Former Cagliari and Inter striker David Suazo discussed his career in Europe and Italy in an interview with South American media outlet Concacaf.com today.
“When I arrived, things were very hard. For me it was a new world, I didn’t really know the footballing identity of where I was arriving. It was all new. It was tough because it was a new idea of play, culture and language.”
He spoke about the importance of his first coach in Europe, Oscar Tabarez.
“The only thing that gave me confidence to face everything in my first year was that I was lucky enough to have Oscar Tabarez as my manager. He introduced me to the European world, he talked to me about it, he told me not to worry about it, that it was always tough at first. Those were words that helped me a lot and him being Uruguayan he could help me in that sense. If it had been an Italian manager, I’m not sure what would have happened in my career in Italy, but with the coach Tabarez, he gave me the tranquility to do my job.”
Suazo discussed how important Cagliari is to him and how they gave so much to his life.
“Cagliari is a part of my life in which I formed into a footballer and a man. I arrived 19 years old and left at 27, so from a boy to man. Cagliari represents me internationally as a footballer. They gave me the time to grow from a football perspective, to make mistakes in football which is important for a player. I had great managers who believed in my capability, so Cagliari is a special place. When I stopped playing, I stayed in the city to manage and my family was born and raised here. My wife is Italian, so Cagliari is my second home.”
The 40-year-old Honduran spoke about how it felt to move from Cagliari to Inter.
“When you go from a small club to a big, historic club like Inter, you find yourself in a totally different situation. You’re playing with top level players, you’re playing for top managers. I think it was a great decision because we were champions that year and then later in 2010 I got to work with Mourinho, win the Champions League and play with players like Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Figo, Adriano, Marco Materazzi, Samuel, Ivan Cordoba, Esteban Cambiasso.”
He touched on how special it felt to play amongst these stars and what it meant for him as a Honduran.
“When you find yourself with these players in the dressing room, playing in the greatest stadium against the greatest players in the best competitions in the world, it makes you proud, and for me as a Honduran to form part of the history of a great club like Inter is a moment of pride. They are dreams that have come true. It’s a club that left a profound impact on me and is a successful part of my career for all the titles we won.”
Finally, Suazo highlighted how his experiences playing and working alongside top players helped him to strengthen the Honduran national team as well.
“Mancini to Mourinho to Benitez, they are all managers that I had at Inter and are all winning managers. Their attitudes were contagious to me and same with players. No matter where Ibrahimovic went, he won. Same with Eto’o, Figo, too, so those are players that automatically transmit that positivity to you and it stays with you, and I would then take that back to my teammates on the Honduran national team.”
Suazo made 41 appearances across all competitions during his time in Milan with the Nerazzurri. In that time, he scored eight goals and provided four assists, struggling to earn consistent minutes on the pitch. Despite that, he was part of the Treble winning squad in the 2009/10 season.
