Torres: An Intimate Portrait of the Kid Who Became King

match – the one who’d scored at Stamford Bridge and in the Emirates Stadium, who’d dominated Chelsea in the closing minutes – isn’t able to meet expectations. He’s not the Reds’ extra weapon. The kid from Fuenlabrada, who should have taken his revenge in the Bernabéu, is thwarted. But at least he returns to England with the first victory of his career against his eternal rivals – thanks to the diminutive Israeli, Heinze, who, in the 80th minute, pulls down Liverpool’s Kuyt and is punished with a free-kick on the right. Fabio Aurelio takes responsibility, places the ball, surveys the options and puts in a dipping cross. Yossi Benayoun arrives from behind, completely unmarked, and with all the time in the world, leaps up to head the ball under the crossbar, leaving Casillas clutching thin air. The 6,000 travelling fans are delirious. The Bernabéu is struck dumb while the
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end up, as usual, fighting amongst themselves.
    Liverpool had won by putting a perfect plan into action. As Mascherano and Arbeloa explained, the match went according to the prepared script: ‘We subdued Higuaín and Robben, the only two with speed and the ability to overlap. Now we’ve done the hard part,’ said the Argentinian.
    ‘We knew the match could be decided with a corner or a penalty or a counter-attack and that’s what we were able to do. This is how we’ve played knockout ties for years,’ explained the Spaniard. Rafa Benítez could put on a relaxed face at the press conference. Before anything else, the exmanager of Real Madrid B denied the rumours circulating before the game that he had already handed in his resignation to the Liverpool club owners. William Hill and Sky Bet had been forced to suspend all wagers on Benítez, after too many punters had put their money on the manager no longer being in charge from the following Monday. He calmed the waters saying that his lawyers had been negotiating and that he would be talking personally with Tom Hincks and George Gillett. Once that subject was cleared up, the Liverpool manager went on to explain: ‘We had in mind to play a very defensive game and to come out on the counter-attack. This we did and it worked for us with the goal from Benayoun. We have a very important win, although the tie isn’t over. There are still 90 very difficult minutes left and we will have to concentrate at all times.’ Benítez could also derive personal satisfaction – both as a Spaniard and as a manager – for sending out a team in the Bernabéu with five more Spanish players than Madrid: ‘chorreo? (referring to the word ‘chorrear’, used by Real Madrid president Vicente Boluda)
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Experience suggests that one should talk on the pitch and my players have done that very well in the name of Liverpool. I am very proud.’ Of Torres, he added: ‘He was very affected by his ankle and we decided to take him off when he couldn’t go on. I don’t think he’ll be able to play on Saturday either.’
    From there, it went like this: against second-from-bottom Middlesbrough, The Kid didn’t play and the Reds lost 2-0, which allowed Chelsea into second place and they went six points behind Manchester United. Torres still wasn’t fit, even for the game on 3 March at Anfield against Sunderland (2-0 for Liverpool). The injury wasn’t improving as rapidly as everyone had been expecting. The ankle continued to cause problems but the Number 9 was optimistic he’d be there for the return against Real. He was certain it would be a difficult match, despite the away-goal advantage. You have to beware of Real, he said, they’ll want to come out and kill off the game as quickly as possible to secure their passage to the next round. He said he wasn’t surprised at the welcome he got in the Bernabéu and had been expecting it. ‘They’ve always been like that to me when I’ve played there. They even whistled at me in a friendly when I was playing in a World XI. In England, they’re not so hard on you. There are rivalries there as well but the fans are more respectful. There are different ways of understanding football,’ he explained and added that whatever the atmosphere at the Bernabéu, ‘it’s nothing compared to Anfield. I don’t think there’s a stadium like ours anywhere else in the world’.
    He was right. The 3,000 followers of Madrid that fill the Anfield Road Stand on 10 March at 7.45pm realise it too as the teams come out onto the pitch. They understand what it