Torres

[The_Adder]

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere!!!

 

With him around at least there is always something positive to read away from all the s*** in the media about the club... Top Piece.

 

Madrid-based journalist Sid Lowe reports from the Spanish capital on the impact Fernando Torres's debut season at Anfield is having back in his homeland.

Reading Torres

 

 

Half time at the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid versus Lazio, the final group game of this season's Champions League. 80,000 people reach for their tin foil sandwiches, giant batons of bread stuffed with ham, and glug from flasks of wine. High above them, at each end of the stadium, the giant screens flicker, with the highlights from the night's other games. A slim, athletic blond-haired striker in red dashes past two defenders and coolly slots the ball in the net.

 

The bloke next to me stirs. "Bloody hell!" he says, "was that Fernando Torres?!" Uh-huh. There is a pause. "I hope we don't get him in the next round", he adds. And, with that mixture of incredulity and fear, he had said it all.

 

Torres had long been recognised as one of Spain's great talents, singled out from a very young age, having scored 64 goals for Atlético Madrid's youth teams before the age of thirteen and been named the best Under 15 footballer in the country, as well as winning the European Championships, top scoring in the tournament and grabbing the winner in the final, at both U16 and U19 level.

 

He was Atlético's top scorer every season he played at the Vicente Calderón, and only once in five seasons has any other outfield player at the club finished with a better average rating, while he netted 75 times in 173 games, twice finishing as La Liga's top scoring Spaniard and never failing to get into double figures. Over the last four seasons only Samuel Eto'o and David Villa scored more league goals.

 

Better still for Atlético fans, he was one of them - a rojiblanco born and bred, ever since his granddad introduced him to the Calderón - and had resisted the advances of the league's best clubs, sticking with his team through thick and thin.

 

Trouble was, it was mostly thin. For too long, Atlético have been "el pupas", the jinxed one. A club where every year the fans tell themselves "this year is going to be our year" only to have to accept that, in fact, this year is not going to be their year after all. One that kept on inventing increasingly bizarre, almost ludicrously implausible ways of blowing up just when it looked like this year might actually be their year.

 

Sporting director García Pitarch once admitted "it's ridiculous really that Fernando is still with us". But while Atlético's fans saw truth in his words, the striker - captain from the age of nineteen, a fan of the club - was inextricably associated with the club. In fact, he was the club.

 

Sid on Fernando's impact

Torres was liberated by leaving Madrid. Rafa Benitez's assumption that the rut into which he had run was Atletico themselves has proven justified. The English game suits him. It is faster, looser, more direct, the defences are more open. He is not asked to play such a part in building moves, just be ready to finish them off; his physical presence suits the Premier League. It has enabled him to become a better player.

That meant two things. On the one hand, that Atlético's failings became Torres's failings, not aided by the fact that a pro-Real Madrid press gleefully giggled every time Atlético collapsed. And, on the other, that he was forced to withstand almost all the pressure on his own - both on and off the pitch. No wonder that when he left the Calderón, Torres complained that for too long he had been forced to take on too much responsibility; that joining Liverpool was not just a privilege but "a relief".

 

There was little doubting Torres's talent, but for some he had also become something of a comedy figure, maligned for some incredible misses and, above all, for Atlético's failures - especially against Real Madrid. In ten games against their local rivals Torres had scored just once and his team had never won; before the 2006 world cup 80% of fans polled by the newspaper Marca, most of them doubtlessly Madrid fans, said that he should not be in the side. Madrid fans used to laugh at him and the media followed suit. They would look forward to Atlético's capitulation against their city rivals, scoffing loudly at the foolishness of those rivals who dared to believe, at those who told them: "this time, Torres will score, you'll see."

 

And yet here, in the Santiago Bernabéu, was a Madrid fan saying he hoped not to have to face Torres, expressing his disbelief at the wonderful goal the young Madrileño had just scored. Just as fans in Spain have been shocked by the fact that he has racked up seventeen so far this season. Sure, he could score goals - and some fantastic goals too - for Atlético but he was not as prolific as he has so far proven at Anfield. The turn around has been dramatic, from both Torres and his Spanish critics.

