David Suazo
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David Suazo | ||
Personal information | ||
---|---|---|
Full name | Óscar David Suazo Velásquez | |
Date of birth | November 5, 1979 | |
Place of birth | San Pedro Sula, Honduras | |
Playing position | Striker | |
Club information | ||
Current club | Internazionale | |
Number | 29 | |
Youth clubs | ||
Marathon | ||
Senior clubs1 | ||
Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
1996–1999 1999–2007 2007– |
Olimpia Cagliari Internazionale |
255 (95) 27 (8) |
10 (5)
National team2 | ||
1999- | Honduras | 37 (13) |
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
Óscar David Suazo Velázquez (born 5 November 1979 in San Pedro Sula) is a Honduran footballer, who currently plays as a striker for F.C. Internazionale Milano in Milan, Italy in the Serie A.
He was a member of the Honduran squad that competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He is the cousin of Maynor Suazo and Hendry Thomas.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
[edit] Early career
Suazo also was able to develop alongside his cousin, Maynor Suazo, who also serves for the Honduran national team. David Suazo took his first steps at Olimpia Reservas and later went on to play at the Liga Bancaria. After his participation in 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship held at Nigeria, he was acquired by domestic club team Olimpia. Suazo continued to impress playing for Olimpia's youth system under the coaching of Angel Ramon Paz (Mon Paz) and earned a spot on the top squad before turning 20 years old. [1]
[edit] Cagliari
Oscar Tabarez, then coach of the Italian side Cagliari, was impressed by Suazo's performance and did not hesitate in bringing him across the Atlantic. [2]
Suazo joined Cagliari and Serie A for the 1999–00 season . In his first season with the team, he scored one goal in 13 appearances. At the end of the 1999–00 season, Cagliari were relegated to Serie B, where they would remain until the 2003–04 season.
In their four years in Serie B, Suazo played 113 matches and scored 40 goals for the club. His scoring efficiency was impressive enough for him to earn the nickname La Pantera (the Panther). Suazo's time in Serie B provided him with great experience which would help ease his transition into more difficult competition at the top of the Italian league.
In the 2004–05 season at Serie A, Suazo scored seven goals in 22 matches in a 4-3-3 schema in which he performed as a reserve behind Gianfranco Zola, Mauro Esposito, and Antonio Langella. Suazo's scoring proved vital in helping Cagliari avoid relegation and impressed top clubs across Europe despite only scoring six goals. In 2006, he became a starter for Cagliari and scored 22 goals in the Serie A. For his play that season Suazo was honored with the Serie A award for Best Foreign Player, which he shared with Brazilian playmaker Kaká. [3] In 2007, he continued with his great play for Cagliari, where he scored 18 more goals in the Serie A championship and single-handedly saved Cagliari from descent to Serie B.
[edit] Internazionale Milano
On June 13, 2007, reports arose that Suazo had agreed on terms with Serie A champions Inter Milan on a deal worth €10 million. Six days later, though, crosstown rival and European champions A.C. Milan announced that they themselves had acquired Suazo for the same monetary amount.
While Milan claimed they had successfully negotiated with Cagliari, the latter which was confirmed by Cagliari president Massimo Cellino, who denied having made any contact with Moratti regarding the matter. Meanwhile, one of Suazo's agents, Carlo Pallavicino, added to the confusion by saying, "Suazo has not had any contact with Milan and he still has not given his consent to the transfer." Suazo's official status remained unclear while the two teams battled for his services. It was later announced that Suazo was confirmed with Inter after Milan officially withdrew their contract offer. Since Suazo himself wanted to keep his initial agreement with Inter. "It was an issue of respect. The Rossoneri understood that I had a promise with coach Roberto Mancini, Marco Branca and president Massimo Moratti."[4]. Under the terms of the contract he had with Cagliari, he was in fact free to join Inter for a fee of £9.4 million. [5][6][7][8][9][10] He scored his first goal against Genoa C.F.C. and made a total of eigth goals throughout his first season with the nerazzurri.
[edit] International career
Suazo's success at Olimpia made him a selection for the Honduran team participating in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship held at Nigeria. While the Honduran team failed to impress in the tournament, losing all three of their games, Suazo, as team captain, scored two of their four goals.
[edit] Club honours
- CD Olimpia
- Honduran Liga Nacional : 1998-99
- Honduran Super Copa : 1996-97
- Honduran Cup : 1998
- Internazionale FC
- Italian Serie A : 2007-08
[edit] References
- ^ David Suazo, the black-and-blue panther. FIFA.com (2007-07-10).
- ^ David Suazo, the black-and-blue panther. FIFA.com (2007-07-10).
- ^ David Suazo, the black-and-blue panther. FIFA.com (2007-07-10).
- ^ "Suazo Thanks Milan For "Understanding"", Goal.com, 2007-06-25. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- ^ "Inter, AC fight over Suazo", Setanta Sport, 2007-06-19. Retrieved on 2007-06-19.
- ^ "Milan confirm Suazo swoop", Football Italia, 2007-06-19. Retrieved on 2007-06-19.
- ^ "Suazo mystery deepens!", Football Italia, 2007-06-19. Retrieved on 2007-06-19.
- ^ "AC Milan cool Eto´o interest as row erupts over Suazo", Soccerway, 2007-06-19. Retrieved on 2007-06-19.
- ^ "Both Milan clubs claim Suazo deal", CNN, 2007-06-22. Retrieved on 2007-06-19.
- ^ "Official Milan Release Suazo", Channel 4 Football Italia, 2007-06-19. Retrieved on 2007-06-22.
Preceded by Zlatan Ibrahimović |
Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year (Shared with Kaká) 2006 |
Succeeded by Kaká |
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