Goal-machine Suarez on course for another landmark

VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) - Luis Suarez could overtake the goal-scoring record at Barcelona of fellow Uruguayan Ramon Alberto Villaverde Vazquez this weekend, having equalled in only two seasons what his compatriot aggregated in a decade with the club.

Goal-machine Suarez on course for another landmark

(Reuters)





Barca are one point clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga and a win in their final game at Granada on Saturday would seal the club's 24th league title.

A brace against Espanyol in Barca's 5-0 triumph last Sunday saw 29-year-old Suarez reach 81 goals for the Catalans, equalling the record of Villaverde Vazquez, who joined the club in 1954 and played 10 seasons, scoring 81 goals in 224 games.

"I never thought I would fit in the way I have," Suarez said in an interview with ESPN in which he also thanked those around him at the Nou Camp.

In only his second season at Barcelona, Suarez has struck 50 goals in all competitions this season to help the team remain in contention for a domestic double, overtaking his previous record of 49 for Ajax in the 2009-2010 campaign.

"Obviously someone has to put the ball in the back of the net but the credit goes to the whole team," Suarez said.

"My team-mates have been trying to help me score goals. Leo (Messi) and Ney (Neymar) have let me take penalty kicks. I'm just enjoying it."

More goals are expected from the Uruguayan, who has found the back of the net in four successive league games, netting 11 goals while setting up four more in that spell.

On the club website, Barca coach Luis Enrique praised Suarez's intelligence.

"Sometimes relying too much on one player can hurt you, but if the team plays its game, Luis -- who is lethal in the area -- will have plenty of chances to score goals," he said.

"It's not just the goals, it's the way the team plays that lets him score."

With 37 league goals scored so far, four more than Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, Suarez is on the verge of clinching the Pichichi award as the top scorer in La Liga.

That would break a trend that has seen the award go to either Ronaldo or Lionel Messi in every season since 2008-2009, when Atletico Madrid's Diego Forlan -- another Uruguayan -- won.

"Because I'm in the running, in recent games, they have looked for me more so I can score," Suarez said.

"I never imagined I would be here in Barcelona and that I would have a chance to be Pichichi."





(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty and Catherine Evans)


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