Torres Page 3

  How do you explain how Torres has, over such a short time, become one of the players best-loved by the fans, who compare him with legendary players like Dalglish or Rush?

  ‘It’s not going to be me here and now who describes the philosophy of the Anfield terraces, the merits which the fans of Liverpool FC value most. But taking all that into account, his performance during the first year was spectacular, although in this second year, the truth is that Fernando hasn’t had much luck with injuries. Besides that, one is dealing with a footballer who is humble and works hard, and all that makes our fans very enthusiastic about him and in him they recognise – let’s say, they identify – yesterday’s values, today’s values, and the values that are always there in the ‘Red’ story.’

  What is your assessment of his two seasons in the Number 9 shirt of Liverpool?

  ‘To give a brief assessment, without going into details and looking for the appropriate adjectives, I think the first campaign turned out to be excellent in every respect, as we talked about before, and the second, which has just finished, one would have to say it could have been better, although at the same time, and to be fair, you have to bear in mind the mitigating circumstances referred to earlier. Injuries have prevented any kind of continuity and that, as we all know, is fundamental for any footballer at the end of the day.’

  What, for you, has been Torres’ happiest, his best moment with the Reds?

  ‘Obviously one would have to pick out some of the goals he’s scored. One is talking about a striker, and in this sense he’s brought a lot to the team, particularly during his first year. But not being Fernando, it would be difficult to choose one or two. It should be him and only him who can give an opinion on this. No one knows the feelings of Fernando Torres more than Fernando Torres himself.’

  What has been, and what is, your relationship with Torres?

  ‘From my point of view, we are talking about a normal relationship, more or less like I have with the rest of the footballers. For sure, someone could probably say that I’ve talked more with him than some of his team-mates. But that’s due exclusively to the argument that I see the potential he has, and I try to help him exploit that to the full, for his own good, although also for his contribution to the team, which is the really important thing. He’s a great lad and it’s not too difficult to have a good relationship with him.’

  What kind of person is Torres now?

  ‘If we have to talk about him in a personal sense, as the question requires, there probably hasn’t been much change. We’re talking about someone who is pretty similar to the lad that arrived just under two years ago – a bit shy, a very good team-mate, pretty humble and, above all, respectful. As you see, one can make out quite a lot of qualities in him on a human level as well.’

  And finally, how do you see the future and next season for Liverpool and Fernando Torres?

  ‘With the optimism and hope that the situation demands. I think that as long as he stays injury-free, he could have another great season if he keeps working with the same humility, dedication and attitude that he has up until now. We have great expectations for Fernando and believe that he’s not going to let us down. He’s working on that and doing very well. Let’s hope that’s how it is …

  Chapter 4

  A nice lad

  Conversation with Spain manager, Vicente Del Bosque

  A quiet man, a coach and father-figure, who took charge of the national team following the euphoria of the victory at Euro 2008 and who knew how to bring everyone back to earth. While not denying the legacy left by his predecessor, Luis Aragonés, he has achieved the team’s qualification for the 2010 South Africa World Cup well ahead of schedule.

  The national team is the latest stage of a long sporting career: ‘We’ll see when it finishes, maybe after the World Cup, who knows … Let’s hope up until the next European Championship, if things go well.’ Then he will close the door on soccer, a world he first entered in 1 August 1968, when he left his home city of Salamanca to join the Real Madrid junior team.

  At the club’s former Ciudad Deportiva training complex, he learned the skill of being an attacking midfielder from players such as Pirri, Grosso and Velásquez. He came up through the ranks with the ‘ye-ye’ generation of players from the 1960s. They were dubbed the ‘ye-ye’ generation because of the ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah’ chorus in the Beatles’ song, ‘She Loves You’, after four members of the team were photographed in Beatles wigs for sport daily, Marca. It was this group of players that had won the club’s sixth European Cup in 1966. He also played with the Quinta del Buitre (or ‘Vulture’s Cohort’ team from the 1980s, which derived its name from its top-scoring player, Emilio Butragueño). Wearing the white of Madrid between 1975 and 1984, he won five league titles and four Copas del Rey (King’s Cups). He was on the losing side in the famous 1981 European Cup final against Liverpool, which affected him deeply.

  But from this disappointment he recovered well when, as manager, he brought the Real Madrid of the galácticos (so-called because the team included world-famous star players such as Zidane, Figo and Ronaldo) two Champions League titles (2000 and 2002), a European Super Cup and an Intercontinental Cup (both also in 2002). All in four seasons – and that is without counting the titles won in Spain.

  It was a managerial skill acquired under the Yugoslav schooling of Vujadin Boskov and Miljan Miljanic (two of the managers of Real Madrid between 1974 and 1982). ‘Bigotón’ (‘big moustache’), as he was called because of the facial whiskers that give him a likeness to Inspector Maigret, knew how to manage in a calm and friendly way a dressing room where the egos of the champions were as inflated as hot-air balloons. How? Behaving ‘like a good father who draws the line, sets an example, tries to convince without imposing himself and who allows a freedom within certain limits. I don’t like to spend the whole day waving a stick.’ Secrets? ‘Don’t try to be too clever or tell the players the absolute truth every day.’ And now it’s time for the ultimate test, and perhaps the most difficult.

