Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

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 him play many