Neymar and Luis Suarez want to win their first ever Champions League final
Two years and two days ago Neymar was presented at a Barcelona player. That day, in front of 56,000 fans, the Brazilian promised that he would do everything possible to make history with Barça. On Saturday, in Berlin, he could be crowned a European champion along with a player he admires, a player who has already been0 crowned champion of Europe on three occasions (2006, 2009, 2011): There is nobody like Lionel Messi to lead his two trident teammates towards European success.
Luis Suarez, for his part, can already count on many years in European football since he arrived at Dutch club Groningen in 2007. But he had never had the opportunity to get close to a Champions League final: Not with Ajax, nor with Liverpool. He has only dreamed of winning the continent's biggest prize. Now, in his first season as a Braça player, he is 90 minutes away from becoming a champion of Europe.
Neymar and Luis Suarez have been fundamental in Barça's route to Berlin. But without the presence of Leo Messi, neither of them would be in their first final. The Argentine, the undisputable leader of the team, already knows what it is like to experience a match of such grandeur. At the 2006 final in Paris, an injury kept him out of the game, but in 2009 and 2011, in Rome and at Wembley, both against Manchester United, he was on the score sheet. And in both years, he went on to win the Ballon d'Or.
His teammates in the front three, in contrast, arrive in Berlin as debutants. Neymar was a champion of South America in 2011, when he won the Copa Libertadores with Santos, while Suarez won the Copa America the same year with Uruguay. However, honours in Europe have been few and far between for the duo until this season. "To play in this final is a dream I have had since I was a kid. Now I just hope that we can win it," 'Ney' confessed to Spanish television this week.
"It's something incredible, historic and unique: As a fan of this team, which I am, coming to [Camp Nou] as a lad, when I see now the dream that they can complete, it's really great," explained former Uruguayan international Juan Pablo Sorin, who used to play for Barça and Juventus and is now a commentator for ESPN. "They have worked hard on dead balls all season and they have been really focused in both attack and defence."
Barça go into the final in a plethoric state: "We are really strong physically, but there is no secret: The preparation, the mentality and the eagerness to win important things... and that has united the great quality that the squad has," Suarez said, who also spoke about the trident: "We work together during the week, but as we play more games, we get to know each other better. One knows which movement benefits the other. The relationship that we have on and off the pitch is really good. Nobody thinks they are better than anyone, mostly because everyone knows who is the best. We try to get to the heights of Leo."
The ambition of Suarez and Neymar, to win their first Champions League, is shared by nine other players in Luis Enrique's squad: Ter Stegen, Rakitic, Rafinha, Bravo, Douglas, Jordi Alba, Vermaelen, Mathieu and Masip. Almost half the team, ready to open the door to another chapter of the club's history.
