Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

an example, a role model. Raúl in (Real) Madrid had El Buitre (Emilio Butragueño, a goal-scorer for Real Madrid during the 1980s), Fernando identified with me.’

So much so that Fernando, to pay homage to you, celebrated some of his goals by posing as an archer, an unusual celebration which you yourself made famous.
     
    ‘Yes, that’s true – him and Dani Güiza. They repeated it. I really appreciate that.’

And some people say that Fernando, during the 2006–07 season against Real Madrid, repeated the goal that you scored in the Champions League ten years earlier?
     
    ‘Yes, the two are very alike. In that match against Ajax, Caminero, playing deep, began the move for Aguilera on the right wing continuing up towards the goal line before passing the ball backwards. It came to me just in front of the penalty area and, half-turning, I shot towards the far post and it went in. I remember Fernando’s goal perfectly well because I was in the Calderón (Atlético Madrid’s stadium, the Estadio Vicente Calderón) as a TV commentator and because it’s the only goal that El Niño has scored at (Real) Madrid. Fernando got hold of the ball before passing it to Galletti who went down the right wing, putting a cross into the centre, where Torres controlled it skilfully with his best leg, the right, on the outside of his foot, and shot towards the post to the right of (Iker) Casillas (the Real Madrid goalkeeper) who could do absolutely nothing. Two important goals, especially El Niño’s. Real (Madrid) was his obsession.’

Can we go back to Fernando’s debut in the Calderón?
     
    ‘That day I wasn’t in the team. I was having problems with the club – and with my ankles. They weren’t calling me up for home matches. But Fernando had already taken everyone by surprise, with his personality, self-confidence and willingness to learn plus his professional qualities and maturity. No, he certainly wasn’t a kid you had to look after. In training, he came up against defenders like ‘Super-López’ (Juan Manuel López Martínez, an Atlético stalwart who spent ten years at the club) and Hernández (Jean François, a Frenchman who had joined from Rayo Vallecano) and he didn’t give an inch. He was strong and determined to show what he could do.’

And he showed what he could do at Albacete, in his second game with the first team.
     
    ‘Yes, at Albacete I was in the team. When Torres scored I thought ‘Bloody hell, why didn’t they take me off half an hour earlier!’ That was because he came on as a substitute for me. I had told him something like, ‘Good luck, come on kid, you can do it,’ and five minutes later he scored the winning goal with a superb header. What a kid …’

In the pictures of that match, one can see you alongside the subs’ bench smiling and kissing the badge.
     
    ‘I was very happy to pass the baton to El Niño
.
It was rewarding for a true
atlético
to see that, after you, there was someone you could have confidence in. I could see myself reflected in him and his happiness. We’ve all been junior players – our dream was to get into the first team and score a goal wearing the shirt. Fernando achieved that.

That goal was the subject of much celebration both in the stands and on the pitch.
     
    ‘That’s right. It gave us an important victory. It kept our promotion hopes alive. The fans came onto the pitch and we had our own celebrations in the dressing room. Fernando came and asked me if I would give him the captain’s armband as a present. I told him not be so silly, that it was covered in dirt and worn out, but he insisted so much that in the end I gave in and handed it over. Someone had got hold of some bottles of champagne, which we opened to toast our win. I offered a glass to Fernando and realised he was only seventeen and wasn’t able to drink alcohol and neither did he want to. So we rummaged around in the bag of a team-mate who’d brought in some things to eat – some sandwiches – and we came across a yogurt carton. I opened it and told him ‘You, lad, can make the toast with yogurt.’ And, with plastic carton in hand, that was how he celebrated his first goal!’

But at the end of the season, the celebrations weren’t repeated.
     
    ‘We stayed in the Second Division and I left the club – with a lot of problems and a particular thorn in my side: I never managed to play in a match with Fernando. In training, we understood each other well. Once I gave