Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

Republican side in the Spanish Civil War to rally resistance against the fascist Franco uprising). The stormy waters grow calm and the debate goes back to concentrating on football. In the English papers, a photomontage of Fernando appears with a sharpened nose and a pencil moustache, all underlined with a quote from Steven Gerrard: ‘He reminds me of Rush.’ Yes, the Welshman and the lad from Fuenlabrada hold each other in high regard. In just a few months, a mutual respect has been formed. Perhaps because both of them took on a lot of responsibilities early, both of them are shy, speak little, do not brag and eschew glamour in favour of old friends and family life. Torres says of Gerrard: ‘He is the best, or one of the best, in the world. Never I play with a footballer of his level. It’s a pleasure to do so. It’s not only the interaction that works between us. Gerrard is able to give you the ball where you want it. He allows you to exploit to the full his qualities while improving your own game.’ Gerrard says simply of Torres: ‘I wouldn’t change him for any other striker in the world.’ A very special chemistry, which Ian Rush speaks of as well: ‘This interaction between Torres and Gerrard – the same thing happened between me and Kenny Dalglish. It’s almost telepathic. Torres makes the defenders work, he keeps them pinned back and he doesn’t hide like other foreign players. He’s strong and has adapted quickly. Drogba and Henry needed a whole season. If he can get twenty or twenty-five goals, we can win the Premier League.’
    The dream of the Liverpool ex-Number 9 is the same as all the side’s supporters – to win the league, which for nineteen years has escaped them. The idea is simple: getting a striker that they’ve not seen the likes of since the time of Michael Owen or better, Robbie Fowler, means the unattainable goal becomes possible. It’s a pity that, in the end, Torres surpasses all the predictions but Liverpool end up fourth in the league.
    Putting that to one side, one can see the progress of the youngster who has so impressed everyone through his ability to adapt in comparison with the strikers who, as Rush says, have taken a season to understand how things work. After the Christmas holidays that Fernando spends with his family, who have come over from Spain loaded with products from his home country, including everything from ham to olive oil (this The Kid is not giving up), a new crown arrives in early January. In a poll on the club website, the fans of Liverpool elect him as the Best Young Footballer under 23 years of age in Rafa Benítez’s 2007 squad. And some days later there’s also the nomination of Best Player of the Team in the month of December. It’s the third time that Fernando wins it, after first securing it in August and September, before ceding it to Steven Gerrard in October and November. Recognition of his achievements arrives not only from the fans. He is a member of the ‘Ideal Eleven’ chosen by various European sports magazines.
    February – an incredible month. He gets injured during the international friendly with France but returns in time for the last sixteen away leg of the Champions League against Inter Milan to bamboozle Marco Materazzi, the Inter and Italy defender also known for being on the receiving end of Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt in the final of the Germany World Cup. He gets his second hat-trick, swelling his quota to 21 goals (fifteen in the league). In the Premier League classification for effectiveness, he is in third position, with a goal every 118 minutes played. Numbers and results that also bring him the Barclays prize for the best player of the month. But the most sought-after tribute, the most affectionate, the most unforgettable, the one that endorses once and for all, the special relationship with the fans, comes from the Kop. A song specially for him, like the greats of the past and present have had. At Anfield they start to sing the Armband song. They dug up the story of the Atlético captain’s armband and made it their own. A song that makes Fernando emotional – as his playing makes his team-mates emotional. The Dutchman, Dirk Kuyt, declares: ‘It’s incredible to have scored so many goals in his first season in England. He’s getting them in the league and in Europe and is doing a great job for the team. The rest of the players think that he’s going to score in every match and the way things are going,