Within the playing field, Chilean forward Humberto Suazo was a leader for the Rayados de Monterrey, a character who shouted and demanded from his teammates, but off the field he was different, a noble person who cared for the young players as if they were his own children.
Suazo arrived at Rayados de Monterrey as a reinforcement for the Apertura 2007 and gradually showed his level in the attack, which allowed him to become the all-time leading scorer for the club with 121 goals.
The South American stayed with the team until the Apertura 2014, but during that time with the Monterrey team, he had various experiences with his teammates and always looked out for the young players.
Jesús Zavala, when he played for Rayados de Monterrey, was roommates with Humberto Suazo for a long time and claimed that he always had a good relationship with the South American and even looked out for him in different ways.
"Suazo was my roommate for a while, we got along very well, we had a very good relationship, in fact, since I joined (the first team of Rayados) we got along very well and once he invited me to go shopping at the Mall in McAllen and I told him I don't have much money, but it's not enough to buy anything, he said come with me and we went in his car, he opened his little bag and gave me money," he said in an interview with ESPN Digital.
Zavala said that when he saw that situation, he rejected the amount of money and thanked him for the gesture, but the former striker insisted, so he took it to buy clothes in the United States.
"The truth is that he gave me a good amount of money and he told me, here, buy yourself some clothes and whatever you need, but I want you to buy what you really need, don't end up with nothing, it's for you to spend on yourself.
"I said no, and he said take it, and he said if you don't take it, I'm going to leave you here and see how you get back, and I said thank you very much, I was young and he gave me the money without needing to do it, I was very grateful to him. That was a very good gesture," he said.
The now midfielder for Puebla stated that their friendship grew closer as roommates, so he got to know Suazo's entire family and sometimes spent time at his house.
"Most of the time, back then, he lived alone in Monterrey and when his family went to Chile, he would tell me you know what, come to the house so you're not alone because I'm scared to be alone at night (laughs) so I would stay there with him.
"We would have barbecues, play pool or things like that, and with the relationship as roommates, the relationship became closer, I know his children, his mom, and we got along very well, obviously with a roommate, that relationship is closer, and every time they left, I would go to keep him company there because I lived alone in the apartment and then I would go to his house and we would play video games or cook and all that so we wouldn't get bored and we had a good time," said the midfielder.
Jesús Zavala added that Humberto Suazo always looked out for the young players who joined the squad, that he always sought the well-being of the guys and that he was a good person.
"Afterwards, I became more established and more young players joined, he embraced them, helped them, and tried to involve them in the group, he was always a good person, he had his moments of anger, his outbursts and everything, but we knew that it passed.
"He had a very good relationship with everyone, just like everyone had their bad times, they were in a bad mood, but it was rare for him to get angry, then it would pass, in the game they yell at you because he always wanted to win, but off the field we got along very well," he stated.
Thus, Suazo was a leader on the field, but off the field he always had a good relationship with his teammates and always encouraged and supported the young players.