Torres
Page 15
Something new for him. Just as the football experience in England is enjoyable and new: ‘The fans are with your team to the death, win or lose. They are always behind their side and at away games as well. Normally in Spain, when you are substituted there is a huge amount of whistling yet here the crowd stand up and applaud you!’ And then there is Benítez, the manager who pampers him and teaches him new things each day, and there is the captain who is showing him what it means to be the team leader at a great club.
To sum up, he is enthusiastic about the choice he has made. Because at Liverpool, freed from the game he played at Atlético, he doesn’t feel like a star who has to deal with everything – the good and the bad – but just an important player along with lots of others. The only regret is that he’s had to leave his country, because in Spain they realised what he was worth. A month later, the fresh respect of the Spaniards will become devotion and eternal gratitude.
Chapter 19
He’s going to stay
Conversation with former Liverpool player and manager, Kenny Dalglish
He hasn’t lost his Scottish accent. It’s hard and dry, while at the same time, takes on a brusque tone. Apart from that, ‘The King’ or ‘The Legend’ as everyone calls him, is a normal person – pleasant, informal, very gracious and a bit shy. He’s not a great one for talking but when he does, it’s on an informed, friendly and helpful basis. He shuns high-sounding words and concepts and prefers to call a spade a spade to explain how he sees things. And at the time of writing, it has been announced that he is returning to be a part of Rafa Benítez’s technical team in an advisory capacity, developing young players and sporting reports. News which all of Anfield would welcome with enormous pleasure. Because Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish, who was 58 in March and born in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, is top of the list of 100 Players Who Shook The Kop. Between 1977 and 1991, with the Reds, he won the unimaginable as both player and player-manager. He scored a fantastic 173 goals (added to the 112 he scored between 1969 and 1977 wearing the green and white of Celtic).
He was also witness to the most tragic moments of modern football: on 29 May 1985 the final against the Juventus of Michel Platini, with 39 bodies on the field of play, and on 15 April 1989, the Hillsborough disaster, with its burden of 96 dead. He has brought excitement to crowds across Europe. Apart from Liverpool, he has managed Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and Celtic. But he maintains that he has never felt himself to be a legend and that it’s others who create legends. He has similar biographical details to Fernando. As a small boy at school, he began playing in goal, he was also a striker, his sign of the Zodiac is also Pisces, and he was also the Reds’ most expensive signing. But for King Kenny, all this is just coincidence. What is certain is that he gave his blessing to Torres immediately after his second hat-trick. ‘This boy,’ he said, ‘is the best buy that any club in Europe has made this season.’
And what does he think now? What’s the best match that Fernando Torres has had during his two years at Liverpool?
‘There’s not really one game for me, it’s just what Fernando is. He seems very mature for his age. He seems someone that a lot of Spanish players will look up to as a leader. On the football pitch, for Liverpool, he’s certainly made a massive contribution. He’s just scored his 50th goal for Liverpool in 85 games, which is as good as anyone ever got in getting 50 goals. It’s a fantastic achievement. He’s the right man for Liverpool. He has committed himself to the way of life in Liverpool. He’s learned the language very quickly. He seems very settled and he’s very happy with life at the moment and his football as well,’
Have their been any games that have really showcased his particular talents?
‘He did very well at Manchester United this year, when Liverpool won 4-1, and he made a valuable contribution with his playing. He gave Vidic (Manchester United defender, Nemanja Vidic), who had played a very, very good season up until then, a really tough time. Also in the previous year, when he scored his goal against Chelsea in the first half. He took it brilliantly. I think he’s had many good games but Manchester United would be the pick of it because of the close rivalry. He also scored and done well against Everton in the league match when he played with Robbie Keane upfront. There’ll be a lot of games he can look back on and be very satisfied with what he’s done. But one of the big problems is going to be trying to keep him fit because both Spain and Liverpool want to play as many matches as they possibly can and it’s not always possible.’
How has he managed to adapt so quickly to the history of the club and to the way Liverpool play?
‘Yes, he’s done it very quickly and it’s a great compliment to him. It’s helped that the manager’s Spanish and there are some other Spanish players in the squad. It’s always nice to see a face that you know when you arrive at a football club and it’s nice to know that the manager is of the same nationality. Fernando has settled in magnificently well and he’s been fantastic for Liverpool. The unfortunate thing this season is that he was injured for a few games and that’s been a wee problem for him this season. It’s been a problem for Liverpool and then he’s got to go to the Federations Cup, which is a competition about nothing and there won’t be too many managers who’ll be happy that they (Spain) will be playing that. It’s a meaningless competition and it’s only a reflection of them having won the European Championship last year. That was a fantastic achievement for Spain and Fernando played his part in that but the players need a rest. This’ll be three years on the road now, that they have been playing football.’
What are the main differences and similarities between Liverpool when you were a player and the Liverpool today of Rafa Benítez and Fernando?
‘Liverpool, for all their history, have always had the same philosophy about how they want to play football. I don’t think that’s changed. I don’t think there is a huge difference. Nowadays, there’s much greater competition because there are a lot more clubs who are able to compete financially than there were when we were playing. I think it’s always difficult to go back and compare what happened in the past. I think you just analyse what’s happening in the present time and I think this year that Liverpool have improved with what they’ve achieved this year and if they continue the improvement then they’ll go even closer next year to winning the Premier League.’
Having met Fernando on two or three occasions, what is he like?
