Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

plays (and whoever accuses him of being defensive, he responds by pointing to the 100-plus goals they scored last season). He has set up a scouting and talent-spotting system that enables him to keep tabs on around 14,000 players across the globe. And above all, he has returned Liverpool to the European elite, winning the Champions League and European Super Cup in 2005 and getting to another Champions League final in 2007, when they lost to Milan. ‘He’s demonstrated that he’s hungry for success,’ said Tom Hicks, one of the club’s owners. Rafa is a man who lives and breathes football and works on football 24 hours a day if needed. As he’s said on many occasions, he wants to help create a new chapter in the legendary history of the club. Gerrard, the captain, and Torres, El Niño, are two essential elements of his sporting project. Let’s see how he came to choose Fernando …

Why did you decide on Torres as a future signing for Liverpool?
     
    ‘Fundamentally, it was based on information in our possession, thanks to the tracking we do on many players, his excellent skills and the potential he had to develop still further over the short and medium term. Thinking about the English league and his special characteristics, he seemed ideal to be the striker of a team with the philosophy of our Liverpool FC. The truth is that he hasn’t let us down in any way.’

What skills did he have to be one of the Reds?
     
    ‘Well, it isn’t easy to summarise a sportsman, an elite player, a footballer of the highest level like Fernando. But with a bit of analytical skill we could highlight his power, his strength to withstand physical contact, to go all out – in a legitimate, sporting sense – to win a game, and with sufficient quality and skill to end up being the kind of player who can change the flow of a game.’

Your bet (on Torres), Mr Benítez, was not an easy one, considering the fee paid and the average goal tally of Fernando in his six seasons with Atlético Madrid. How in the end did this bet transform itself into a winning one?
     
    ‘Well, I think that although everyone’s made an effort to help him, the main ‘culprit’ for his success is him, because of his great determination and his very hard work. Since his arrival he pushed himself hard to improve. He was getting more and more confident and therefore getting better day-by-day. I think that the main guiding principles of Torres’ transformation are Fernando himself and the abilities that he has shown since he arrived in England.’

Did you think that Torres would get 33 goals in his first season? How did that happen? Why has he adapted so rapidly to Liverpool, to the club and to its playing style? Has the ‘Spanish Liverpool’ helped him much?
     
    ‘To be very sincere, and in spite of all the earlier remarks regarding his potential and attitude, the truth is that we didn’t expect so many goals in the first year. Not even the most optimistic could have imagined it. But of course one should also say that he deserved each and every one of them, which were the result of his work and dedication and his already-mentioned desire to improve. And yes, talking of his adaptation and the ease with which he was able to do it, it would only be right to recognise that the group of Spanish players who have been with him at Liverpool have helped him a lot to achieve that.’

They say that, at Liverpool, Torres is much more relaxed, has got rid of the responsibilities (captain, club image) that were suffocating him at Atlético, and that this has been one of the keys to his success. What do you think?
     
    ‘Well, one can’t know that for sure from outside. I think that’s something one would have to ask him and only he could give an absolutely genuine response. In his immediate environment, we have been with him in this process and we can agree that, yes, he has been able to shed an excess of responsibility and that has helped him considerably with his bursting onto the English football scene as a player. Here in our group, our team, Fernando is important – but for what he does on the pitch, not for his image and what he represents or might represent off the pitch.’

Spanish, Italian and English managers and players all agree with the fact that you have greatly improved Fernando’s game. How have you done it? What advice did you give him?
     
    ‘I wouldn’t want to repeat myself unduly but it’s necessary to go back over parts of the