 

Torres was liberated by leaving Madrid. Rafa Benítez's assumption that the rut into which he had run was Atlético themselves has proven justified. As Torres recently admitted to FourFourTwo, there were too many people at Atlético who hid behind him, too much responsibility laden onto his shoulders. The English game, he added, suits him. It is faster, looser, more direct, the defences are more open. He is not asked to play such a part in building moves, just be ready to finish them off; his physical presence suits the Premier League. It has enabled him to become a better player.

 

It has also enabled the Spanish to admit that he is a better player. By leaving Atlético and joining Liverpool - "Spanish Liverpool" - he has become everyone's property, lauded by madridistas and atléticos alike. By playing brilliantly, and doing it for a club that suffers none of the preconceptions that Atlético do, not stigmatised by the pro-Real Madrid media, his success has been warmly received. "Torres," says the former Barcelona striker Julio Salinas, "is proving that he is a superstar."

 

The point is that he had to prove it. And there is no doubt that he has done so. For those who defended him before, his success has aided their case. "The critics were right," wrote Tomás Guasch for the sports daily AS, sarcasm dripping from the page, "Torres isn't much of a goalscorer!" For those who weren't sure of him, his success has been a welcome surprise, proof perhaps that the problem was his former club, not his form.

 

For Atlético fans, it has been particularly gratifying because it has come without the bitterness of their side collapsing in his wake - without Torres the rest of the squad has finally stepped up and the team is flying at last. Everyone has been a winner. But it is not just them. Torres's success has become everyone's success, a source of a more general pride. He is one of our boys, doing good over there.

 

Torres's goals are shown on every news bulletin on every channel. Match reports are not match reports so much as Torres-reports and they have even taken to translating his Spanish nickname "El Niño" and calling him - in English - Kid Torres.

 

Torres news makes it into the papers every day, while television coverage of the English league has become television coverage of Torres, even when - quite honestly - it shouldn't be. Last week, state channel TVE showed Middlesbrough versus Liverpool, rather than Chelsea versus Spurs. "You won't much have enjoyed the game," admitted the commentator, pretty much summing it up, "but I'm sure you enjoyed Torres's fantastic goal."

 

As one columnist put it the following day: "Torres has shown that he did exactly the right thing leaving. In fact, he should have joined Liverpool sooner."

 

Anfield would no doubt agree.

[Florist Cinema Pond Goal]

Half time at the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid versus Lazio, the final group game of this season's Champions League. 80,000 people reach for their tin foil sandwiches, giant batons of bread stuffed with ham, and glug from flasks of wine. High above them, at each end of the stadium, the giant screens flicker, with the highlights from the night's other games. A slim, athletic blond-haired striker in red dashes past two defenders and coolly slots the ball in the net.

 

We were wearing the away strip.

 

He is not asked to play such a part in building moves, just be ready to finish them off; his physical presence suits the Premier League. It has enabled him to become a better player.

 

This is an important factor in his goal tally and one of the reasons why Crouch will not be here next season.

Edited January 18, 2008 by Florist Cinema Pond Goal

[AntM]

A club where every year the fans tell themselves "this year is going to be our year" only to have to accept that, in fact, this year is not going to be their year after all.

 

sounds familiar...

[Coyler]

Lovely article.

 

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Imagine how good Gerrard would have been if he went to Chelsea

[Lanus]

Also, At a game between Lazio and Real... a fan turns to yer man and says "Bloody hell"... have i missed something? would be pretty funny to hear actually mind.

[RafaShanks]

Just seen this on RAWK (from AnotherSpanishFan). Please delete if already posted:

 

Just fished this one off the internet. Done with a paper named Público from Madrid. Some of the questions are very direct and some seem even a bit harsh but Fernando answers honestly and always keeps his class. I guess this is a journo he's talked to before from his time at Atletico. Perhaps Phoenix can shed some more light. Enjoy.

