EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool Have Signed A Jewel In Suso - Cadiz Youth Chief
Suso may become a household name in England in years to come after Liverpool signed the youngster from Cadiz, but his former coach is both happy and sad to see him go...
Jun 22, 2009 4:34:39 PM
Liverpool have signed a jewel for the future when they secured the services of Jesus Fernandez Saez, who is nicknamed Suso, ahead of the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, according to his former youth team coach, Quique Gonzalez.
talkaloadofbull.com spoke exclusively to the Cadiz trainer that helped groom the 16-year-old before he was spotted by the Reds and he gave his thoughts on the player's abilities, character and chance of succeeding in England.
talkaloadofbull.com: Quique, how did Suso arrive at Cadiz?
Quique Gonzalez: Suso arrived at the club four or five years ago. He played for all the junior teams before moving up to play for the cadetes. I saw him play in a small team in the region, Centro Berman, and as Cadiz have a collaboration agreement with them we offered Suso the chance to join us and move here with his family.
talkaloadofbull.com: Has he had any experience playing at juvenile level?
QG: Yes, he has played in the Cadiz and Andalucia teams, but it has surprised me that they have never called him up for the Spain Under-16 team. The coach has seen him several times, but has not called him. That is strange because the Andalucian side is one of the strongest at national level in his age group and Suso has stood out for them and been the best on occasion. But they still have decided not to call him up.
talkaloadofbull.com: What kind of player have Liverpool signed? What will Suso give them?
QG: He is a left-sided midfielder with extraordinary talent. He has great quality, a good shot, his vision is great and his passing is outstanding. He has a bit of everything and I think they have signed a jewel. With a youth team one can try them out in several positions, but I think he would also be good as an attacking or holding midfielder. He may not have that much speed, that is not his strong point. But he can dribble well and does have great vision. He could be effective playing in the middle.
talkaloadofbull.com: Could you compare him with a well-known player in Spain?
QG: I do not like making comparisons, but if you are talking about his style of play then maybe someone like Guti. He may also have something about him like Albert Riera too, but not as much. I think Suso does have elements of those players. What is very important though is that he can score goals. He likes to go into the area as part of the second wave. He has scored a good number of goals from distance too, that is one of his qualities.
talkaloadofbull.com: What is Suso like as a person?
QG: He is dedicated and intelligent. He is well-grounded. He focuses on his education, is a good team-mate who is also well-disciplined and good mannered.
talkaloadofbull.com: Liverpool cannot have been the first team to want him. What other clubs were interested?
QG: Various Spanish teams watched him, the biggest ones. Almeria did and Villarreal and then Sevilla and after them Real Madrid and Barcelona also showed an interest. When things like this happen the smaller clubs are used to struggling to hold on to players and with Barca and Madrid looking on it is difficult. But Liverpool's offer seemed to be very good and that was something that they sorted out with the boy and his family.
talkaloadofbull.com: What does it mean to Cadiz that a club like Liverpool were interested in one of your players? Especially one that had not even trained with the first team.
QG: As much for me as for the coaches at the club it was a proud moment that such a big team saw him and were so interested. It means that the Cadiz youth system is working well and that we have good players. It also made me a bit sad that we did not have the chance to see him play in our first team though. He has left without ever training at the highest level with us. We had great hopes for him, but that is the way it is. If Manchester United cannot even keep Cristiano Ronaldo when Real Madrid were interested, you can imagine what it is like for a club Cadiz.
talkaloadofbull.com: Cadiz have won promotion back to la Segunda A and Liverpool may want to loan the player out before giving him his debut in the Premier League.
QG: I think that he has everything needed to succeed there, but if he cannot do it quickly and he was to spend time with another team it would be great if he was to fill a space in our team. But I am sure he will have plenty of offers from clubs in England too.
Lucas Brown, talkaloadofbull.com
^^
Found this in last years reserves thread. I posted it after we first 'signed' Suso
Suso officially landed at Liverpool
The Cadiz signing his new contract in the presence of Rafa Benitez, his great supporter
Another step towards the Premier League. Suso Fernandez already know what will be his fate in January, Liverpool. Cadiz The youngster just returned from the English city, where she spent four days and has signed its first contract with the English club in the presence of Rafa Benitez, his great supporter in the operation which has taken him from the quarry of Cadiz one of the great teams of the old continent.
Suso came to England with his agent, Daniel Rodriguez and his family, which were exposed to what will be the new home of the Fernandez Saenz de la Torre. The player visited Melwood training center, at Liverpool where he saw first-team work the Reds, and lunched twice with Rafa Benitez and Eduardo Macia, the coach and sporting director respectively. Benitez has been the great protector of the young footballer from Cadiz.
In the presence of Macia and Vicky Conan (executive secretary of Liverpool), Suso affixed his signature on the contract that binds him to the England squad for the next four seasons with two more optional. The agreement includes that the first campaign team will play in the second entity, which currently leads the league known as Reserves.
The FA is waiting to receive the contract signed to cash money Cadiz agreed in principle for the transfer, 64,000 euros, several weeks ago placed Liverpool in the federation. It is recalled that the agreement also contemplates several clauses by which the perceived Cádiz other amounts of money from the time that Suso played a certain number of matches with the first English team (three blocks of 25 games each), which could bring another 750,000 euros to the coffers Cadistas.
Liverpool beat Barcelona and Real Madrid to sign Spanish teen star Suso
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 9:45 AM on 22nd June 2009
Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign a 16-year-old Spanish starlet courted by Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Cadiz academy midfielder Jesus Fernandez Saez, nicknamed Suso, is expected to sign a five-year contract at Anfield.
Employment laws meant Suso was not on a professional contract and also made it difficult for him to sign for another Spanish club, giving Liverpool the advantage in negotiations.
Cadiz sporting director Julio Peguero said the Spanish second division club had done everything possible to keep him.
'The football laws for players of this age are very complicated,' Peguero told the Diario de Cadiz. 'We have offered him a contract, but it didn't happen.
'The laws protect the players at these ages and we don't have any choice but to accept it. To another Spanish club he might not have gone, but abroad yes.'
Liverpool will have to pay compensation to Cadiz.
