Torres Read online

  But things are not so simple … Despite the African-level heat and blistering sun, some 100 fans demonstrate outside the gates of the Calderón, shouting at the tops of their voices and holding up banners, on which is written ‘Fernando, don’t go!’, ‘We love you’, ‘Torres yes, management no’, and then a series of strong insults aimed at the president, sporting director, secretary etc. They don’t believe all the nice words. They are convinced that the people behind El Niño’s exit are the Atlético top brass, together with the club’s policies, the years of bad signings, the dashed hopes, one manager after another, of responsibilities never undertaken. The colchoneros (fans of Atlético) feel sad, despondent and angry. They forgive their captain, their emblem of recent years, who has, without doubt, been the positive image and focal point for the dreams of a club that knows what it is to suffer. And yet the colchoneros don’t get too upset with Torres. They understand him. They understand that he wants to go from what has been his home, that the Little Prince wants to grow up. And even if El Niño says: ‘Take it easy, time heals everything,’ getting used to the idea is not that easy.

  The news of Fernando’s move to Liverpool is confirmed by Atlético at 7pm on 3 July. But it was ‘Pulcinella’s secret’ – something everyone already knew. The Manzanares (the river of Madrid) club and the Merseyside club had reached a provisional agreement at the end of May. How did this come about? Every summer, offers for Torres arrived at Atlético from several big clubs.

  In 2005, for example, there was talk of Chelsea, Newcastle, Arsenal and even Inter who, according to the press, had offered Christian Vieri plus a large transfer fee. In an interview with an English newspaper, Fernando explained:

  ‘People always ask me about my departure. Atlético is a big club but we don’t win much. Somewhere else, I would be competing for important trophies but here I have things that I wouldn’t be able to have in other clubs – my family and my friends, my feeling of belonging to a humble Madrid team, the one that represents the working class. We don’t have money, nor power. Very occasionally we win trophies but we exist for other reasons. We give the fans a safety valve of escape for their problems and because of that they absorb themselves into the club.’

  In a few words, he explained the quasi-absurd philosophy of the colchoneros, the hopes of the fans and the players, which are that – one day or another – their destiny will change. Perhaps for this, after taking into account together with his representatives all the offers that arrived, he never decided to say ‘Yes’. In 2006 the voices of the market became ever more insistent. Three candidates for the presidency of Real Madrid (which will be won by Ramón Calderón) have long pursued El Niño but have always received negative replies. At the end of the season, Manchester United also comes in.

  In July, there is a rumour that Sir Alex Ferguson’s club is about to put in, on paper, a 37-million-euro offer. Inter come back again, offering 38 million. But it doesn’t stop there. The Atlético directors say that El Niño is not for sale and is too important for the club.

  And in September 2006, they announce the renewal of Torres’ contract until 30 June 2009, with a clause for breach of contract, which, strangely, goes from 90 to 40 million Euros. The player also improves his salary to 7 million Euros per season.

  Spring 2007 – Rafa Benítez is thinking of a new striker for his team. Eto’o or Torres? The gaffer weighs up the two possibilities and, according to his custom, asks for reports covering everything under the sun. Not only about the pair’s football skills, but also about their personalities, the behaviour of the Cameroon and Madrid players in their respective dressing rooms, and in their daily lives off the pitch. Scrupulous and methodical, he does not want to miss even the smallest detail. He wants to minimise the risks of the transaction. In the end, after closely studying the two options, he decides to go for Fernando – who, it seems, has triumphed in the reports.

  We are in April and the negotiations between Liverpool and Atlético get under way. Acting as mediator is Manuel García Quilón, a famous football agent who, amongst other things, is also the representative of Rafa Benítez.

  At the end of May, a provisional agreement between the two clubs is reached, to the point where Atlético begins to look for a substitute for El Niño. They ask Villarreal the price of the Uruguayan, Diego Forlán. Meanwhile, Rafa Benítez, after the Champions League final in Athens, which the Reds lose against the Milan of Filippo Inzaghi and Carlo Ancellotti, calls Fernando. To begin with, the Atlético player thinks it’s a wind-up, some imitator who is trying to trick him. So much so that he cuts everything short and replies in monosyllables. He doesn’t want to be set-up. So he calls Pepe Reina, his friend in Liverpool, to check that the number of the person who called really is that of the manager. And it is. He can now have a more relaxed conversation and listen more closely to the Madrid-born manager’s offer. Benítez says to count on him, that he will do everything to bring him to England, and that he hopes he will accept. El Niño has always liked English football. He’s always said that, one day, if he decided to leave, he would prefer to end up in the Premier League.

  Two years previously, Liverpool got to the final of the Champions League and won. It’s a club with a style and philosophy that’s to his liking. Its fans are devoted to the cause, just like those of Atlético. At a stretch, the Calderón reminds one of Anfield. And also the Reds’ fans have a history of being working class. For sure, it’s not the Manchester of the shining stars or even the Chelsea of the Russians, but this could mean that there will be more space for him. On the positive side, there is also the fact that Reina, Xavi Alonso and Arbeloa are at Liverpool. With them, and with Cesc Fabregas, Fernando has talked many times of what it’s like to live in the UK, the atmosphere and the way they play football. And he has always got positive feedback. In reality, the Spanish Liverpool could be an important factor in helping to adapt to a new football environment.