 

 

José Miguélez / Público - 18/01/2008 22:20

 

 

“I would feel guilty if Atleti weren’t doing well”

 

Anfield. Last Tuesday. Liverpool are getting ready to play an FA Cup match against Luton. Just before kickoff, a small homage is paid to Carragher for his 500th official match for the reds. The central defender enters the pitch with his son alongside him, who is also wearing a Liverpool shirt. But not his dad’s. He wears the number 9, Fernando Torres’s number. In Madrid, many kids lived that fantasy before. Today they cry.

The derby is here. You’re going to miss it.

 

- Well, I’ll watch it. They are showing it on TV here. I watch a lot of Atleti’s matches.

 

And what if they go out and win it without you?

 

- I hope so. But it wouldn’t mean anything. I was never able to beat Real Madrid. Well, the team, not just me.

 

Have you been back to El Calderón?

 

No, but only because I haven’t been able to yet.

 

Are you afraid of that day?

 

- No, why should I be afraid? Not everyone thinks like you.

 

How do the supporters at El Calderón think then?

 

- They’ve understood my decision. Atletico fans still want to take pictures with me, they wish me luck. They come to Anfield with their banners. I still feel the same affection as when I was playing there.

 

“The easy thing would be to leave Atletico, I’m staying…My future is not tied to the results, if it was I would’ve left a long time ago…The easy thing is to support Madrid or Barça, but I’m an Atletico…People ask me why don’t I leave, that I’m not going to win anything here, but they don’t ask other Atletico supporters to switch teams when their team don’t win anything…This is my home, I grew up here and I want to win titles here: they feel mine and I will enjoy them much more…Do these phrases from last April still torture you?

 

- No, because they haven’t changed.

 

Explain that…

 

- I still feel the same way about many of those things I said. Not so about others. At Atletico things are constantly changing. I want to win titles with Atletico. But they needed me to go in order for other players to take over that responsibility and for the club to be able to make great signings. I didn’t leave to earn more money or deceiving anybody.

 

Only breaking your word

 

No. I said what I felt and I left because it was the only way for the club to grow. I also think about myself, I’ve come to a club that gives me a better reputation, where I play comfortably.

 

Are you saying you felt like you were doing more harm than good?

 

- No, not at all. But there are other things, that I won’t tell you or anybody else. Things that went on at the club and in the dressing room.

 

So you were basically fed up?

 

- No. I tried to help the team get into Europe and achieve great things all I could but I wasn’t able to. Now, that path belongs to others. They’re doing a good job and I hope they are able to achieve these things. I couldn’t. I have that regret, that frustration.

 

Who was more eager for you to move on, was it yourself or your entourage?

 

- That whole issue about my entourage makes me laugh. I don’t know what they mean or if they even exist.

 

Your people: your agents, journalist friends, your family…

 

My people accept my decisions. The problem is yours, what entourage?

 

Those that pressured you with ‘you must leave, you must leave’

 

- You’re completely wrong. My agent didn’t want me to leave. My parents don’t get involved. It was my decision. That’s it. And time has proven me right.

 

More like it has proven your enemies right. Those that got some joy from you leaving, those that couldn’t stand your loyalty for Atletico, the ones that had doubts about it. Those you made happy.

 

- I don’t have any enemies. Or friends.

 

The detractors that are nowhere to be seen now

 

- Football is like that. I didn’t invent it. It’s a constant change.

 

Before you were considered an overrated footballer, now you’re a phenomenon. Isn’t it a bit strange?

 

- At Atleti, I was an easy target. The team wasn’t doing so well and I was the visible head. I lived with it, I tried to change it but I couldn’t. As a collective, we didn’t win anything. But I’m happy about the things I did on a personal level. The numbers are there.

