Football
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Neymar, Lionel Messi say Luis Suarez will fit in fine for Barcelona in clasico

Barcelona's in-form pair of Lionel Messi and Neymar say they are not concerned with how Luis Suarez will fit in when the 27-year-old Uruguay international returns to the field on Saturday to make his club debut against rivals Real Madrid in the clasico.

Suarez left Liverpool for the Camp Nou in a deal thought to be worth around 80 million euros this summer, but the striker has been restricted to training for the Blaugrana as he serves a four-month ban from FIFA for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup, which was later reduced to only cover competitive matches on appeal.

Suarez scored two goals on Oct. 13 in a 3-0 win with Uruguay in a friendly against Oman.

"We are all really looking forward to the arrival of Luis," Messi, who is one goal shy of the league's career scoring record, said after Barca's 3-1 Champions League win over Ajax on Tuesday. "He will bring a lot of strength to the team. He is a forward who scores a lot of goals. I am happy as he has spent a lot of time without getting onto the pitch."

For Liverpool, Suarez had just enjoyed his best season in the Premier League, with 31 goals in all competitions. He scored 82 goals in 133 matches with the Reds, but his three years in England were marked by two suspensions for biting and racial abuse.

On Saturday, Suarez will get his first chance to prove Barcelona made the right decision by signing him, if coach Luis Enrique considers him ready to play against the team's biggest rivals.

"Luis is a star, he loves football and it's tough for him not being able to play," said Neymar, who opened the scoring against Ajax after six minutes, with Messi scoring the second goal just before the first half's midway point. "It's impressive seeing how he works every day to improve the team, how he helps us. We'll do a lot of great things."

Ajax coach Frank de Boer took charge of the Amsterdam club at the end of 2010, when Suarez was serving a seven-match ban for biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal. The striker was then sold to Liverpool in January.

De Boer said: "The Chiellini incident was very negative for his career, because he'll always be remembered for those things. He is a very good player and person, a very low-key person. On the pitch he's a warrior, a natural-born winner like Messi and Cristiano [Ronaldo]. He will battle even in friendlies, and he can score nine goals, but if he misses one, he'll be angry.

"I like that he is in Barcelona. He deserves it because he has battled and he has improved each year," De Boer said. "They'll have an incredible attack with Messi and Neymar, although they have to prove that they can play together."

In 2011, during his second season with Liverpool, Suarez received an eight-match ban and was fined $62,000 for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

Two years later, he was given a 10-match ban for biting the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

Suarez also made headlines during Uruguay's semifinal run in the 2010 World Cup, where he was sent off in the last minute of extra time of the quarterfinal against Ghana for using his hands to stop a goal. Uruguay advanced in a penalty shootout to face Netherlands in the semis, but lost 3-2 without the suspended Suarez.

Gabri Garcia, who played alongside Suarez at Ajax and is now a coach in the Barcelona youth ranks, thinks the striker will have no problems getting along with Messi and Neymar, who have combined to score 15 goals for a Barcelona team that lead the Spanish league.

"He'll be a success with the team,'' Garcia said. "He's very intelligent and sociable, and he'll know how to get along with Messi and Neymar. There'll be no problems.''

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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