Litmanen: Luis can join LFC greats
Jari Litmanen believes Luis Suarez has all the attributes to write himself into Liverpool's history books as one of the club's greatest ever players.
The Finland legend is a keen admirer of the striker's talents, and feels he can join Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan as one of the finest No.7s to have ever donned the Red jersey.
"It's difficult to compare different players from different times," Litmanen told Liverpoolfc.tv. "Of course, Kenny and Kevin played in great teams that won a lot of trophies.
"You become a legend if you win things and you are in big teams.
"Time will tell what kind of results Liverpool will get in the coming years, but we all already know Suarez is a great player."
Litmanen was back at Melwood this week visiting former teammates Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
Like Suarez, the forward made his name at Dutch club Ajax before making the move to Anfield, via Barcelona.
However, Litmanen is keen to play down any further comparisons.
"We are different players," he said. "He is a player who really wants to score goals, and he is used to scoring massive goals for his national team, in Holland and here too.
"I was more of a player who was producing assists and more of a supporting player, like a second striker supporting a lone striker providing a link between midfield and attack.
"I was happy with my game without scoring goals – but Suarez is never happy if he's not scoring goals and you need that kind of player if you want to have a team at the top.
"You need different kinds of players, and ones who really want to score goals. There are moments when you don't notice them on the pitch, and then they show up and score a goal."
Litmanen spent a productive 18 months at Anfield, making 43 appearances and scoring nine goals between January 2001 and August 2002.
"I have happy memories," he reflected. "It's over 10 years since I left and this is the first time I've came back, so it is a little bit of a strange feeling.
"The team is totally different. There are some old teammates like Carragher and Gerrard, but most of the players I know from other clubs.
"I supported Liverpool as a child, so I knew all the stories about the club when I first came here, They still are one of my favourites and it was such an honour for me to come to a big club like Liverpool."