European Championship Myth – Spain 1964, House Statue: Luis Suarez

1964 is the boom version of the continental tournament for European national teams. There are 29 participants in the qualifying stage, 3 of which sent directly to the knockout stage (the USSR as a lottery by the champions, Austria and Luxembourg). Thus a single venue was chosen for the final stages of the competition (semi-finals and finals), just as France had been selected four years earlier.

And it was Spain who was the hero of that version. Red Furious, stopped four years ago by Franco Reigns, reached the semi-finals on Luis Suáz’s wave of talent. For many, the name is associated with Barcelona’s former center-Uruguay, for fans of blograna themselves, and especially for the people of Inter in Italy, Luis Suarez, they are architect Luisito of Midfield. Director and playwright who won the European Cup in 1964 against his compatriot and former rivals Real Madrid.
Suarez was certainly among the best players in the world in the 1960s. In 1964 he arrived at the European Championships as Spain’s technical leader, an orphan of the genius of the original Alfredo Di Stefano, not called into contention because he was considered “too old”. Suarez, only 4 years ago, was already a core element of the Iberian team in 1960 and won the Ballon d’Or. However, in the same year in the first edition of the European Championship, their Spain was forced to stop a step away from the semi-finals.
The reigns of the late Francisco Franco prevented the quarter-finals in a dual challenge against the USSR. The Soviets were strictly forbidden to enter Spanish territory and were equally forbidden to the Spaniards in hostile territory. In short, a political decision that the players forcibly accepted, without any disappointment at all.

A disappointment above all for Lucito, who was awarded the very important Golden Ball that year, even without reaching the bottom of the brand new international competition, now in its fifth edition and only one year The first was won by legend Alfredo Di Stefano, who made it an integral part of that selection.

Spain made it to the finals in the 1964 edition. For the occasion, the USSR, with whom relations remained difficult, was welcomed into Spain for the final leg and the two representatives met in the final. The match was a Spanish monologue. Luikato maintained his dominance over the midfield, giving the opponents a shock blow. The midfielder of the match, the playmaker, the playmaker, the Nerazurri champion, really put the reigning champion under the leadership of the timeless Yashin, who surrendered in front of goals from the attacking duo Amancio with the help of Suarez and Marcelino.
In short, he was unconfirmed by the 1960s Ballon d’Or, beaten by Manchester United’s Scottish Law, but in 1964 the achievements of Luis Suarez of Red Shirt and Inter remained indelible.