Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

take advantage of his skills to get the ball to him.’

As you did for him in the Under-19 final in Oslo?
     
    ‘Yes, in Norway, I passed the ball to him but it was he who made the goal. Fernando did the difficult part.’ Modest as ever, Don Andrés.

Iñaki Sáez, the manager of that Under-19 side said that you were the one who best understood Fernando?
     
    ‘Well, in a team there are always some footballers who understand each other better than others and that was the case then. But I have to say that for a midfielder to have a striker with Fernando’s qualities is fantastic. It makes everything so much easier.’

What are Fernando’s skills?
     
    ‘He gets away from his marker very well, he sees space, he has a lot of strength and uses this strength so that when he comes to shoot, he does it coolly, with the certainty that he will score a lot of goals.’

Which player does he most resemble?
     
    ‘Ronaldo, because of his strength, his bursts of power and for the finishing which Fernando has and which, in his day, Ronnie had too. Aside from that, each of them is different technically but in those specific respects, Fernando reminds me of him a lot.’

And do you remember that, at that time, Fernando never stopped talking about Van Basten?
     
    ‘
That’s right, Marco Van Basten was one of his idols but I didn’t get many opportunities to see him play and I never came across him on the pitch.’

Which is not the case with Torres, who’s also been your opponent?
     
    ‘Yes, we have come up against each other and with every kind of outcome. There’ve been matches that his team has won, matches that my team has won, and matches where he’s scored against us. He’s always a really difficult striker to keep under control.’

Let’s move on from confrontations to the national side. How would you describe the experience of winning the Euro 2008 tournament playing in the same team? And how did you both get on together?
     
    ‘We got on really well and with all the others in the team. It was the same group of players that had won the qualifying matches. We experienced everything. We were criticised after the games with Ireland and Sweden but it could be that the hard time we had in qualifying actually worked in our favour to make us stronger. Once we got to Austria, we were really motivated as well as committed and united as a team. When you have that kind of combination, it brings victory a bit closer.’

How did you feel when Fernando got the goal against Germany?
     
    ‘Completely elated, really happy. To have scored and to have scored in such an important final and to have put us ahead of Germany is no easy feat. We were then in reach of the title.’

What do you talk about now when you meet up in the national side?
     
    ‘About everything really but especially how each of us is doing in our respective teams.’

And what has Fernando told you about Liverpool?
     
    ‘He told me that to begin with it was a really big change and that there’s a huge passion for football over there. For a player, it’s really important to feel the support of the fans. I have to say that, at Anfield, where I’ve played, it’s incredible. It’s wonderful that the crowd is always 100 per cent behind their team and that makes it really difficult for any opponent to win there.’

What do you think of the change he’s undergone since going to Liverpool?
     
    ‘It’s been hugely important. The Premier League is very different from La Liga and I think that the way of playing in England and, in particular, the style of Liverpool, is perfect for someone with Fernando’s skills. Also, one mustn’t forget that Torres had always been identified with Atléti. He had all that weight, being promoted to the first team at seventeen and having to keep going despite everything that piled up on top of him. There’s no doubt that was really hard. At Liverpool he doesn’t have any of that baggage.’

And what do you think about the success he’s enjoying in England?
     
    ‘I think he deserves it. Fernando’s always had these qualities but with time he’s matured and acquired much more experience as well as improving his technique and now he’s one of the best strikers in the world. No doubt about it’

And finally, do you see yourself lifting the World Cup with Fernando?
     
    ‘I really, really hope that we can get to that point and succeed in such an important tournament, one that Spain has never won. It’ll be