s from the Dutch club Groningen when they were in Uruguay to scout another

player. As they watched, he won and converted a penalty and scored a

"wonder goal" against Defensor. After watching only that match, the scouts
approached Suárez and said they wanted to buy him, and after the season,
Groningen paid Nacional €800,000 for him.[31] Suárez was thrilled to go to
Europe because his then girlfriend, and now wife, Sofía Balbi, had moved
to Barcelona; they had maintained a long-distance relationship
fokjhbiyug7ftir56hujiokplr a year and he wanted to move closer to her.[32][34]
Groningen

Suárez on the training field of Groningen in 2006

Suárez was 19 years old when he joined Groningen. Initially, Suárez struggled
because he could not speak Dutch or English, and he played on the second
team to adjust to the Dutch game.[36] His teammate and fellow
Uruguayan, Bruno Silva, helped him settle into living in the Netherlands and
playing for a new team.[36] He worked hard to learn Dutch and his teammates
respected him for his efforts with the language.[36] Suárez scored goals for
Groningen, but he also had disciplinary problems; in one five-game stretch in
January 2007, he scored four goals but received three yellow cardsand
one red card.[33] Suárez especially made his mark in a 4–3 home win
over Vitesse, when with ten minutes to go he subsequently won a penalty and
scored two goals.[37] Suárez ended with 10 goals in 29 league
appearances[38] to help Groningen finish eighth in the 2006–07 Eredivisie.[36]
[38]He also scored in a 4–2 loss[39] to Serbian club Partizan in his European
debut.[36]
Ajax saw potential in Suárez and offered Groningen €3.5 million for him, but
Groningen rejected the offer.[40] Suárez was upset and brought his case to
the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB)'s arbitration committee to try to
facilitate the sale.[40] The arbitration committee ruled against him on 9 August
2007, but that same day, Ajax increased their offer to €7.5 million and
Groningen accepted.[38][41]
Ajax
2007–08 season
Suárez signed a five-year contract with Ajax[40][42] and made his club debut in
the UEFA Champions League qualifier against Slavia Prague.[43] He scored one
goal in his Eredivisie debut for the club[44] and two goals in his home debut at
the Amsterdam Arena.[45] Ajax finished second in league in the 2007–08
season[46] and Suárez scored 17 goals in 33 league appearances, setting up a
blossoming striking partnership with league top scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.[47]
2008–09 season
During the 2008–09 season, Ajax head coach Marco van Basten noted how
Suárez played an important role in many of Ajax's goals, but Van Basten was
also upset by the number of yellow cards Suárez received.[44] Suárez was
suspended for one match[48] because he was given his seventh yellow card of
the season against Utrecht in a 2–0 win.[49] He was also suspended after a
half-time altercation with teammate Albert Luque over a free kick.[33][44] Ajax
ended the season in third place.[50] Suárez scored 22 goals in 31 league
matches[44][47] and finished second in scoring tables, one goal behind Mounir
El Hamdaoui of AZ.[51] Suárez was also named Ajax Player of the Year.[52]
2009–10 season

departure of Ajax captain Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal, Jol named Suárez team
captain.[53][54] Suárez started scoring goals early in the season with a hat-trick in a
4–1 win against RKC Waalwijk.[55] He had a number of multiple-goal matches
throughout the season, including four in wins over Slovan Bratislava in the UEFA
Europe League play-off round,[56] VVV-Venlo[57][58] and Roda JC.[59] He scored three
in the first half in another win over VVV-Venlo[60] and six against WHC Wezep in
the KNVB Cup as Ajax won by a club-record margin of 14–1.[61]

Suárez scored two goals in the second leg of the KNVB Cup final and finished as the
tournament's top scorer.[62] Ajax won the Cup final 6–1
on aggregate over Feyenoord,[52][62][6