On Saturday, October 2, 2021, Luis Suarez had the opportunity of meeting FC Barcelona in a Spanish La Liga match for the first time since he was forced to leave the club for Atletico Madrid.
Fortunately for the 34-year-old Uruguayan striker, he scored the second goal in Atletico Madrid’s 2-0 home win over FC Barcelona.
When he scored the goal, he decided not to celebrate but did a telephone gesture before he put his hands together as if he was apologizing for scoring.
After that, most football pundits and fans believed that Suarez made the gesture to mock the current coach of FC Barcelona, Ronald Koeman who has been having a poor run of games so far this season.
People believed that it was a jab targeted at the Dutch coach because when Koeman was appointed the coach of FC Barcelona ahead of the 2020-2021 season, one of the first things he did was to call Luis Suarez to tell him that he was surplus to requirement at Barca.
Afterward, Suarez who scored 195 goals and provided 113 assists in 283 games in all competitions, was forced to leave Barcelona in tears.
Lucky enough, the Uruguay international joined Atletico Madrid for free and became an instant success at the club. Suarez was so good that he helped Atletico to win the 2020-2021 La Liga title ahead of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
Since his departure and then the departure of his friend and former teammate, Lionel Messi, things have gotten worse for Barcelona.
For instance, in the 2021-2022 season alone, FC Barcelona have suffered two successive defeats in the Champions League. They have recorded a loss, three draws, and three wins in La Liga which has forced them to the 9th spot on the league table with 12 points in 7 games.
To make matters worst for Barcelona on Saturday, Ronald Koeman had to watch Luis Suarez defeat Barcelona from the stand because he was serving a two-match ban from the touchline.
Koeman's reaction to Suarez's goal was full of regret 🤐 pic.twitter.com/YwGhm32as6
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 2, 2021
In an interview after Atletico Madrid beat Barcelona 2-0, Luis Suarez said he feels bad for his former colleagues but he was happy for the win.
On the meaning of the telephone gesture he made after scoring Atletico’s second goal against Barcelona on Saturday, the Uruguayan football icon stressed that the gesture was for the people who know that he was still using the same phone number.
“It was for the people who know that I have the same number and that I am still using the same phone,” he said.
“It was not for Koeman, not at all.
“If you want to know… I had been joking with my children that I would do that…
“I already knew that if I scored I would apologize.
“Due to the respect, my affection, for being another Barcelona fan, for the career I had at Barcelona, for the [tough] period that my colleagues are going through, which is difficult, and the fans. Out of respect.”
On the win, Suarez added: “I’m happy with the team’s victory, which is what we wanted,” he said.
“The opponents are special due to the moments I experienced, but my work must be dedicated 100 percent to Atletico, and today we did everything possible to take the three points.”
The 2-0 win has taken Atletico Madrid to the second spot on the league table with 17 points in 8 games, on equal point with first placed Real Madrid.