  Last but not least, there is his Atlético captain’s armband. For years it’s carried the words ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. The story behind it began with Fernando’s group of friends. They all wanted to have the same tattoo and they discovered that this expression represented exactly what was most important to them – the bond of friendship that will never be broken, wherever you are. Torres is reluctant. As captain of Atlético, it’s not particularly smart to get the Liverpool motto inscribed on your arm, because maybe the papers would write about it. So, in order that he’s not left out, they find the best – and the most discreet – compromise. It will be written on his captain’s armband. They get it engraved and give it to him as a gift. A story that is revealed when it comes loose during a match with Real Madrid and the message is caught on camera. A sign, almost a premonition, of what, in fact, is actually happening.

  But despite all that, the connection with Atlético is strong. It’s an emotional and footballing way of life that he needs to put aside in order to make the big leap. But here fate steps in to help him make the final decision. It happens on 20 May 2007. Atlético Madrid v Barcelona, league match number 35, the final result 0-6. It’s Atlético’s worst-ever home result. A tennis score that hurts, really hurts. At the end of the match, Torres is alone in the middle of the pitch, crouched down with his head in his hands. ‘Never have they beaten me like that. They could have scored twenty,’ the club captain commented immediately afterwards. He had said that Atlético was inferior as a team to the top four in the table, but that he had put his faith in the fact that Barça hadn’t won in the Calderón since the 1999–2000 season. He also wanted to end the debate over a UEFA Cup place as soon as possible. If they had beaten Barça, they would’ve been halfway along the road to Europe. But instead – no. Messi, Zambrotta, Ronaldinho, Eto’o and Iniesta hit the net of the unfortunate keeper, Pichu, one after another, highlighting all the team’s failings.

  As if that isn’t enough, the fans, who have always supported the players right up until the final whistle, this time actually want a defeat because i
t would mean that the eternal enemy, Real Madrid, would not win the league. It’s a bad sign and demonstrates the fact that the team isn’t making every effort or, almost, that it prefers to bow down to its historic opponents rather than celebrate its own victory. And that’s not all. The crowd is already starting to leave the Calderón once Barcelona get their fourth. They abandon the stadium with their heads low, tired of always having their hopes dashed. The ones who stay behind whistle and shout at those on the pitch: ‘Mercenaries, you’re just mercenaries!’

  It’s the final straw. The situation that pushes Torres to take the decision he’s put off so many times. He’s getting out of Atlético. He’s disappointed, infuriated, impotent and envious of the winning Barça players, who make up a great team capable of dominating at any ground. He also wants to savour this. He no longer wants to be like a young Atlas, carrying the weight of a 104-year-old institution on his shoulders and which, in recent years, is only able to offer disappointment to its supporters.

  On 19 June 2007, the agreement between Liverpool and Atlético is signed and sealed. The only thing missing is Torres’ contract with the English side. In the end, El Niño will accept a lower annual salary (but there are add-ons once certain targets are achieved) in order to be able to leave.

  Sunday, 1 July: Fernando interrupts his holidays in Polynesia and returns to Madrid.

  Monday, 2 July: he flies to Liverpool after a meeting with Bahia International, the agency that has represented his interests for several years. Here, he spends around 40 hours holed-up in an apartment the club keeps for such situations. It’s forbidden to go outside, go for a walk, a meal, or anything. Liverpool want to keep the transfer completely secret.

  Tuesday, 3 July: from the apartment Fernando goes directly to a car parked in a space below the building, and from there to undergo a medical examination. He’s proclaimed fit and ready to join up. And then the last return flight between the city of the Beatles and the Spanish capital. El Niño, the most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history, the most expensive transfer of a Spanish footballer abroad since Gaizka Mendieta (sold in 2001 by Valencia to Lazio for 42 million Euros) first wants to say goodbye to the people he knows in Madrid. It’s only that night that a photographer gets a shot of Torres on his way to the airport …

  On 4 July, the Spanish press say their farewells to Fernando. Mundo Deportivo uses the verses of The Doors song, ‘The End’: ‘This is the end. Beautiful friend. This is the end. My only friend, the end.’ A sad farewell in Spain, a welcome full of hope in England. The desire of the English media is that The Kid becomes a legend at Anfield. For Torres, it’s the first day of a new life. A truly strange day. In the morning he leaves home and in the afternoon discovers his dreams have become reality.

