Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

Yes, Torres knows the failures of the national side all too well, having been a regular participant in recent years. Against Russia he celebrated a Golden Wedding with the side. A round figure of 50 matches and fourteen goals scored (three penalties), the numbers of a story that begins on 6 September 2003 at Guimares in Portugal.
    He’s called up for the first time with the senior side by Iñaki Sáez, already his mentor from the junior teams. ‘He was the first that I called out of all those lads that I’d known and trained in the Under-16s and Under-19s. A fantastic group that brought us a lot of pleasure. Fernando was the most ready, physically, and he already had a lot of experience – two years in the first team at Atlético. His qualities? A speed and movement bonus, plus a lot of goals. He also had some weak spots to clear up, like receiving the ball with his back to the defender, one-on-ones with the keeper, coordination. But I had to put him on, I had to put on the best,’ remembers Iñaki with pleasure.
    For Fernando it’s a dream that is becoming reality. For some time, there’d been talk about his possible call-up but the gaffer hadn’t wanted to give in to those temptations. This time things seem to be different, so during the week before the announcement of the squad for the friendly against Portugal, the Atlético Number 9 is beside himself with excitement. He wants to be part of the ‘club’, to see the national team from the inside, the atmosphere within the group, the training sessions, the prematch preparations. He wants to play with the ‘grown-ups’, and he is fed up of being the lad destined for the Under-21s. He feels that this is the moment. The anticipation is intermittent until the great day finally arrives. He’s in a car with a friend when he learns the good news on the radio. Amongst the 22, his name is included. It’s the moment he’s been anticipating ‘for a long time. Since last season, when I was dreaming so much about being able to join the side,’ he declares in an interview. ‘It’s not that you expect it but it’s more when everyone talks about the same thing, you begin to get worked up about it. But I wasn’t getting down. I knew that one day it would have to be. With each list the debate began but I was apart from all that. I said that I wasn’t in a hurry, that it wasn’t a priority. I never understood all that expectation. They wanted to see me in the national side. Now it’s up to me to show they weren’t mistaken.’
    It’s up to him to show them he is at the same level of the greats of Spain – the Raúls, the Valeróns, the Tristáns. He knows that they are putting him under the spotlight but he’s used to it. At Atlético he is the first to be praised and the first to be subjected to scrutiny. The national side, however, is going through a bad phase. During qualification for Euro 2004, Spain suffers two bad setbacks against Greece and Northern Ireland. They couldn’t make any more mistakes and above all they couldn’t make them against Ukraine the following Wednesday. It will be a crucial encounter in which Torres will start. In short, the game against Portugal – although a friendly that comes at a bad time (a very bad time, four days before a must-win tie) – it’s a key test for the nineteen who are in the national side for the first time. Iñaki’s idea is to put him in the front line of attack, ‘so that he can run and fight for the ball’ with Raúl behind. The manager hopes it will work so that he can do it again. Torres, for his part, yearns for a good game, a goal and a win.
    It’s a clear 0-3 victory but in the Alfonso Henriques stadium (which had just been refurbished for the following year’s Euro 2004) the reality doesn’t match up to earlier expectations. Meira and Couto, the two Portuguese defenders, give him such a kicking that he has to receive medical treatment just before the end of the first half. In the 36th minute, Fernando Meira tackles him from behind, crashing into his left ankle and leaving him limping. Fernando Manuel Silva Couto completes the job in the 43rd minute with a ferocious kick. Raúl, captain of Real Madrid and the national side, comments: ‘I warned him it was going to be a very difficult match. He was in front of some hard defenders who were going to give him a tough time but it’s the route he’s got to follow. Torres is the future of Spanish football.’ Torres himself is also aware that