My ‘Clasico’ comeback is fate: Barça’s Luis Suarez

BARCELONA - Reuters

Barcelona’s Luis Suarez controls the ball during a friendly match against Indonesia U19 near Barcelona. Suarez’s four-month ban ends on Nov 24.

Luis Suarez is likely to play his first competitive game for Barcelona in La Liga’s “Clasico” against Real Madrid later this month and he says it is no coincidence his biting ban expires the day before one of the biggest fixtures in world football.

FIFA sidelined the controversial Uruguay striker for four months and banned him for nine competitive internationals after he bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup finals in Brazil.

The ban ends on Oct. 24, meaning Suarez, who had already been sanctioned twice for biting opponents and once when he was accused of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, could run out at the Bernabeu the following day if selected by Barça coach Luis Enrique.

“You know, I’m the kind of person who believes that things happen for a reason,” Suarez said in an interview published on Barça’s website Oct. 14.
 
“Out of all 19 teams in the league, it’s precisely against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu that I’ll make my comeback,” added the 27-year-old. “There must be a reason.”

Suarez has been training hard with his new team mates to make sure he is ready for action when the ban expires and he does not appear to have lost his instinct for goal.

He netted a double for Uruguay in a 3-0 friendly win over Oman on Monday, his second appearance for the South Americans on their tour of the Middle East after he played in Friday’s 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia.

Suarez will join Lionel Messi and Neymar in a formidable Barça attack and he said he was “hungry” to help the club return to winning ways after they failed to win major silverware last season.