Liverpool FC, the club's fans and all those associated with the LFC seem to be bracing themselves for the loss of the clubs main man - Luis Suarez. Barcelona are very keen on the mad genius and his departure to the Catalan giants looking imminent; it's going to hurt Liverpool fans to lose the most recent hero of the Kop.
All football fans have that one player they admire before anyone else, whether that be at their own club of choice or another club around the world. A player that epitomises why you are a fan and embodies all that you want to see from the game.
Hero worship is a common phenomena in the stands of football clubs across the world but none do it quite like Liverpool FC. The songs and chants that have rung out around Anfield for years, whether it be for Dalglish, Rush, Fowler or Owen & most recently Torres or Suarez, have been indicative of how the Kop have always adopted their heroes as one of their own. So, how do you bounce back when your hero eventually seeks pastures new?
Well, Liverpool have done it on many occasions. Perhaps the most painful departure of recent years was the losing of Fernando Torres to Chelsea, an acrimonious split that sent shock waves through the whole of the LFC fan base - one that left many, myself included, wondering where the club goes from here. A brief look at social media will tell you many Liverpool supporters still hold Torres in high regard and have never quite let Nando go.
The answer to the question of where the club went without Fernando Torres arrived from Ajax in a Uruguay shaped package - Luis Suarez. Along with Jordan Henderson, Luis Suarez is the only success story from the windows spent under Damien Commoli, quickly taking up the mantel of the Kop hero with dazzling feet and a razor sharp footballing brain.
Suarez, much like heroes of past, has provided many memories that all LFC fans will cherish. The biannual Norwich hat-trick has been a fixture in Liverpool's calendar since Suarez arrived at the club, the nutmegs will be sorely missed but so are the Gerrard diagonal ball to Torres and Torres-opposition goal - you rebuild. The diamond was implemented to accommodate two twenty goals-plus a season, perhaps the system changes or the replacements are targeted in the image of Luis - heroes are replaced and a new one emerges, that'll happen again.
Now, Liverpool are here again. El Pistolero looks set for pastures new and Liverpool look set to either receive a decent fee (in the region of 45 million) and an elite wide man/second striker in Alexis Sanchez or a mammoth fee in isolation. Suarez has just lit the Premier League up and it will certainly hurt to lose him but there was life after the aforementioned hero and there's no reason why that won't be the case this time around.
Alexis Sanchez would be quickly taken under the wing of the Kop should it happen, no doubt about it. Sanchez isn't the be all and end all however - the second highest Premier League goal scorer last season is also a Liverpool player, Daniel Sturridge is waiting in the wings to become Liverpool's main man. The cash will be wisely invested, it's time to trust FSG on that one, maybe a new hero is around the corner to take the adoration of Anfield.
Not all departures have to leave long term wounds - Dalglish and Fowler are still loved by all. It's time for the club to rebuild; with or without Suarez, Champions League football is back at Anfield.
Hero worship and the pain that it leaves many fans in is very much in the limelight for Liverpool fans at the moment & thus it's hard to drift in and out of the subject without Suarez becoming the focal point of the discussion; however El Pistolero can be seen in a case-in-point of how a club regenerates when it's star moves on. It's happened before, it'll happen again.