 

Your game hasn’t really changed, just the adjectives used to describe it

 

- It’s a lot calmer here for me. I also have more time and a better structure. I’m in a city where I can go out to a coffee shop and people don’t overwhelm me, I don’t feel pressured. I can take a walk without being reminded that I’m a footballer every step of the way. That allows me perform better on the pitch and enjoy it more. I also perceive that I’m on a team that the opponents respect. Just like the Atleti teams I used to follow as a kid, who would go out to win no matter the opposition or the scenario, they were respected and feared…things that I never felt there as a player unfortunately. I feel that here. We must go out to Marseille in a win or win situation, and you sense the fear in the opposition. The supporters don’t feel like they’re in hell all the time, they’ve just come from playing a final. And I feel important in a group where as many as eight players are able to shine. That’s what I was looking fore. I would’ve never had that at Atletico…[he gets asked for an autograph…]

 

I see that you’re never reminded of being a footballer

 

- He was Spanish. The English, never.

 

It seems like it wasn’t that difficult a decision for you to leave

 

- It was very difficult. Not having won anything at Atletico…That’s the one regret that will never go away. If I had any doubts it was because of that. I would’ve been proud my whole life with just one title. I made my debut while in the Second Division, I’ve had some very bad times, when all the responsibility laid squarely on my shoulders. I also had some good times, but not as many. I would’ve loved to have shown people that Atleti could make progress. I wanted to be there…but I came to realize that I was only staying because of stubbornness. Luckily things are looking good for Atleti. If they were doing badly, I would’ve felt guilty for leaving them. I was positive that they needed me to leave. Luckily I was right. That way I don’t have to look back in regret. I’m also doing very well.

 

Did you think about your grandfather?[passed on]

 

- Yes…[another autograph, for the waiter, he signs it in English]. He saw me make my debut for Atletico, and that’s the thing that will stay with me. He always told me to do the best thing for myself. I know that he would be happy. Specially, because Atletico are doing well. Atletico supporters follow Atletico. They’re not Garate, Kiko, Torres, or anyboy else’s supporters. They support the club.

 

Is there anybody left at Atletico that knows what it means to be be a rojiblanco?

 

- Yes, I think so.

 

Care to give any names?

 

- I don’t know…[he’s interrupted, another autograph: “it’s for my friend”].

 

I see that the English don’t…

 

- It’s not usual, it’s incredible!.

 

I was asking for names…

 

- The ones I speak to, Alberto[chief of dressing room] or Bastón [goalkeeper’s coach], I know that they understand what Atletico means. Perhaps they’re not allowed to explain it to the newcomers. But football seems to have lost that. Well, not here in Liverpool. In just one week I knew more of the history of Liverpool than Atleti’s. They gave me DVDs, books, I was introduced to the legends….

 

Who?

 

- The Club. As soon as you arrive they make you understand where you are, what it means to play for this club, wear the number 9, what Anfield is, who put that little ‘This is Anfield’ sign, who he was, what he’s won…They explain everything to you. I would’ve loved that at Atleti…those that are experienced should help the newcomers. That’s why I used to say: How can I be captain[so young]? Who am I to teach anybody? If I’m ever captain again some day, I will do these things.

 

That doesn’t happen at Atleti?

 

- No, it doesn’t.

 

See what you’ve done by leaving: you left a team without any sign of identity.

 

- I don’t know. Thing is that not even the players in the youth system know what it means[the history]. I had my grandfather. I went to the matches, I lived the year of the double in person when I was only ten and that runs deep with you, you learn. It’s so important…Every time I step inside of Anfield I know it’s not just another match. I feel the responsibility, the need to show that I belong here. And that didn’t happen at Atleti.

What’s more emotional, ‘You’ll never walk alone’ or the ‘Torres, Torres’ chant after missing at penalty?