  Wearing the national team tracksuit, he is breakfasting in the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas training complex and chatting with his assistants. Del Bosque talks about Torres – now an essential element in the Spanish forward line – in his usual good-natured way: ‘Fernando already has a brilliant career. He began very young at Atlético de Madrid, where he had been a focal figure for many years. I think that he has benefited a great deal by going to England to play football, to a well-organised club like Liverpool, where he is alongside a manager and other players with considerable experience. He’s had very good runs, and in the national team as well, and he still has a great future ahead of him …’

  Without further ado, he begins to talk in more depth about a youngster he’s known for some time, when he was an opponent in the Madrid city derby.

  What was your opinion of him when he was here at Atlético?

  ‘Here, Torres didn’t enjoy the best years of Atlético Madrid. He had too much pressure, was made captain too soon, he didn’t have that space as a youngster, the time to develop without feeling under pressure or protected by more-established team-mates.’

  How do you explain the fact that he has doubled his goal tally and his scoring ability since moving from Atlético to Liverpool?

  ‘Likewise, I think it’s down to the environment where he is playing his football. Atlético isn’t the same as Liverpool. The environment, his team-mates and Liverpool’s presence in Europe – all that has helped him.’

  What role has Rafa Benítez had in Torres’ development?

  ‘Benítez is a manager he’s benefited from. I’m not saying that those he had before at Atlético didn’t try, but more than that, he’s now getting a more comprehensive training and he has matured.’

  To be alongside a midfielder like Gerrard has helped him to grow as a player?

  ‘Yes, I think so. It’s clear that Gerrard has brought a lot to his game but Torres is also giving the Reds a lot more possibilities, pa
rticularly to the players behind him. Fernando has great value – his speed and his running off the ball give options to Liverpool’s game. He’s a Number 9 that any midfielder would want to have in front of him.’

  What has English football brought to Torres?

  ‘It’s brought different ways of understanding the game, which is important – although now there is little ‘native’ football, it’s more a mixture of styles. Nowadays one doesn’t talk of a true English style. Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester (United) and Liverpool themselves have lots of foreign players. Yes, I think that this coexistence between English and Spanish football has helped him in his development.’

  Briefly, what are the differences between English and Spanish football?

  ‘The two are very competitive and they are clearly dominant in Europe, at least at the moment. In any case, I don’t see any great differences.’

  Fernando’s technical qualities?

  ‘He’s a player who has a dominant physical presence, who is very fast and a great goalscorer. He probably doesn’t have a great technique but he does things that are unexpected …’

  For example?

  ‘Hitting the ball very hard, a sudden burst of speed … and then his ability to improvise in front of goal. Anything to surprise his opponent. He’s not a very orthodox player technically but overall he is in excellent shape and has scored some amazing goals.’

  Since his arrival at Liverpool, do you think he has improved in certain technical respects?

  ‘Undoubtedly. His time at Liverpool has enabled him to acquire better technical skills. This improvement has been good for him and for the other Spanish players. That speed he has must be accompanied each day by building a better technique and that’s what Torres has done. Quality? To play in the footballing elite where he is playing, in the team he’s playing in now, he wouldn’t be doing it if he didn’t have quality.’

  Human qualities?

  ‘He’s a modest lad, very normal and gets on well with his team-mates. He’s a nice lad, yes, very nice. He has a very stable life and that’s good for footballers.’

  As national team manager, what advice would you give him?

  ‘The advice one normally gives to a striker. In the national side, Fernando has some defensive duties to fulfil because they benefit greatly the rest of the team and then there are the attacking duties of a player who knows how to maximise the possibilities for all the players behind him. His speed, his movements, his mobility and his ability to lose his marker are essential in order to give our midfielders the best options.’

  Before Euro 2008, there was a lot of debate about the national side’s way of playing – lots of short, horizontal passes – and that of Liverpool with their rapid movement of the ball from one end of the pitch to the other. The conclusion was that Spain’s slower style would give Torres less space and therefore fewer opportunities to score. What do you think?

  ‘In football there isn’t just one way of doing things – it’s a mixture of everything and I believe Fernando knows how to play in space as well as play with short passes. Fortunately, the national side mixes the two, which is the ideal.’

  The role of Torres changes between Liverpool and the national side?

  ‘No, I don’t think it changes much. Our group is pretty integrated in that everyone has their role and, without doubt, Torres is one of the most important players in the national side, for sure.’

  How do you remember his goal in the final of Euro 2008?

  ‘I think it’s the culmination, the final phase of a move involving the whole team. He knew how to score a quick goal and finish well in front of the keeper.’

