Tag: Nacional

Luis Suárez made his second Nacional debut 17 years after his first

El Pistolero is back with his childhood club in Uruguay

Luis Suárez came on as a second-half sub for Nacional against Atletico Goianiense on Tuesday, making his second debut for the Uruguayan club 17 years after his first.

Suárez announced last month that he had returned to Nacional after he departed Atletico Madrid at the end of last season when his contract expired.

Amid interest from several clubs across the world, the 35-year-old opted to re-sign with his boyhood club, where he made his professional debut in 2005.

On Tuesday, Suárez entered in the 74th minute for Nacional in a Copa Sudamericana quarterfinal first leg against the Brazilian side, with 30,000 fans at the Gran Parque Central stadium in Montevideo giving him a standing ovation.

Ultimately, Suárez was unable to prevent Nacional from losing the match 1-0.

After the game the striker posted on Twitter that he was “happy to return to play for Nacional. Sad for the defeat but convinced we’ll be able to turn the result around. Let’s go, we can do it all together!”

Nacional will travel to Brazil to face Atletico Goianiense in the second leg on Tuesday.

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Luis Suárez says he’s heading home to Nacional

The 35-year-old striker is returning to the club where he made his pro debut in 2005

Luis Suárez has announced on social media that he has signed a pre-contract with Nacional ahead of completing a move to his boyhood club in Uruguay.

Suárez made his professional debut for Nacional in 2005 before beginning his European career with Dutch side Groningen the following year. Further stops at Ajax, Liverpool, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid would follow as Suárez established himself as one of the best strikers of his generation.

After his Atlético contract expired, Suárez has been linked with several teams in North and South America, but Nacional has been among the favorites to land the forward after putting on an impressive sales pitch that involved thousands of fans wearing Suárez masks at a match last week.

And now the 35-year-old has confirmed he is set to return to Nacional.

“I wanted to thank you for all the love we have received, both me and my family in recent days,” Suarez said in a message on his Twitter account.

“It has been very exciting, all the videos and messages that have reached us that touched our hearts about this situation that we had to decide. Well, it was impossible to reject this chance to play again with Nacional.

“We have a pre-agreement with the club and in the next few hours details will be finalized. We hope that the agreement that we all want will be reached. I hope to enjoy this new stage and see you in the coming days. I send a big hug to all of you and thank you for all the love you have given us. See you soon.”

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Nacional really wants Luis Suárez to come home. Like, a lot.

Nacional wants to sign Uruguay legend Luis Suárez so badly that they printed 15,000 masks for fans.

Luis Suárez is a free agent this summer, and while he’s been linked with moves all over, no one can match the kind of sales pitch Club Nacional is making for the Uruguay legend.

Suárez made his professional debut for Nacional way back in 2005, and after 17 years of success in the top European leagues, it appears a return home is a growing possibility. While rumors have linked him to MLS or Borussia Dortmund, things are a little different in Montevideo, where a full stadium of Nacional fans donned Suárez masks on Thursday night as their side thumped Cerrito 5-0, singing a song in Suárez’s honor.

(Photo by PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s only the latest chapter in Nacional’s push to bring Suárez home. ESPN reported that Nacional’s president José Fuentes flew to Spain on Tuesday to talk to Uruguay’s all-time leading scorer about the move.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to bring Luis Suárez back to Nacional,” Fuentes told Sport 890, adding that in their talks, Suárez has been open to a return to Uruguayan soccer.

Suárez’s older brother Paolo stoked the fire, tweeting out an altered photo of the superstar in a Nacional kit.

In the meantime, Suárez can sign anywhere he wants, and will have to sort through plenty of offers from clubs who just want to tender a contract. Some will invite him to town, wine and dine him, show Suárez and his camp their city’s nicest neighborhoods, do a stadium tour, and show off their training ground. Nacional, meanwhile, is out here printing 15,000 masks of Suárez.

Luis…you know what to do.

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