Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

shy, I was embarrassed. I was blushing. Now, a little at a time, I’m getting used to it even if it’s difficult. I miss the times when I was able to go for a walk with my dog without anyone stopping me in the street. But that’s the price you have to pay.’ What does he make of the millions he’s earned? ‘The first thing I did was buy a house for my parents, a car for my father and my sister and help my brother Israel with his mortgage. I’ve become what I am thanks to them. I will never forget that if it wasn’t for my mother (several times she arrived late at work to take me to training sessions) I would not be here. It seems right and proper to give back to them everything that they’ve given me.’
    A good lad who still lives with his parents: ‘My mother is a great cook. Her pasta with cream and ham is streets ahead of anything you get on training camps. And of course they know me well. If I got big-headed, they would let me know about it.’
    Even his manager says so: ‘The success hasn’t gone to his head.’ In spite of this, the sports journalists dedicate their front pages to him after he puts two goals past Barcelona in the Camp Nou on 6 February 2005. ‘He trains just the same as any of the others because he is very competitive and a very good team-mate. He never tires of learning. These things outside of sport don’t affect him.’ Another thing that pleasantly surprises manager César Ferrando is the ‘leadership ability of Torres. He has taken the bull by the horns and said this is down to me, I will be pulling my own weight.’ Come May, though, because he has been pulling his own weight, El Niño is worn out. In-between the league, the Cup, the Intertoto and the national side, he’s the player who’s played the most minutes in Spain. He can’t go on, he hasn’t scored in more than a month and Atlético have come to a halt. They no longer have any options in the league and they’ve been knocked out of the Cup. They will finish 12th, a long way off the champions, Barcelona. His own account, however, is positive: sixteen league goals and two in the Cup.
    In 2005–06 he begins another season and in the dugout there’s a new manager. This time, it’s the Argentinian, Carlos Bianchi. He has an impressive CV, which includes Boca, Velez and Roma, the backing of the directors and major reinforcements on the pitch – Mateja Kezman (signed from Chelsea), Martin Petrov (now with Manchester City) and the Argentinians, Maxi Rodríguez, and Luciano Galletti. On paper it’s a strong and winning squad. There’s hope of qualifying for the Champions League. The new gaffer starts well, Torres playing his part, scoring as he knows how and ending up surrounded by controversy because of a very unusual celebration.
    In October, in the Rosaleda stadium against Malaga, he scores a penalty – his third goal of the season – then sticks out his tongue and puts his fingers in his ears while running down the pitch. The crowd don’t like it and take it very badly, perceiving it as an insult, while in fact, it’s a birthday dedication to his friend Jorge Larena who plays for Celta. A juvenile joke between the two that becomes a hot media topic. But that’s nothing compared with what happens some time later.
    By the 18th match of the season, Atlético are floundering in the lower reaches of the league, raising once again the possibility of ending up in the second division. Carlos Bianchi packs his bags. Four years later, Torres will say: ‘He had very good ideas but the players didn’t understand him.’ In his place, comes Pepe Murcia, who begins in style. He wins five matches on the trot and brings the team back from the depths to end up just four points off a position that would have finally seen them playing in Europe. It’s fourteen years since Atlético has achieved anything like that and the fans had their hopes high. But as always disappointment is just around the corner. Atlético once again finish empty-handed, in 10th position, and Europe remains a mirage. It’s necessary to start all over again.
    The next season – El Niño’s last – begins in the company of Mexican manager, Javier Aguirre and ‘Kun’ Sergio Agüero, the young Argentinian phenomenon who’s being compared to Maradona and Romario. He’s the most expensive signing in Atlético’s history. He has come from Independiente at a cost of 20 million Euros. He should be the perfect support for Torres, who, in the