Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

media. You don’t have to worry if this person has said that or another something else. You can just concentrate on playing football. Everything is very homely. Sometimes, with Fernando and Pepe, we meet up for dinner, but not much. We train, we have lunch and at home, I relax with my partner Carlota, or have a siesta. What you really appreciate is the incredibly warm welcome we’ve received, because very often in Spain, when a group of Dutch players arrive at Barcelona or Brazilians at Madrid, maybe they don’t get the same kind of welcome. Why? I don’t know. Maybe the people of Liverpool are very welcoming and we are less so in Spain. At Anfield you see how the fans sing to Rafa, while here you very rarely hear a stadium sing to its manager.’

Speaking of Benítez, what kind of a person is he?
     
    ‘Rafa is very much on top of you, correcting your positions, studying your every movement on the pitch. For me, for example, when it’s my turn to play on his side of the pitch, I always listen to him. It’s as if he has a joystick to move me around – forwards, stay still, back. It’s true he gives a lot of orders but he improves all his players.’

A survey by (the Italian newspaper)
La Gazzetta dello Sport
elected him as the best trainer, ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson, José Mourinho and Fabio Capello …
     
    ‘I haven’t worked with the others but I’m sure that Rafa is one of the best, especially because of the constant dedication he gives to his work. I think there are few managers that spend so many hours studying football like he does.’
    ‘See you, it’s been a pleasure,’ says Álvaro Aberloa as he moves off towards the training complex accommodation.

Chapter 26
Third Place
     
    2 December 2008
    ‘What the hell is wrong with you? Fernando Torres is your candidate for the
Ballon d’Or
(European Footballer of the Year) – 33 league goals, the best foreign debutant ever in the Premier League, the scorer of the winning goal in the European championships, the most important in 44 years of Spanish football history and yet he’s not your candidate. Why not? Why, in Catalunya, their candidate was Lionel Messi and then Xavi Hernández? Why in Madrid their candidate was Iker Casillas?’
    The strongly voiced thoughts of an imaginary Englishman, who, in autumn 2008, is desperately trying to understand why the Spanish never unite behind El Niño. Liverpool’s Number 9 is a strong candidate amongst the 30 nominations for the
Ballon d’Or
prize awarded by
France Football
magazine, thanks to his goals for the Merseyside club and his winning strike in the final of Euro 2008. Nevertheless, for him, his nomination seems incredible: ‘When I saw that Kaká, Ronaldino and Zidane had won the
Ballon d’Or
,’ he says in an interview with
Eurosport
, ‘I thought they were players from a different planet and I could never get to their level. And then after Euro 2008, they talked about me alongside other great footballers. For me, that’s incredible. I can’t say that it was a dream because I never considered the possibility. I never thought I would even be near. Even today, I still see it as something that is a long way off.’
    And yet Torres is on the list and forms part of a strong Spanish presence: Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Marcos Senna, Xavi Hernández, Cesc Fabregas and David Villa. An explanation from El Niño: ‘The trophy (Euro 2008) has catapulted us into a position from which we can compete for individual recognition.’ However, for Torres, Cristiano – the overwhelming favourite to win the top prize – has been ‘the best, the most consistent. He’s played at a very high level. He’s won the Premier League, he’s won the Champions League and scored in the final. He’s been the top scorer in all competitions and he won the Golden Boot. I think it’s very rare that a player has achieved so much to win. Let’s hope I get near. Let’s hope I’m in the first three. For me, that would be sufficient,’ explains Torres.
    Cristiano Ronaldo, the Manchester United Number 7, is certainly the strongest candidate and the sure-fire winner of the
France Football
prize – no debate. The Portuguese from Madeira has played the perfect season and 2008 has been his year. He has bagged an impressive total of 42 goals (31 in the Premier League and eleven in the Champions League). At Euro 2008, he was disappointing. His Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals but the European tournaments