Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

players that I’ve seen.

What does Liverpool need to do to get to the same level as Manchester United and to win the Premier League?
     
    ‘Well, they’re getting better and they’ve got closer this year than they’ve ever been before, so I’m sure this summer that Rafa will be busy trying to identify what he thinks he can do to improve the team to go that one step further than they went this year. But to go from two to one is a big, big step and although it doesn’t seem much, it’s a huge, huge step to take forward. But the best person to know and the person that everyone is going to trust to find it out is Rafa Benítez. So I’m sure Rafa will get in a couple of players who he thinks are going to be of benefit to the club and we’ll have to wait until next season to find out if that’s the case.’

How do you see the future of Fernando Torres in Liverpool?
     
    ‘The future’s very bright for Fernando Torres at Liverpool. I’m sure he’s going to stay here.’

You were at Anfield for the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough. You saw Fernando and all the team – it’s a special day for Liverpool, no?
     
    ‘Hillsborough is a very special event for us, the people of Liverpool, because it’s twenty years this year. But also it’s very much a part of the history of Liverpool Football Club, the same as any cup success would be. It’s there in the history, it’s there in the memory and it will never be forgotten, the families will never be forgotten. It’s very important to the people in Liverpool that they understand that and that the people who come and play for Liverpool understand it. I don’t think there’s much more you can add to Hillsborough than for me to say that.’

Having been a manager of Liverpool yourself, what suggestions can you give to Fernando Torres?
     
    ‘I would just say to Fernando Torres: Continue what you’ve done because you’ve done it very well. Enjoy yourself and we’ll all keep our fingers crossed that we’re going to get the prize that everybody would love them to get and that’s more success.’

Chapter 20
Spain 4 Russia 1
     
    10 June 2008
    A striker is selfish by definition. He only sees the space marked out by two posts, eight feet high and an 8-yard crossbar. He doesn’t look around him, he doesn’t look for the unmarked team-mate. He doesn’t have time because he’s looking for the goal. His only thought is to get the ball over that goddamned white line. In whatever way possible. He only thinks of scoring. And his skill is what everyone – manager, team-mates, fans and commentators – wants from him. It’s his obsession because he knows that whatever marvels he’s able to perform on the pitch, however many opponents he can get past, however many miles he runs, however much work he does for the team, in the end he’ll be judged on the number of goals scored. And he’ll leave the pitch with a bad taste in his mouth if he hasn’t put away at least one.
    But, occasionally, he understands that rules get broken, that the Number 9 looks up and sees a friendly shirt he can trust and instead of finishing off a move, instead of being selfish, he chooses to be generous or, better still, takes the correct and easiest option, the most direct route to goal, the action that benefits the side and makes all the team into winners.
    And this is what he understands in the 20th minute of Spain’s debut in Euro 2008 as Luis Aragonés’ team take on the Russia of Guus Hiddink in Innsbruck’s Neu Tivoli stadium in Austria. A long ball and Fernando Torres uses his pace to unsettle Kolodin. The Russian defender no longer knows what to do, loses his head, is not able to deal with the red lightning at his side and gives the ball away to El Niño. With some metres still to run, goalkeeper Akinfeez comes out of his goal and throws himself to the ground but doesn’t get to the ball. Fernando sees that David Villa, the Valencia striker and his international team-mate, has been following the play. A textbook cut-back and there’s nothing more that Spain’s Number 7 has to do other than put the ball into an empty goal. And then the celebration. The two strikers embrace, Villa beckons to Torres, they end up on the ground while their team-mates arrive and pile on top. So much celebration in fact that Villa injures the index finger on his right hand, a hairline crack that puts his participation in the following match in doubt.
    Freeze frame: the ball, fired in by Villa,