Reunited with Lionel Messi, his former Barcelona teammate, Luis Suarez expressed optimism that his move to Inter Miami would increase his prospects of playing for Uruguay in the Copa America in June.
Following his transfer from Brazilian club Gremio, the 36-year-old striker participated in his first training session with the Major League Soccer team on Saturday.
Suarez joins Spaniards Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, who joined Miami last year, as the only remaining former Barcelona players.
The striker, who has also played with Ajax, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid in a prolific career, scored 26 goals in all competitions for Gremio last season and said he was targeting success with his new club.
“Football is always about challenges…and Inter Miami showed me a nice opportunity to dream of winning MLS, which this club never did,” he told a press conference after training.
Suarez, who said he had been pitched the move by Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham, said he was “dreaming big” for the new MLS season which begins on February 21.
But he was also delighted to find old friends at his new club.
“The fact that we are meeting again says a lot about the friendship we have, about how well we know each other on the pitch. And we have to try to enjoy ourselves and want to win, which is our DNA,” he said.
Suarez said that the veteran core of the team, coached by former Barcelona and Argentina boss Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, would aim to “teach the talented youngsters that at Inter Miami it’s not about age, it’s about commitment, the sacrifice you make on the pitch”.
The forward was recalled to the Uruguay team for November’s CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, coming on as a substitute for first choice striker Darwin Nunez in the 3-0 win over Bolivia and said he hopes his form will earn him a place for the Copa America, which is being held in the United States. – On Merit –
“Coming to the United States knowing that (the tournament) is being played here this year is another plus. (But) it will depend on my performance on the field,” he said.
“I was there in November on merit, because of good games in the Brazilian league, and it will be the same (about) how I am physically and at the level of play. I want to let the coach see that I can contribute the minutes he wants. (If I am there) it will be because of my performances and not because of the name I have,” he said.
Martino said he had enjoyed watching his former Barca foursome in action on the field again.
“We finished the session with 20 minutes of football. It was obvious, in those 20 minutes, that the four of them have not forgotten how to play together. It was 20 minutes of beautiful football,” he said.
On January 19, Miami will play their first test at San Salvador against the national squad of El Salvador.
The club travels to Saudi Arabia to play Al Hilal on January 29 before facing Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, following a friendly match against FC Dallas in Texas.
Miami then travels to Hong Kong to play an All-Star team three days later. On February 4, they fly to Tokyo to play a friendly against Vissel Kobe, a J-League team.
The squad’s lone home game of the preseason, against Messi’s childhood team, Newell’s Old Boys, takes place on February 15. Six days later, Inter hosts Real Salt Lake to kick off the MLS season.
