Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

times when a player has a great season but doesn’t win any trophies and that affects him. What’s important is to be one of the candidates for many years. Look at Gerrard, he’s always been in the top ten but has never won the prize and he deserves it. But he goes on giving his best.’

Chapter 27
A Hartung
     
    Conversation with England manager Fabio Capello
    His name is on the entry phone. After pressing the button you are let into the hallway of a nineteenth-century villa, where a lift takes you to the fourth floor. The narrow compartment door slides open and there on the other side is Fabio Capello, sporting a geometrically patterned sweater, blue shirt and designer glasses. The England manager invites the visitor into his sitting room. At the end is a huge window looking out on a beautiful private garden with ancient trees and, shining through the mist, an immaculate lawn and tennis court – a silent, tranquil and elegant location right in the centre of London. A computer and various documents sit on top of a long table – the ex-manager of Milan, Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid had brought work home from his FA office.
    During the next two days he will be performing a spectator marathon, watching all four games involving Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal, ahead of their appearances in the quarter-finals of the (2008–09) Champions League. There is still some time before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but the England coach must always keep a close eye on the European tournaments and the Premier League, as well as the players who will make up the basic structure of the team that will probably represent his last campaign in the dugout. This is a manager who doesn’t beat about the bush, so it’s best to get straight to the point.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi and Torres: European Footballer of the Year, one, two and three and the same order for the FIFA World Player of the year. What do you think?
     
    ‘Cristiano Ronaldo is a very good, very dangerous and very technical player with great pace. Messi is a genius, no one in the world today has his talent. He can do extraordinary things. As for Torres, let’s say that last year he burst onto the scene and did very well. The 2007–08 season was his coming-of-age. Here in England he’s succeeded in doing what he failed to do in La Liga – score goals. In Spain, everyone acknowledged his tremendous skills and pace but in front of goal he lacked coolness and ability. Obviously the change of climate has served him well – and how! Here, he’s become a truly impressive goal-scorer via his ability to put the ball in the back of the net by every means possible.’

How is such a major transformation possible?
     
    ‘That’s something I’ve asked myself too. Probably he needed to leave Madrid. He needed more responsibility.’

But he had responsibility at Atlético – he was captain and was just eighteen at the time …
     
    ‘Here he’s feeling more responsibility because of what they paid for him. And perhaps this has produced the step-up in quality. Psychologically, it’s helped him. At least that’s what I believe.’

Maybe English football is well suited to his style of play?
     
    ‘Yes, Torres has the sort of speed and pace that often wrong-foots English central defenders – they are a bit slower and have more experience in coping with high balls than a passing game. And one should also say that here, like all the other foreign players, he’s learned to play with few interruptions and with more physical contact. So to sum up, it’s not only his technique but also his running, understanding and physical condition.’

Have Liverpool and Rafa Benítez had an important role in this transformation?
     
    ‘Undoubtedly. For him to be playing alongside Gerrard, the standard-bearer of Liverpool, has given him a real enthusiasm.’

What has Torres brought to Liverpool?
     
    ‘The certain knowledge of having someone up front that can create alarm. You know that, at any moment, with even just a half-chance, he can create a goal. He’s got great pace, he’s not afraid, he has good technique, is strong and smart. These are the skills of a good striker.’

Liverpool almost always use Torres as a lone striker …
     
    ‘That’s right but it’s not just Liverpool that plays like that. Now when I hear people talking about formations, it makes me laugh. I say that the modern formation is 9 + 1. There are nine who defend, leaving