 

- It’s different emotions. The affection that the Atletico supporters showed towards me it’s something I’ll never forget. I haven’t seen it with any other player. Here, they sing songs for me and I feel proud because I’ve just arrived. At Atleti they made me feel like part of them.

 

It was because of your loyalty. Will you understand your fall from that altar?

 

- I don’t think I’ve fallen out. Many supporters told me to leave, to think about myself. They’ve understood my decision. My conscience is clear. I tried for many years but wasn’t able to achieve success for the club. Now, the ones that arrive…

 

Where do you see this affection? El Calderón has gone mute about you. They don’t sing or insult you. For Simeone, for example, they still chant his name.

 

- But Simeone has wont titles, I didn’t. He’s a lot higher in the institution. And my exit is still very recent. We’ll see as time goes by.

 

Do you understand those that feel disappointed?

 

- Yes, of course. I’m sure there are those. I respect them but I know I made the right decision.

 

Do you feel the need to be comprehended?

 

- No. Nobody can judge my decision without knowing all the facts. Only I know them. And the decision is mine alone.

 

Why not share all those facts

 

- They’re feelings that belong to me only. I don’t make a decision thinking how other people might feel about it.

 

Is the booing against you over in all the stadiums across Spain?

 

- I don’t know, It’s not something that worries me. But I’m sure the hate was a result of the shirt I was wearing.

 

Do you feel like a better player now?

 

- When the play evolves around the entire team, you get better by force. At Atletico, I felt like the centre of gravity. The team and the system was formed to suit me. The question was always: Who will play next to Torres?

You’re a better finisher as well, don’t miss as many one on ones as you used to

 

- Every player misses good chances. But it’s more difficult to criticize a player from Madrid or Barça or Milan or Liverpool that one from Atleti.

 

See how you’ve accepted the same model of critique you used to hate

 

- No, no. I think it’s because the Premier is not seen as often in Spain. Or because a Spaniard in Spain is not as important, he comes here and makes a name for himself just because he’s a foreigner. It happens everywhere.

 

Last year, who was right? Aguirre or Aguero?

 

- There’ll be those who think that back then we didn’t enjoy Aguero because he played less time, and those who think that his success this year is due to a calculated plan. Kun is a great player, but he needs time. He’ll have a great season. I hope that next year they don’t ask him to win the Liga all by himself. It’s the danger for a team with so much urgency.

 

You can’t shake off the sensation that you had to do it all by yourself

 

- It was like that for a long time. I wish I would’ve won the League on my first year. It would all have been very different.

 

You demanded for the club to keep Aguirre. He renewed and then you left

 

- You don’t like Aguirre either? You don’t like anybody. The team is third in the league. A team needs time for the manager’s ideas to gel. Aguirre’s work is very good. Good football, bad football…there’ll be time to play some great football. People have a good time. The team is scoring a lot of goals, still suffering as always, but they’re getting the results.

 

Do you feel envy now that Atletico sometimes plays attacking football?

 

- No, they play attacking football? I think it’s more a case of having a lot of goal up front. And when the match opens up, they have more options to win. That’s why this year asides from Madrid, Barça or Sevilla, they benefit from playing an open match.

 

You seem happy, but what about when Benitez leaves…

 

- You didn’t see Anfield against Luton?

 

But the owners are not the supporters

 

- But the whole thing doesn’t exist. It’s all a lie. Benitez is not going to leave and they won’t sack him. Results aside, I don’t see it happening. I can’t even imagine it. I don’t think English football has lost its patience like it seems. And the newspapers here are not very trustworthy. That’s why they have less effect. I’ve seen interviews being published that I’ve never done. They just make them up.

 

Who’s your partner, your Ibagaza here?

 

- Gerrard. It’s easy to form an understanding with him. There’s no need to do anything special. Wherever you run to, he puts the ball. He’s fantastic. If he played for a different team, he’d be even more renowned. But here in England, Liverpool are not so well liked. That’s made him less popular.

