Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

best.’

Liverpool has helped you get into the national side and turned Torres into one of the best players in the world. How did it happen?
     
    ‘Well, I think it’s very important to play at a club like Liverpool, which is in the Champions League and competing for the Premier League title. It’s an international shop window – it’s clear that a player’s value increases. But one can’t ignore the fact that, in order to get there and to play at Anfield, you have to show your worth. And it’s no easy feat to be there. Fernando, apart from the fact that English football, because of its characteristics, suits him better, he doesn’t have the pressure that he had here (in Spain), he doesn’t have all the media on top of him. He’s been able to dedicate his time to training, improving his play and to enjoying his football, and that’s been really important. You could say he’s been let off the leash.’

And in two years he’s already an idol …
     
    ‘There, he’s a legend like Ian Rush or Kenny Dalglish – players that spent years at Liverpool and won a lot of trophies. Fernando’s been compared to them and he has been put on the same level.’

Of course you, together with Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina, have met Dalglish, Souness and Sammy Lee in person. What were your impressions?
     
    ‘It was a bit like going back to your childhood and reviving your idols. Once you are a footballer you forget when you were a kid and the excitement of seeing those players. The day we had dinner with them, for Michael Robinson’s (Spanish TV) programme, it was like reliving those childhood years. They told stories about the matches and the victories of that Liverpool side and us three with our mouths open listening as if it was a fairy tale.’

How does a new player get to understand the values of a club like Liverpool?
     
    ‘Rafa Benítez has always wanted to get those values across, right from the start. He’s reorganised Melwood (Liverpool’s training ground), covering the walls with club legends, photos of the most distinguished players and the trophies which Liverpool has won. And later, this is passed on to you by people in the street or in Anfield and you realise that you’ve come to a club that’s very special. And right from the first day, you want to absorb its history.’

What advice did they give you when you arrived in January 2007 and what advice did you give to Fernando?
     
    ‘I don’t usually give much advice. It’s Pepe (Reina) and Xabi (Alonso) who do that. The first thing they make you understand is that it’s different in England. You don’t complain, you don’t throw yourself on the ground, you don’t try to engineer a free-kick. They encourage you to get yourself acclimatised on the pitch and give you help off it.’

You grew up in the ‘white factory’, as Don Alfredo Di Stefano calls it and then, aged 24, you arrived at Liverpool. What do you think have been the main differences?
     
    ‘Differences? A lot. To go from one country to another, you change language and habits, but above all you come across a footballing culture that’s completely different. You see it in a different way, you play a different way and the atmosphere is something else.’

Tell us about this different culture …
     
    ‘English football is very physical. Much more contact is allowed. Sneaky or ‘smart alec’ behaviour doesn’t exist as it does in Spain and it’s very much looked down on. There’s also the difference in the crowd’s attitude to football. You could see this in the first knockout round of the Champions League. My ex-team-mates at Real Madrid were surprised because, following the half-time break, when they came back out on to the pitch – and they were losing – the Anfield fans applauded them. In the Bernabéu, when we came onto the field, we were greeted with whistles and insults.’

It was a job well done, the Anfield game against Real Madrid?
     
    ‘It was a victory to savour. It’s a good feeling to beat a big side like Real Madrid but it also hurts to see team-mates who’ve been your friends so dispirited by the defeat. But if I had to choose, I’d go for the Champions League knockout round against Barcelona. I have great memories of that match in the Camp Nou. It was my European debut with Liverpool and we won 1-2.’

What’s life like in the Spanish Liverpool?
     
    ‘Life’s good, calm. Above all, I appreciate the relaxed attitude with regards to the