Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

All of us players are with our national trainer right up to the very end.’ The controversy ends there. So much so, that Luis says: ‘And I’m not angry, not bothered at all. What happened with Torres doesn’t matter in the slightest. I had a chat with him in training, but that’s nothing new. I had him as a player at Atlético since he was a kid. He’s almost like my son and I’ve always given him what I believe to be useful little tips.’
    After the explanations the gaffer confirms that Fernando is set to start in the Sweden match at Innsbruck: ‘He’s key to my plans,’ he says. That’s a certainty, but the national coach asks Fernando to do a job he doesn’t do at Liverpool. He asks him to do what he used to do at Atlético, which is to drop wide to create spaces and make runs to draw people in, which can make life hard in front of goal. So much so that, with the national team, Fernando has only scored two goals in 33 outings – a paltry haul for the striker who, in the season just ended, caused a furore in the Premier League.
    And so the Sweden match has become a do-or-die affair for Fernando. Will he manage to do what has been asked of him? Will he score? Will he, after all, be at ease as part of the
Roja
? Everyone is waiting on Torres as though he were Godot. But this time Godot arrives on time. It’s Fernando who gets the scoreboard moving. An emphatic reply to the doubts sparked by his replacement and the subsequent statements from the gaffer. It’s fifteen minutes into the first half and Luis’ prepared plan to topple the towering Swedes swings into action. Because Torres’ goal is pure strategy, somebody has dubbed it a ‘laboratory goal’. Corner: Xavi, from the corner to the Swedish goalkeeper’s right, kicks it short for Villa, who comes in to receive the ball along the touchline and draws in a central defender. David nudges it back, where another David comes in – Silva, the Canary Islands man. From the corner of the penalty area the Valencia midfield linkman with the strikers knocks in a waist-high cross-shot with a lot of swerve. Three Spaniards (Capdevilla, Ramos and Torres) are waiting to pounce on goal. The quickest is El Niño, who gets in ahead of his marker Hansson, sticks out his leg, and with the tip of his boot – or rather the studs – taps the ball into Isaksson’s goal. Fernando is back among the goals. He hadn’t scored with the
Roja
since 12 September, against Latvia. He’s satisfied because the set pieces and tactical plays practiced in training sessions have worked. He won’t score another goal until the final, against Germany, but his contribution against the yellow-shirts is vital.
    El Niño is finally a star, his elusive runs cause pandemonium among central defenders, his ability to shake people off opens up space, he battles for every ball and he puts in the teamwork by dropping back to defend. And he also acts as a peacemaker between the referee and his team-mates when they claim a penalty against Silva that wasn’t blown. And one shouldn’t forget his contribution when Villa made it 2-1 in a last-gasp attempt when a draw seemed certain (the Swedes had drawn level through Zlatan Ibrahimovic, thanks to a mistake from Sergio Ramos). The miracle happened courtesy of
Villa Maravilla
(Villa the Wonder-worker), yet Fernando assisted with a monster pass (over 50 metres) from Capdevilla by jumping up, bamboozling an opponent, and allowing the ball to reach the Spanish Number 7, ‘El Guaje’ Villa, who sees the
Roja
through to the quarter-finals. On 15 June the talk is all about ‘the finest pairing in Europe’ – Torres and Villa, with 51 goals this season they are the most lethal duo. Everyone concurs, admitting that they admire and envy the Number 7 and Number 9, who have put together five goals and two assists in two games. No one in the European Football Championship has done a better job. There is a shower of praise. The first to step up is Aragonés himself: ‘They have a perfect rapport because they have unique qualities and an amazing turn of speed. They are a major bonus for the team. They can get goals out of nothing.’ Pepe, a central defender with Portugal and Real Madrid, says: ‘With this brace of strikers Spain can really go places in the European Championship.’ And Ruud Van Nistelrooy, the Netherlands and Real Madrid striker, observes that: ‘Villa and Torres are at a spectacular level, can score a hell of a lot of goals and