Luis Suarez opens up about Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers: speaking Spanish, his tiki-taka philosophy and THOSE envelopes

Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has opened up about his time at Liverpool, and what he really thought about former manager Brendan Rodgers.

Writing in his upcoming autobiography, titled Crossing The Line: My Story, Suarez lifts the lid on Rodgers' tiki-taka philosophy, and reveals what the Liverpool squad really thought about their manager's envelope stunt.

Rodgers was shown during a documentary using a strange method to motivate his Liverpool players

Rodgers was seen presenting his players with three sealed envelopes, in which he claimed were the names of the players who would disappoint him during the upcoming season. The squad, Rodgers explained, were to make sure it wasn't them come the end of the campaign. 

'If I was excited (about Rodgers' reign), others were worried,' Suarez explains. 'And no, not because of the famous envelopes that appeared during a TV documentary about the club. Mostly, we just joked about that particular episode, but the manager’s methods really worked for us.

'We never did find out what was written in those envelopes. I’m sure there were no names, it was just a way of motivating us; a tactic to make sure we gave everything. And in truth it got forgotten pretty quickly.'

Suarez also writes about the first time he met Rodgers after the Northern Irishman's appointment at Liverpool. Making a special effort with his star man, the Reds boss spoke in Spanish. 

'The first chat I had with him was at Melwood [Liverpool’s training ground], just after he was confirmed as Liverpool’s new manager. It wasn’t a long conversation, just the typical welcome to the club stuff, but he also wanted to talk to me because there had been suggestions there was a chance of me going to Juventus.

'Brendan spoke to me in Spanish and he told me to give him time, to give him a chance, and that I would like the way we were going to play. It would suit me. He said we would bring the ball out on the floor, keep possession and play attacking football. I remember him saying: 

“It’s not so hard to bring the ball out from the back on the floor, you know.”

It is clear that the pair had a strong relationship before Suarez's £75 million move to Barcelona in July. Suarez continues to explain how Rodgers immediately got him on side with his philosophy.

'From the start, it convinced me. It made sense. And although the results weren’t good, I could see that we were playing better. I was excited. Brendan’s philosophy was to play on the floor, keep possession of the ball and, if we lost it, to pressure to get it back. Don’t panic, don’t play so fast as we had the previous season, look for the spaces at the right time. 

'But you could see a Spanish influence in the way that Brendan worked. He was interested in Spain, he had studied there, and what he’d learned there was at the heart of our style of play: passing, pressuring high, quick movement, arriving into the area rather than standing there waiting for it, coming inside from wide positions.' ...Dailymail