Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

for Liverpool in 85 games, which is as good as anyone ever got in getting 50 goals. It’s a fantastic achievement. He’s the right man for Liverpool. He has committed himself to the way of life in Liverpool. He’s learned the language very quickly. He seems very settled and he’s very happy with life at the moment and his football as well,’

Have their been any games that have really showcased his particular talents?
     
    ‘He did very well at Manchester United this year, when Liverpool won 4-1, and he made a valuable contribution with his playing. He gave Vidic (Manchester United defender, Nemanja Vidic), who had played a very, very good season up until then, a really tough time. Also in the previous year, when he scored his goal against Chelsea in the first half. He took it brilliantly. I think he’s had many good games but Manchester United would be the pick of it because of the close rivalry. He also scored and done well against Everton in the league match when he played with Robbie Keane upfront. There’ll be a lot of games he can look back on and be very satisfied with what he’s done. But one of the big problems is going to be trying to keep him fit because both Spain and Liverpool want to play as many matches as they possibly can and it’s not always possible.’

How has he managed to adapt so quickly to the history of the club and to the way Liverpool play?
     
    ‘Yes, he’s done it very quickly and it’s a great compliment to him. It’s helped that the manager’s Spanish and there are some other Spanish players in the squad. It’s always nice to see a face that you know when you arrive at a football club and it’s nice to know that the manager is of the same nationality. Fernando has settled in magnificently well and he’s been fantastic for Liverpool. The unfortunate thing this season is that he was injured for a few games and that’s been a wee problem for him this season. It’s been a problem for Liverpool and then he’s got to go to the Federations Cup, which is a competition about nothing and there won’t be too many managers who’ll be happy that they (Spain) will be playing that. It’s a meaningless competition and it’s only a reflection of them having won the European Championship last year. That was a fantastic achievement for Spain and Fernando played his part in that but the players need a rest. This’ll be three years on the road now, that they have been playing football.’

What are the main differences and similarities between Liverpool when you were a player and the Liverpool today of Rafa Benítez and Fernando?
     
    ‘Liverpool, for all their history, have always had the same philosophy about how they want to play football. I don’t think that’s changed. I don’t think there is a huge difference. Nowadays, there’s much greater competition because there are a lot more clubs who are able to compete financially than there were when we were playing. I think it’s always difficult to go back and compare what happened in the past. I think you just analyse what’s happening in the present time and I think this year that Liverpool have improved with what they’ve achieved this year and if they continue the improvement then they’ll go even closer next year to winning the Premier League.’

Having met Fernando on two or three occasions, what is he like?
     
    ‘He’s a very mature young lad and very respectful. He understands the tradition of Liverpool Football Club and he respects the people that come along and support him. He’s one of the favourites of the fans but he doesn’t take it for granted and they really respect him. So I would think that if he was your son, you’d be very proud of him as a person and a footballer. He’s a fantastic footballer.’

What are the similarities between you and Fernando?
     
    ‘Maybe we’ve got the same colour of hair – that’s about all!’

Which Liverpool player from the past most resembles Torres?
     
    ‘There’s nobody similar. I think you’re your own person. I don’t think any two footballers are the same. I think he’s his own person but it’s inevitable that people draw comparisons with previous Liverpool players, but he’s Fernando Torres and that’s all he’s got to be. He’s got to be himself. He compares favourably with anything that anyone else has done for this football club as regards goals, so to me he’s done tremendously well, but I wouldn’t say he was similar to any of the