Óscar David Suazo Velázquez (born 5 November 1979) is a Honduran retired professional footballer turned coach who played as a striker.
Suazo played more than 300 league games and scored over 90 league goals in Italy during a span of 12 seasons.
Club career
Early career
Nicknamed La Pantera (The Panther) or El Rey David (The King David), Suazo was born in San Pedro Sula. In his early career, he developed alongside his cousin, Maynor Suazo, who also went on to play for the Honduras national football team. Suazo took his first steps at Olimpia Reserves and later went on to play at the Liga Bancaria. After his participation in 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, he was acquired by domestic club team Olimpia. He continued to impress playing for Olimpia's youth system under the coaching of the late Angel Ramón Paz ("Mon Paz") and earned a spot on the top squad before turning 20 years old.
Cagliari
Óscar Tabárez, then-coach of Italian side Cagliari, was impressed by Suazo's performance and did not hesitate in bringing him to Europe, for US$2 million transfer fee and US$200,000 tax to National Autonomous Federation of Football of Honduras, as well as 15–20% of the future capital gain if Cagliari sold the player above the US$2.2M price tag. Suazo officially joined the club ahead of the 1999–2000 Serie A season. In his first year with the team, he scored one goal in 13 league appearances, and at the end of the 1999–2000 season, Cagliari were relegated to Serie B, where they would remain until the 2003–04 season. In four years in Serie B, Suazo played 113 matches and scored 40 goals for the club. His scoring efficiency was impressive enough for him to earn the nickname La Pantera (the Panther). Suazo's time in Serie B provided him with great experience which would help ease his transition into more difficult competition at the top of the Italian Lega Calcio.
In the 2004–05 Serie A season, Suazo scored seven goals in 22 matches in a 4–3–3 scheme in which he performed as a reserve behind Gianfranco Zola, Mauro Esposito and Antonio Langella. Suazo's scoring proved vital in helping Cagliari avoid relegation and impressed top clubs across Europe, despite only scoring six goals. In 2006, he became a starter for Cagliari and scored 22 goals in Serie A. For his play that season, Suazo was honoured with the Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year, which he shared with Milan's Kaká. In 2007, Suazo continued his great play for Cagliari, where he scored 18 more goals in the Serie A and helped save Cagliari from another relegation to Serie B. During his spell with Cagliari, Suazo was known for his attacking partnership with both Langella and Esposito.
Internazionale
On 13 June 2007, reports arose that Suazo had agreed terms with Serie A champions Internazionale. Six days later, however, crosstown rivals and reigning European champions Milan announced that they themselves had acquired Suazo. While Milan claimed they had successfully negotiated with Cagliari, the deal with Inter was confirmed by Cagliari chairman Massimo Cellino. Meanwhile, one of Suazo's agents, Carlo Pallavicino, added to the confusion by saying, "Suazo has not had any contact with Milan and he still has not given his consent to the transfer." It was later announced that Suazo was confirmed with Inter on 26 June for €14 million fee (with about US$2.5 million was required to pay by Cagliari to Olimpia) after Milan officially withdrew their contract offer. Since Suazo himself wanted to keep his initial agreement with Inter. "It was an issue of respect. The Rossoneri (nickname of Milan) understood that I had a promise with coach Roberto Mancini, Marco Branca and chairman Massimo Moratti." He scored his first Inter goal against Genoa and scored a total of eight goals throughout his first season with the Nerazzurri (the nickname of Inter).
Loans
After a less-than-impressive first season with Inter, Suazo was loaned to Portuguese club Benfica for the 2008–09 season. Suazo however, appeared in just 12 league matches and scored just four goals during the season. Following his return to Inter in June 2009, he was given limited squad space and failed to make any starts for his club.
On 29 December 2009 it was confirmed that Suazo had been authorized to play friendly match for Genoa, two days before the opening of the winter transfer window. After the opening of the transfer window, Suazo officially joined Genoa on a six-month loan deal, where he replaced Sergio Floccari, who was transferred to Lazio on 4 January. This was part of a deal that completed a three-way, three-man swap in which Inter also received Goran Pandev from Lazio on free transfer.