New Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has stated that Kenny Dalglish was the “one person” who influenced him to sign for the Reds. Speaking to LFC Weekly, he said:

“He [Dalglish] is a person who you respect after only a few minutes of conversation. He tried to speak to me in Spanish – ‘hola, bienvenido’ (hello and welcome) – the basics and that impressed me. Obviously, he is a legend at this club…in this city, but I think it’s very important to judge people as you see them rather than just what you hear. He has lived up to that legend in my eyes. I could see quickly that Dalglish is a manager and a person who I can relate to and he is very determined to make the team play with a certain image – the kind of attractive football that I want to be a part of. He was very keen to bring me here and if there is one person that was influential in my signing it was him. He is very ambitious about the club and is confident he can lead the club back to the top. Now I am here, I do not want to disappoint him in any way.”

Suarez also told reporters last night about his delight after scoring on his debut:

“I think it is a dream debut. Anyone would say it is a dream debut. Just to be on the field for a few minutes and to manage to score in front of the Kop, it’s what dreams are made of. It was what I imagined it would be like. It was what I expected from watching English games back in Holland on TV. It’s a tough, strong league and hard to create opportunities and chances on goal. It’s something which I will learn to adapt to and the type of game I am looking forward to getting used to and performing in.”