Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz (Spanish pronunciation: [feɾˈnando ˈtores]; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, Torres came to be nicknamed El Niño ('The Kid'), which stuck with him throughout his career.[5] In his prime, he was praised for his pace, accurate finishing, and proficiency in heading, and was named in the FIFA World XI twice.
For other people named Fernando Torres, see Fernando Torres (disambiguation).Personal information
Fernando José Torres Sanz[1]
20 March 1984[2]
Fuenlabrada, Spain
Atlético Madrid U19 (manager)
Parque 84
Mario's Holanda
Rayo 13
Team
→ AC Milan (loan)
→ Atlético Madrid (loan)
Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth system to the first-team squad. He made his first-team debut in 2001 and finished his time at the club with 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances. Torres joined Premier League club Liverpool in 2007, after signing for a club record transfer fee. The most prolific goalscoring spell of his career, he became the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals and was often regarded as one of the best strikers in the world.[6] In 2008, he finished third for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year.
Striving to compete for trophies, Torres left Liverpool in January 2011 to join Chelsea for a British record transfer fee of £50 million, which made him the most expensive Spanish player in history. At Chelsea, Torres won the FA Cup, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, though his goalscoring rate and performances drastically declined. Torres joined Serie A club AC Milan on a two-year loan prior to the 2013–14 season, and signed permanently in January 2015. In the same month, he agreed to rejoin Atlético Madrid on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season, before signing permamently for the club in July 2016. Torres won the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League before he signed for Japanese club Sagan Tosu in July 2018, retiring from football after the 2018-19 season.
Torres is a Spanish international and made his debut against Portugal in 2003. He has been capped over 100 times and is his country's third-highest goalscorer of all-time. With Spain, he has participated in six major tournaments: UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012, and the 2014 World Cup. Spain won the three tournaments from 2008 to 2012, with Torres scoring in the finals of both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. He scored the winning goal in the 2008 European Championship, and won the Golden Boot for highest goalscorer in 2012.
Early career
Born in Fuenlabrada, Community of Madrid,[7] Torres became interested in football as a child and joined his first team, Parque 84, at age five.[8] His grandfather was not a passionate football fan, but took pride in being an Atlético Madrid supporter, and Torres inherited his love for the club.[8]
Torres began playing football as a goalkeeper, the position his brother played in.[9] At age seven, however, he started playing regularly as a striker in an indoor league for the neighbourhood club, Mario's Holanda,[8] using the characters from the anime Captain Tsubasa as inspiration.[10] Three years later, aged 10, he progressed to an 11-side team, Rayo 13.[11] He scored 55 goals in a season and was one of three Rayo 13 players to earn a trial with Atlético.[11] He impressed the scouts and joined the club's youth system at age 11 in 1995.[11]
International career
2001–02: Success at youth level
In February 2001, Torres won the Algarve Tournament with the Spain national under-16 team.[158] The under-16s took part in the 2001 UEFA European Under-16 Championship in May, which they also won, with Torres scoring the only goal in the final, as well as finishing as the tournament's leading scorer, and was also named the player of the tournament.[12][14] In September 2001, Torres represented the under-17 team at the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship, but the team failed to progress through the group stage.[14] In July 2002, he won the 2002 UEFA European Under-19 Championship with the under-19 team and was again the only goalscorer in the final.[12] Also, he finished as top scorer and was named player of the tournament.[14]
Style of play
Torres was described as having "an eye for the spectacular" and being "capable of world-class skill", as well as being regarded as a "technically proficient, highly successful striker".[196] He had the ability to find himself in goalscoring positions, using his pace and vision to get in behind defenders.[197] A hard-working striker, he was also known for his willingness to chase down and put pressure on opposing defenders, and was capable of playing off his teammates and creating chances for other strikers, in addition to scoring goals himself; this also saw him being deployed in a deeper role as a second striker on occasion.[159][198][199][200][201]
Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, Torres came to be nicknamed El Niño ('The Kid').[5] Being strong in the air, and an accurate finisher with his head as well as both feet, in his prime during 2007—2010, his prolific goalscoring earned him a reputation as one of the top strikers in the world, or simply the best striker in the world.[202][203][204][6] Prior to the 2009 Confederations Cup, the CBC described him as: "The golden boy of Spanish soccer and one of the most dangerous forwards in the game. Nicknamed El Niño (The Kid), Torres is coming off a solid second season for Liverpool in which he scored 14 goals. Torres is lightning quick, a deadly finisher and a player of such high class with the ball at his feet that he routinely makes the spectacular look ordinary."[205] However, several injuries led to a loss of form, pace, confidence and a decreased goalscoring rate in later seasons.[206][207][208]
Atlético Madrid
Chelsea
Spain U16
Spain U19
Spain
Individual
Decorations