  Chapter 3

  The culprit of his success

  Conversation with Liverpool manager, Rafa Benítez

  The gaffer is pretty tied up with a whole pile of things on his plate. He’s putting the finishing touches to the 2008–09 season, which finished a few days before, and beginning the next. As usual, he’ll have a summer of hard work. And this year even more, now that – thanks to a contract until 2014 – he has complete freedom regarding the buying and selling of players and in all sporting matters. He’ll have to take the right decisions and sign the right players to reinforce the Reds. To buy and sell with more than £30 million in his pocket. With this money, it’s not easy to bring in the best footballing components, but Rafa is used to challenges and overcoming the odds. He wants to do it as soon as possible so that the newcomers can make themselves at home in the pre-season and get familiar with how the club plays, in order to go for the league title, which they have not won since the 1989–90 season. It will be another ‘Rafalution’ – the Red revolution of Rafa.

  In Anfield they are used to this because, since arriving in 2004 from Valencia, the Madrid-born 49-year-old has changed Liverpool. He has brought it up to date. Over two seasons, he reorganised Melwood, changing the preparations, the training, the players’ diet and the way the team plays (and whoever accuses him of being defensive, he responds by pointing to the 100-plus goals they scored last season). He has set up a scouting and talent-spotting system that enables him to keep tabs on around 14,000 players across the globe. And above all, he has returned Liverpool to the European elite, winning the Champions League and European Super Cup in 2005 and getting to another Champions League final in 2007, when they lost to Milan. ‘He’s demonstrated that he’s hungry for success,’ said Tom Hicks, one of the club’s owners. Rafa is a man who lives and breathes football and works on football 24 hours a day if needed. As he’s said on many occasions, he wants to help create a new chapter in the legendary history of the club. Gerrard, the captain, and Torres, El Niño, are two essential elements of his sporting project. Let’s see how he came to choose Fernando …

  Why did you decide on Torres as a future signing for Liverpool?

  ‘Fundamentally, it was based on information in our possession, thanks to the tracking we do on many players, his excellent skills and the potential he had to develop still further over the short and medium term. Thinking about the English league and his special characteristics, he seemed ideal to be the striker of a team with the philosophy of our Liverpool FC. The truth is that he hasn’t let us down in any way.’

  What skills did he have to be one of the Reds?

  ‘Well, it isn’t easy to summarise a sportsman, an elite player, a footballer of the highest level like Fernando. But with a bit of analytical skill we could highlight his power, his strength to withstand physical contact, to go all out – in a legitimate, sporting sense – to win a game, and with sufficient quality and skill to end up being the kind of player who can change the flow of a game.’

  Your bet (on Torres), Mr Benítez, was not an easy one, considering the fee paid and the average goal tally of Fernando in his six seasons with Atlético Madrid. How in the end did this bet transform itself into a winning one?

  ‘Well, I think that although everyone’s made an effort to help him, the main ‘culprit’ for his success is him, because of his great determination and his very hard work. Since his arrival he pushed himself hard to improve. He was getting more and more confident and therefore getting better day-by-day. I think that the main guiding principles of Torres’ transformation are Fernando himself and the abilities that he has shown since he arrived in England.’

  Did you think that Torres would get 33 goals in his first season? How did that happen? Why has he adapted so rapidly to Liverpool, to the club and to its playing style? Has the ‘Spanish Liverpool’ helped him much?

  ‘To be very sincere, and in spite of all the earlier remarks regarding his potential and attitude, the truth is that we didn’t expect so many goals in the first year. Not even the most optimistic could have imagined it. But of course one should also say that he deserved each and every one of them, which were the result of his work and dedication and his already-mentioned desire to improve. And yes, talking of his adaptation and the ease with which he was able to do it, it would only be right to recognise that the group of Spanish players who have been with him at Liverpool have helped him a lot to achieve that.’

  They say that, at Liverpool, Torres is much more relaxed, has got rid of the responsibilities (captain, club image) that were suffocating him at Atlético, and that this has been one of the keys to his success. What do you think?

  ‘Well, one can’t know that for sure from outside. I think that’s something one would have to ask him and only he could give an absolutely genuine response. In his immediate environment, we have been with him in this process and we can agree that, yes, he has been able to shed an excess of responsibility and that has helped him considerably with his bursting onto the English football scene as a player. Here in our group, our team, Fernando is important – but for what he does on the pitch, not for his image and what he represents or might represent off the pitch.’

  Spanish, Italian and English manag
ers and players all agree with the fact that you have greatly improved Fernando’s game. How have you done it? What advice did you give him?

  ‘I wouldn’t want to repeat myself unduly but it’s necessary to go back over parts of the previous answers. The secret is his work, his attitude, his willingness to improve every day. He has listened carefully and resolutely applied what the technical staff at Liverpool FC have taught him in training. To mention some aspects that I consider fundamental, his movement and calm finishing have been key from my point of view.’

  How has Fernando reacted to your orders?

  ‘I presume this refers to my advice, to the guidance we can give him for achieving his best possible progress. And to be very truthful, in this respect, I believe he reacts very well. He always listens and tries to apply the advice to his game in every meeting, in every training session and, finally, in every game.’

  What has Torres brought to Liverpool’s game?

  ‘Once again, we’ll have to summarise. But I would pick out, basically, his ability to change the course of a match, his speed on the counter-attack and the fact that he poses a constant threat for rival defences in each and every game he plays.’