  Which player does Torres resemble?

  ‘I don’t know really. I can’t think of any players who remind me of him or who resemble him. I think he has a very individual way of playing.’

  From when he was very young, he’s been compared to Raúl, the captain of Real Madrid, who you know very well …

  ‘Raúl has more than 100 international caps, something which is not easy to achieve in Spain. Torres already has more than 60 and, considering his age and what remains of his football career, he could equal or surpass that. The other similar thing is the two of them come from the same junior ranks. Both are an example for younger lads.’

  Torres’ future … Do you think it’s true that he can go on even higher?

  ‘I think that he’s at a great club and that he still has challenges to meet. Without doubt, he wants to win the English Premier League title as well as the Champions League. And also with the national side we know there are challenges ahead.’

  The most important of those is the World Cup. How do you view that?

  ‘Well, for us it’s exciting to think that we are one of the contenders to win it and that the individual talent of each team member, his reputation and his status could result in a collective victory. We know that a World Cup victory would bring much acclaim to all who take part.

  Chapter 5

  Fuenlabrada

  Penélope Cruz, to applause from the public, goes up to the stage in the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood to accept the Oscar for the Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Woody Allen film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Kisses and hugs from Tilda Swinton, Goldie Hawn and Whoopi Goldberg, then the speech with the statuette in her hand. It won’t last the normal 45 seconds, she says straight away. Visibly moved, she pays tribute to the directors, the actors and the people who’ve helped her become the first Spanish actress to win the Academy Award. She dedicates the award to her parents, to her brothers and sisters and to whoever isn’t there. And she doesn’t forget Alcobendas, the town about 9 miles from Madrid where she grew up and where she used to watch the ceremony on TV – an impossible dream.

  Alcobendas is now on the map, its residents say with pride. The same thing happened to Fuenlabrada – thanks to Fernando Torres. So much so that, on 5 February 2009, the Town Hall recognises this by awarding him the ‘Citizen of Fuenlabrada’ medal ‘in recognition of his special sporting and personal values, of his professional career, which has led him to be considered internationally as one of the most important footballers in the world, and of his commitment and loyalty to his town, for which he is an exceptional ambassador. The hope and spirit shown by the footballer is an excellent example for children and young people who, by playing sports, not only develop a physical activity but also highly important values such as knowing how to share with their team-mates the dream of achieving a common objective.’ This is how the joint motion, presented by the various political groups in the municipality of Fuenlabrada, reads.

  And it’s here, ‘in this humble neighbourhood, to the south of Madrid, that I was born,’ explained the Liverpool Number 9 in an interview some time ago. Twenty-five minutes by rail from the centre of the Spanish capital. The regional Cercanías trains, which serve the town, are always crowded. They come from the station of Atocha, which, on the morning of 11 March 2004, was hit by the terrorist attacks that left 199 people dead, another 1,800 injured and sent shock waves across the country and the rest of Europe. A train leaves Platform Nine every fifteen minutes. Aboard are commuters, students, workers and many immigrants who live on the city limits. Orcasitas, Zarzaquemada … the stations pass by one after the other. High-rise housing projects, neglected spaces, intersecting motorways piled on top of each other, small residential houses, graffiti on abandoned walls, planes flying low as they come in to land at Barajas airport, shopping centres and some shanty towns. Leganés, Parque Polvoranca, La Serna … and then, Fuenlabrada Central.

  Not far from the station exit is the Town Hall, a modern complex of steel, cement and glass, which can be identified by a series of horizontal yellow lozenge shapes in-between each floor. It looks onto an enormous square with a fountain occupying the centre, around which are seated several old people. Manolo Robles, aged 56, socialist, mayor since 2002 and local councillor since 1983, is a confirmed madridista (fan of Real Madrid). But he adores El Niño. He saw hi
m play many years ago, when Fernando was just a boy and taking his first steps in the Atlético Madrid junior sides. The mayor also has a son who, when he was that age, enjoyed playing football but hasn’t become a champion like Torres.

  Around that time, by chance, he bumped into Fernando’s parents in the Colegio Amorós school in Carabanchel and spent some time chatting to them. He’s proud that his local administration has officially recognised El Niño: ‘He’s the city’s most important sporting figure, because he grew up here and started playing football here, because people think of him as their neighbour, even if, for some years, neither he nor his family have lived in Fuenlabrada,’ says Robles in his second-floor Town Hall office. Large windows behind him depict the town he governs. ‘El Niño is very much loved here and even more since his goal in Euro 2008. He’s very well-known internationally and has put our town on the world map. Only the other day, I did an interview for a radio station in Guatemala. The first thing they asked me about was Fernando.’ A 25-year-old, whose name the municipality will use for a new 90,000-square metre sporting complex containing football pitches, tennis courts, athletics tracks and a swimming pool. ‘It will be ready in 2010 and we hope that Torres can inaugurate it,’ explains the mayor.