Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

still hasn’t hit the back of the net, two disorientated Russian defenders watch the action while El Niño is already smiling. Happy with what he’s done. The rapport between the two is repeated a little later but Villa can’t beat the opposing keeper – the shot is too forced because of tight marking. And it doesn’t end there. On 44 minutes, Villa latches onto a magnificent through-ball from Iniesta to make it 2-0. When ‘El Guaje’ (‘The Kid’, or ‘El Niño’ in the language of Villa’s native Asturias) scores the third of his hat-trick, the other
Niño
is no longer on the field. The manager has taken him off in the 54th minute to send on a midfielder, Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas. It’s a substitution the Number 9 doesn’t like at all and which generates a long drawn-out debate. But there is a gesture from Villa to remember – after scoring the third goal of his hat-trick, he runs towards the bench to embrace Torres and dedicates the goal to him.
    ‘I embraced Fernando because people are talking a lot about him, that he’s not feeling good, that he doesn’t feel a part of things, that it’s difficult for him. I dedicated it to him because I scored but it was Torres who found the way in. I took all the praise for finishing off the moves but the first two goals were only possible through his help. In the first, the pass was his and in the second he opened up the spaces so that Iniesta could make the final pass. He’s had a really important game. He did great work – all the “dirty work”, that allowed me to do the beautiful bit. I’ve benefited from him and wanted to thank him for it. I wanted to dedicate it to him so that he would be happy,’ said David Villa at the time. A demonstration of friendship that put an end to a long month of controversy.
    Voices in the dressing room were saying that the two were incompatible, they didn’t understand each other, they weren’t talking and they were constantly in competition with each other. What’s more, many were putting forward the following theory: if Torres is playing, Villa is on the bench and vice versa. But Innsbruck proved the opposite. ‘In the end, we finished up playing together,’ added Villa, ‘and I have to say that, with him, I felt very good. He’s an exceptional footballer, who can drop to the wing and who works hard for whoever plays alongside him. He’s wonderful.’
    The match finishes 4-1 with a final headed goal from Fabregas but there’s no doubting that the hero of the game is El Guaje. A quick glance at the Spanish press headlines confirms it. ‘Illa Illa Illa ¡Villa Maravilla!’ (Marvellous Villa) is the front page headline of
Marca
, the Madrid sport daily. ‘Villa, the Number 7 of Spain’, shouts
ABC
, while
El Mundo
booms
‘
Lethal Villa, Lethal Spain’. The last Spaniard to score three goals in the finals of a European Championship was Michel.
    Next up was Sweden. Villa has already caught up with Alfonso at the top of the table of Spanish goalscorers in European championship finals. As is to be expected, there is much praise for the lad who comes from the Asturias region of Spain and who grew up in a family of miners. For Torres, the critics are also positive. They say that he’s been rapid, lively, dangerous, demonstrated his class and formed a deadly partnership with Villa. He’s not been seen very much, almost a spectator when the national side was playing the short passing game, but decisive on the counter-attack when he had space to run, like he does at Liverpool. A pity, they say, that he’s on the pitch so little.
    ‘Torres has come from a long, hard season and he is very important for us. I had to take him off to give strength to the midfield,’ explains Aragonés at the end of the match. He minimises the fact that the Number 9 hadn’t scored: ‘The next day Torres could put away three goals just like Villa.’
    What’s certain is that after the first match and the first overwhelming success against a rival that, on paper, seemed a hard nut to crack, the euphoria in Spain is widespread. And it’s also important to point out that this is the seventh consecutive victory for Aragonés’ men in a run of seventeen matches without defeat. But nobody trusts first impressions. Starting with Fernando: ‘We’ve played at a good pace and we’ve been lucky. It’s very important to start like this but we haven’t done anything. Don’t forget what happened to us in the Germany World Cup.’