 

Here we go…Just like Atletico, always whining

 

- No, it’s not that bad. Liverpool are the English club with the most titles, with more mystic, but it wouldn’t seem like it. I didn’t think they were so big before I got here. Perhaps they haven’t been able to sell themselves so well. Or perhaps it’s not in the interest of some people in England that it is known. Because England is London and that’s it.

 

Is English football better suited to your qualities or is it just a load of b******s?

 

- Because of the speed, the dynamics, it’s better for me. I used to think that it would take me longer to adapt because there is a lot more contact but because of my qualities it’s been a lot easier.

 

Is it because of the way Liverpool play or because of the opposition?

 

- It’s the culture of play here. The refs let the play go on. You know that if somebody is grabbing you and you dive they won’t give the foul. They have to almost kill you to get a foul call. The players help also. I’ve had some confrontations with Ferdinand and Terry but in general the football here is a lot more pure. You don’t see the elbows away from the action…It’s much more honest. They do kick you more. Less frequently, but more forcefully. Here they tackle you and if they are late one second they kill you. The shortest defender I’ve played against is 1,90. It’s incredible. You have to learn to play against that.

 

How?

 

- Learning what they don’t like. In Spain you could be playing half a meter away from the defender and you can beat him with speed. Here, if you are half a meter away, they’re grabbing on your shirt all the time. You have to play further away from them. At first, I spent so much time thinking of where to stand that I would miss half the match. Benitez always talks to me about that. To create some separation and if they come for me twenty meters outside the area, they will leave some spaces behind.

 

Would you be having such a great time without the other Spaniards?

 

- The first few days they are vital. It’s a new country, a new coin, different side of the road to drive on, no kilometers, miles instead. You need someone to act as a guide or else you’re lost all the time. And also inside the dressing room. Everything is explained in English, it’s confusing and you need someone to ask what to do. Now I understand better the players that would arrive and didn’t speak Spanish, they had a rough time. Now it’s not so bad. The forces us to be together: we have breakfast and lunch together…

 

What we try in Spain, unsuccessfully

 

- The thing is, you can’t change the culture. English players never protest. They’ll do what they’re asked. They’re ordered to run 200 laps around the pitch and they don’t ask why: you just do it. In Spain, 15 people are complaining beforehand.

 

Which Liverpool player would you recommend for Atletico?

 

- Nobody.

 

Which Atletico player would you recommend for Liverpool?

 

- Maxi Rodriguez.

 

The new 4-5-1 system could threaten your Euro: It’s you or Villa. Would Luis Aragones dare?

 

- It depends on the results. It’s gone well for him this way and as long as it keeps working he will insist with that system. We must accept it.

 

How many times have you said to yourself: “Why did I leave?”

 

- Not once.

 

Will you still be an Atletico ‘socio’

 

- I’ve never been one.

 

Well, its about time

 

- What for?

 

At least it’s a connection

 

- I don’t need a card to have a connection with the club. I’ve been in that club since I was 10 years old.

 

And for Liverpool

 

- I would have to put myself on the waiting list. But I have 40,000 people in front of me.

 

 

http://www.publico.es/deportes/038779/si/a...ria/responsable

[Cam]

Feck! The interviewer is like Garth Crooks mixed with Jeremy Paxman & Victor Meldrew.

 

"I don’t have any enemies. Or friends."

Fernando Torres doesn't need them.

 

"Perhaps they haven’t been able to sell themselves so well."

Sack Parry!

 

"Or perhaps it’s not in the interest of some people in England that it is known. Because England is London and that’s it."

The boy knows. Perhaps the most insightful thing I've ever heard a footballer say.

[Silencio]

What a miserable f***ing c*** that journo is.

[Rimbeux]

This is an important factor in his goal tally and one of the reasons why Crouch will not be here next season.

 

Aye

[Whitey]

Feck and we think our journo's are t@ssers!!!

 

Very interesting read, and really gives you a taste of the passion involved. Comes across as a really good lad.