No current footballer divides opinion like Luis Suarez.
There are no grey areas. You鈥檙e either with him or against him.
Given the outrage triggered by 鈥� the second of his career, remember 鈥� it seemed highly likely that former colleagues and team-mates would all go to ground.
A friend of mine, a Liverpool fan since the Shankly era, emailed me in the aftermath of the Chelsea game, 鈥渕edia hype succeeds and judges a peck on the arm, which didn't mark or break skin, a worse offence than lunging two footed challenges and violent stamps.鈥�
I knew he鈥檇 take a strong line in support of Liverpool鈥檚 latest number seven. But what about the people who knew him and worked with him at his clubs in Holland?
At Groningen, where aged 18 he鈥檇 spent one season, before leaving under a cloud for a fee decided only after arbitration?
At Ajax, where his penultimate game, before leaving for Liverpool, had seen in 2010?
What about Bakkal himself, now playing for Dynamo Moscow?
We鈥檝e made contact without getting an interview. Yet. There鈥檚 still time. But other key players in the Suarez story were happy to talk to us.
Football people like Ajax team manager Herman Pinkster, FC Groningen Technical director Henk Veldmarte, former Groningen team-mate Hugo Alves, and Ghana鈥檚 world cup striker Dominic Adiyiah. And they helped to build a picture of a player with so many contradictions.
A man, we learnt, who鈥檚 meticulous about punctuality. You arrange to see him at 09:00, and if you鈥檙e a moment late he鈥檒l want to know why.
Tell him you鈥檒l do something for him, and he鈥檒l be on your case if there鈥檚 any delay.
A teenage striker who convinced representatives from FC Groningen they had to sign him just 15 minutes into the first match they鈥檇 watched him playing for Nacional in Uruguay.
A captain at Ajax who made it his business to welcome new young players into the dressing room, toning down the initiation rituals for their benefit.
A proud聽Uruguayan who keeps the only key to the room in his house in Montevideo which serves as a museum for his career. Entry is by invitation only.
The presenter of the Dutch equivalent of Match of the Day, Tom Egbers, described him as 鈥渃harming, always friendly, unlike so many footballers.
鈥淗e would always give an answer, never nasty or aggressive.鈥�
A former amateur footballer himself in Amsterdam, Egbers put him in his top three of Ajax stars along with and adding 鈥淚n terms of spectacular football, he tops the bill.鈥�
So what鈥檚 not to like in a player who scored 91 goals in 139 appearances in Holland and draws such compliments?
Henk Veldmarte who recommended his signing in June 2006 reflected on his talent like this, 鈥淗e鈥檚 a grown up person but the way he likes playing football sometimes also has the mentality of a child.鈥�
One of his closest friends in Europe is Herman Pinkster, who helped him settle in Amsterdam. Among a number of telling insights, he offered this gem. 鈥淲e really had to adapt. We had never had a player that was so determined to win games, to focus like a soldier in a war to win the points.鈥�
Pinkster who was honoured to be invited to attend the Uruguyan鈥檚 wedding recalled a crucial game near the end of one intense title battle. Ajax won ugly 1-0 but that wasn鈥檛 good enough for the captain.
鈥淗e was so angry that Ajax had played badly.
鈥淭he coach tried to calm him down but he could not enjoy the moment of winning, (he was) so disappointed in the performance. 鈥�
Pinkster is also revealing within the programme about how he and the club tackled Suarez when this 鈥榳inning mentality鈥� became something darker, more devious.
Desire for victory
It was a theme first explored by a former Groningen team-mate, Hugo Alvez from Brazil who鈥檇 acted as his interpreter and guide on Suarez鈥� arrival. We were sitting in one of the bright new executive lounges at the club鈥檚 22,000 capacity - rather like the Madjeski Stadium only with green seats - two hours outside Amsterdam. (I had to ask Hugo questions in English and he answered in Portuguese. So I had to believe that his answers were not about his favourite music, food or underpants.)
His answers lost nothing in translation. He likes and admires Suarez very much.
鈥淏ut when he was on the pitch, everything changed. The desire for victory is with him at every moment,鈥� he said.
聽鈥淭hat is why sometimes for some people he seems to go over the limits.
鈥淭o help his team to win he can do things that other players would never do.
聽鈥淚n the middle of an emotional game, he can vent it in a wrong way.鈥�
Alves condemned the bite on Ivanovic but his next answer also carried echoes of my friend鈥檚 email. 鈥淪ometimes I see people tackling violently with clear intention of breaking the opponent鈥檚 leg, which is much worse than to bite someone.
鈥淎nd those players get (a) one, two game ban, when the intention was just one颅 to break, to destroy physically their opponent.
鈥淎nd Luis with this kind of attitude can bite someone鈥f course it is against the law.
鈥淏ut I see players with a much worse intention who do not get the same kind of stick Luis gets.鈥�
'Never do it again'
Tom Egbers challenged Suarez over the original biting incident in 2010. And he still remembers the conversation.
鈥淗e told me 鈥業 want to win. I do not approve of myself but I desperately need to win and I鈥檒l do anything to win. Anything.鈥�
鈥淪omething in his brain happens. He genuinely apologized to the player, and humbly accepted the seven game ban.
鈥淗e said he would never do it again.鈥� Right.
Ghana鈥檚 Dominic Adiyiah who spoke to us from Ukraine and whose header Suarez saved on the goal-line with his hand to keep Uruguay in the 2010 World Cup told us, 鈥淗e needs to grow up.鈥�
Perhaps Herman Pinkster is the closest to understanding what makes Suarez such a compelling, controversial personality.
鈥淗e鈥檒l always be the boy from Montevideo.鈥�
is at 7.30pm on Wednesday 1 May on 主播大秀 5 live. The programme will be available to after broadcast.