Luis Suarez’s signature
In June 2014, footballer Luis Suárez was in the news for sinking his teeth into the shoulder of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup. That act earned him a four-month ban and a lot of disrepute.
But recently, a court showed him leniency and allowed him to start practice. Clearly, it was good news for the former Liverpool striker. So, Suárez went a step ahead and announced last week that he is ready to put his biting days behind him. He has promised fans he will never bite another player again.
Suárez said he was ready to erase his history of bad behaviour and start afresh. He refused to go into details about what he considered was at the root of his violent behaviour. He called it a private issue that he was treating with professionals.
But the Barcelona striker did reassure his fans. “I say to all the fans, don’t worry, because I won’t do that anymore. After what happened I didn’t want to do anything. I was depressed. But while I was with my wife and children I had to accept reality. I asked for forgiveness as I had to do, and now I have to think about the present.”
So, will all be well on the field when he plays from Barca? Has striker of the Uruguayan national team really left his past behind? I mean will he never bite again? Let’s try and find out answers to these questions from his signature.
A cunning supporter asked Suárez, whose current deal ends in 2016, for his autograph on a piece of paper. With the part of the page with the words “I hereby commit my future for the next five years to Liverpool Football Club” folded down, he signed the page, unaware he had penned the ‘agreement’.
Biting, as we know, is a very common human behavior. But only among toddlers and children (unless you expect me to be throw around innuendos here). According to psychologists, children bite in order to cope with a challenge or fulfill a need. They usually resort to this kind of violence to express a strong feeling like frustration, communicate a need for personal space (maybe another child is standing too close) or to satisfy a need for oral stimulation.
Why is then a 27-year-old married man indulging in this childish behaviour? The question has flummoxed his fans. Is there something in his signature that indicates that he is childish. The answer is yes.
Look at the way he writes Suárez. In all caps. All the letters are in the middle zone. This pronounced middle-zone writing shows that he is childish. Like children, such writers do not like to wait; they suffer from I-want-it-now syndrome. They seek instant gratification and throw tantrums if things do not go their way. Just as a child would if you deny him what he wants instantly. The over-emphasised middle zone also points to the fact he does not like to follow rules and leans more towards what he wants to do rather than what he should do.
Now, if all these traits are combined with impulsiveness and good physical energy, you have someone who does not know where to stop. That Suárez is impulsive is indicated by the rightward slant of his entire signature. The forward slant shows that he does first and thinks later. People who have this slant are very emotional and they are guided by their feelings and heart.
What this means is: Unless Suárez consciously keeps a check on his self-defeating instincts, he is likely to repeat his mistakes. He cannot afford to lower his guards when his impulsiveness attempts to take over his ability to reason and think rationally.
What else do we see in his signature?
A disconnect from his roots and family. In his signature, Suárez draws in a certain way a line between his name and the family name. This points to some inherent conflict with his family and he tends to put forward his own interests rather than those of his family. He does/did not agree with his father on many issues.
The thickness in Suárez’s signature suggests that he exerts above-average pressure against the paper. This shows that his physical and mental endurance level is high and he can show exceptional determination, persistence and resilience.
Disclaimer: One element of handwriting may be analysed at a time, but always look at the entire handwriting sample before arriving at any conclusion.
