in 1961, 1964, and third in 1965).
He ended his playing career with Sampdoria in 1973 and transitioned into coaching in the same year.
He also coached Inter Milan in the 1974-1975 season and moved between several teams, including Deportivo La Coruna (1978-1979), where he began his playing career in 1953. He then coached the Spanish national team between 1988 and 1991 and reached the Round of 16 in the 1990 World Cup against Yugoslavia.
