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Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

Titel: Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King Kostenlos Bücher Online Lesen
Autoren: Luca Caioli
Vom Netzwerk:
one gets the impression that’s what is going to happen.’
    In March, another hat-trick and one of those goals that one doesn’t forget easily. In the San Siro, against Inter, he receives a deep pass from Fabio Aurelio in the 64th minute, controls the ball, then, with a half-turn on the edge of the area, fires it inside the near post, where, despite a desperate final stretch, Inter keeper Julio Cesar cannot reach it. It seals the team’s passage through to the quarter-finals. It’s a trademark goal. Control, half-turn, shoot and goal. El Niño will repeat the same move against Arsenal in April to ensure Liverpool reach the Champions League semi-finals. ‘He turned with the speed of a reptile to deal Almunia a venomous blow,’ writes
La Gazzetta dello Sport
. And
Corriere della Sera
adds: ‘He created a work of art, leaving Frenchman Gallas dumbfounded like an absolute novice.’ Two goals, one more attractive than the other. Difficult to choose which is the best. The
Guardian,
simply suggests watching them a million times over.
    And just before the double encounter with Arsenal, Torres goes through his first test in English. He’d promised he would, months before, and keeps to his word. He was being a bit ambitious to try it even in the corridors of Anfield, one to one with a British journalist, but to take on an important press conference organised by UEFA in the full public eye is not an everyday event for anyone. However, the youngster proves he’s on the ball. He doesn’t speak BBC English but he holds his own. This time the translator is there just to help him with the harder questions. Rafa Benítez is at his side and looks on proudly like the father of a boy who has just got the best report in his class. ‘Twenty-eight goals scored … a target to reach before the end of the season?’ they ask him. He replies: ‘Is my best season. I’m scoring a lot of goals, my target is score goals but I don’t have one number of goals. I want to help my team-mate to win trophies but scoring goals is the job of the striker. I’m only doing my job.’
    It’s that simple, he’s only doing his job. Even if nothing takes away the fact that the first person to be surprised by the statistics of his first season at Liverpool is himself. He confesses as much, shrugging his shoulders almost to excuse himself, like a child whose mother has caught him sticking his hand in a jar of jam. Torres is humble but in the meantime the recognitions pour in. He is amongst the candidates for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award. A title that goes to Cristiano Ronaldo. But it’s interesting to hear what Gordon Taylor, PFA Chief Executive, has to say about Torres: ‘There have been many great Number 9s in Liverpool and this season he has followed in that tradition, responding brilliantly to what was a great challenge, which speaks clearly of his strength of character and skill.’
    In May, by then out of the Champions League – despite his away leg semi-final goal in the match against Chelsea – there is still the Premier League to finish off. The last game is at White Hart Lane, then the home of manager, Juande Ramos, the Spaniard who had won the Carling Cup against Chelsea and thereby taken the team into Europe. The match doesn’t feature much of interest, Benítez’s side win 0-2 and Torres scores league goal Number 24. He becomes the foreign player with the highest number of goals scored in his debut season. He beats the record of Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Dutchman had set the mark with 23 goals (including four penalties) in 32 games during the 2001–02 season on his debut with Manchester United. Ruud, whose arrival from PSV Eindhoven was an inspired gamble by Sir Alex Ferguson, in spite of a knee problem, demonstrated his class in the first of five seasons with the Red Devils before leaving for Real Madrid. Benítez’s gamble also pays off with 33 goals across all competitions. Third place in the Premier League top-scorer list behind Cristiano Ronaldo (31) and Emmanuel Adebayor (24).
    Then comes the prize for the Reds’ best player and best striker, chosen by the supporters. And, in Madrid, they give him the Man of the Year award, which is received in his absence by José, his father. In-between all these honours there is also the Nike TV commercial, which lights up Liverpool with the colours of Spain. The Osborne bull dominates the motorway exit, ships on the Mersey fly the red and yellow flag, students are

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