El Nino can go on to become Liverpool's greatest...
Sep 28, 2009 12:34:33 PM
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Liverpool's Fernando Torres celebrates his opener against Chelsea in the Champions League. It didn't last long though.
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When the board went up,
Fernando Torres was not surprised. No look of indignance, no muttering under his breath, no melodramatic trudge off the field. Anfield as one, including the noisy pocket of
Hull City supporters, rose to applaud what had been a centre forward's masterclass. Two beautifully placed left-foot finishes and another impudently taken strike had quelled the threat briefly posed by
Phil Brown's Tigers.
There were still 29 minutes remaining in this game. Enough time for Torres to power his way towards a few more records surely. Andy Cole and Alan Shearer together hold the record of having scored five goals in a Premier League game; the way Torres was slicing through Hull's terrified defence, he stood a great chance of at least matching that here. His replacement, Ryan Babel, managed to breach that defence twice himself.
It is easy to forget sometimes just how young certain players are. Wayne Rooney is one who seems to have been a seasoned professional since his emergence as a 16-year-old - he is 23 -, whilst Cesc Fabregas plays with the maturity and guile of a grandmaster, at the age of 22. Torres falls into a similar category.
His nickname may be "The Kid", but in centre-forward's terms, Torres has served an adult's apprenticeship. Fast-tracked into the Atletico Madrid first team just a couple of months after his 17th birthday, it wasn't long before the local hero was carrying the hopes of the Atleti faithful single-handedly on his shoulders. Atleti have a great tradition of centre-forwards, but with the exception of Francisco Kiko (Torres' hero growing up in Madrid), none have been held in higher esteem at the Vicente Calderon.
Every year there was talk of a big-money switch for Torres. Barcelona were linked, Manchester United sniffed, Arsenal kept an eye on him, even Real Madrid were talked about - Torres has always insisted he would never even contemplate a career in all-white. But still the goals came. Seven in his first full season, 14 in his second. Atleti as ever were far from consistent, except for their number 9, who was fast becoming the hottest property in Spain.
By the age of 19, he was the captain. Extra pressure, extra responsibility, extra goals. His first season as skipper brought 21 goals, and he would eventually leave Atleti having netted 91 times in 233 games. Only Samuel Eto'o, David Villa and Diego Milito scored more league goals in Spain during Torres' time there. And none carried quite the burden Torres shouldered.
His departure to Liverpool in 2007 hurt the Atleti fans, but deep down they knew that he had earned his move. The reception afforded to him whenever he returns to Madrid confirms this notion. Torres was devastated to miss out on a return to the Calderon with the Reds last season, but the Atleti fans made their feelings towards him clear with a series of songs and banners.
Liverpool would be different of course, a club with a long tradition of great strikers would be harder to please. Yet even before he had slowed down Tal Ben-Haim and slotted past Petr Cech on his Anfield debut against Chelsea, Torres was a Kop favourite.
His first season re-wrote the record books in goalscoring terms, 33 goals in 46 games was the best ever debut season return from a foreign player. His 24 Premier League strikes was the best Liverpool return since Robbie Fowler in 1997.
His second season at Anfield was disrupted somewhat by injury, but he still managed to become the fourth quickest Liverpool player to reach 50 goals for the club. Quicker than Fowler, Michael Owen, Kenny Dalglish or Ian Rush. It had taken him 84 games.
And it wasn't just the goals either. It was the variation in the goals, the importance of the goals which set him aside. Trip to Old Trafford? Torres. San Siro? Torres. Real Madrid are in town? Torres. Merseyside derby winners home and away? Torres. Liverpool fans had long been forced to channel all their attacking hope towards Steven Gerrard, now the skipper had someone to share the responsibility. And others stepped up. Torres' movement opened up spaces for the likes of Dirk Kuyt and Yossi Benayoun to exploit with regularity.
This season Torres has been spotlighted over a couple of issues. His willingness to engage in angry dialogue with match officials and opponents earned him a public warning from manager Rafael Benitez, and an admittedly sluggish start to the season - despite yielding three goals in his first six games - meant that for the first time in his Anfield career, El Nino was under pressure.
Some response. Two goals last week at West Ham, followed by yesterday's hat-trick, mean the Spanish superstar now has 58 goals in 92 appearances for Liverpool. And he is just 25. By the time he is 30, King Kenny will be asking for
his autograph.
Neil Jones, Goal.com UK