‘He’s a very mature young lad and very respectful. He understands the tradition of Liverpool Football Club and he respects the people that come along and support him. He’s one of the favourites of the fans but he doesn’t take it for granted and they really respect him. So I would think that if he was your son, you’d be very proud of him as a person and a footballer. He’s a fantastic footballer.’
What are the similarities between you and Fernando?
‘Maybe we’ve got the same colour of hair – that’s about all!’
Which Liverpool player from the past most resembles Torres?
‘There’s nobody similar. I think you’re your own person. I don’t think any two footballers are the same. I think he’s his own person but it’s inevitable that people draw comparisons with previous Liverpool players, but he’s Fernando Torres and that’s all he’s got to be. He’s got to be himself. He compares favourably with anything that anyone else has done for this football club as regards goals, so to me he’s done tremendously well, but I wouldn’t say he was similar to any of the players that I’ve seen.
What does Liverpool need to do to get to the same level as Manchester United and to win the Premier League?
‘Well, they’re getting better and they’ve got closer this year than they’ve ever been before, so I’m sure this summer that Rafa will be busy trying to identify what he thinks he can do to improve the team to go that one step further than they went this year. But to go from two to one is a big, big step and although it doesn’t seem much, it’s a huge, huge step to take forward. But the best person to know and the
person that everyone is going to trust to find it out is Rafa Benítez. So I’m sure Rafa will get in a couple of players who he thinks are going to be of benefit to the club and we’ll have to wait until next season to find out if that’s the case.’
How do you see the future of Fernando Torres in Liverpool?
‘The future’s very bright for Fernando Torres at Liverpool. I’m sure he’s going to stay here.’
You were at Anfield for the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough. You saw Fernando and all the team – it’s a special day for Liverpool, no?
‘Hillsborough is a very special event for us, the people of Liverpool, because it’s twenty years this year. But also it’s very much a part of the history of Liverpool Football Club, the same as any cup success would be. It’s there in the history, it’s there in the memory and it will never be forgotten, the families will never be forgotten. It’s very important to the people in Liverpool that they understand that and that the people who come and play for Liverpool understand it. I don’t think there’s much more you can add to Hillsborough than for me to say that.’
Having been a manager of Liverpool yourself, what suggestions can you give to Fernando Torres?
‘I would just say to Fernando Torres: Continue what you’ve done because you’ve done it very well. Enjoy yourself and we’ll all keep our fingers crossed that we’re going to get the prize that everybody would love them to get and that’s more success.’
Chapter 20
Spain 4 Russia 1
10 June 2008
A striker is selfish by definition. He only sees the space marked out by two posts, eight feet high and an 8-yard crossbar. He doesn’t look around him, he doesn’t look for the unmarked team-mate. He doesn’t have time because he’s looking for the goal. His only thought is to get the ball over that goddamned white line. In whatever way possible. He only thinks of scoring. And his skill is what everyone – manager, team-mates, fans and commentators – wants from him. It’s his obsession because he knows that whatever marvels he’s able to perform on the pitch, however many opponents he can get past, however many miles he runs, however much work he does for the team, in the end he’ll be judged on the number of goals scored. And he’ll leave the pitch with a bad taste in his mouth if he hasn’t put away at least one.
But, occasionally, he understands that rules get broken, that the Number 9 looks up and sees a friendly shirt he can trust and instead of finishing off a move, instead of being selfish, he chooses to be generous or, better still, takes the correct and easiest option, the most direct route to goal, the action that benefits the side and makes all the team into winners.
And this is what he understands in the 20th minute of Spain’s debut in Euro 2008 as Luis Aragonés’ team take on the Russia of Guus Hiddink in Innsbruck’s Neu Tivoli stadium in Austria. A long ball and Fernando Torres uses his pace to unsettle Kolodin. The Russian defender no longer knows what to do, loses his head, is not able to deal with the red lightning at his side and gives the ball away to El Niño. With some metres still to run, goalkeeper Akinfeez comes out of his goal and throws himself to the ground but doesn’t get to the ball. Fernando sees that David Villa, the Valencia striker and his international team-mate, has been following the play. A textbook cut-back and there’s nothing more that Spain’s Number 7 has to do other than put the ball into an empty goal. And then the celebration. The two strikers embrace, Villa beckons to Torres, they end up on the ground while their team-mates arrive and pile on top. So much celebration in fact that Villa injures the index finger on his right hand, a hairline crack that puts his participation in the following match in doubt.
Freeze frame: the ball, fired in by Villa, still hasn’t hit the back of the net, two disorientated Russian defenders watch the action while El Niño is already smiling. Happy with what he’s done. The rapport between the two is repeated a little later but Villa can’t beat the opposing keeper – the shot is too forced because of tight marking. And it doesn’t end there. On 44 minutes, Villa latches onto a magnificent through-ball from Iniesta to make it 2-0. When ‘El Guaje’ (‘The Kid’, or ‘El Niño’ in the language of Villa’s native Asturias) scores the third of his hat-trick, the other Niño is no longer on the field. The manager has taken him off in the 54th minute to send on a midfielder, Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas. It’s a substitution the Number 9 doesn’t like at all and which generates a long drawn-out debate. But there is a gesture from Villa to remember – after scoring the third goal of his hat-trick, he runs towards the bench to embrace Torres and dedicates the goal to him.
‘I embraced Fernando because people are talking a lot about him, that he’s not feeling good, that he doesn’t feel a part of things, that it’s difficult for him. I dedicated it to him because I scored but it was Torres who found the way in. I took all the praise for finishing off the moves but the first two goals were only possible through his help. In the first, the pass was his and in the second he opened up the spaces so that Iniesta could make the final pass. He’s had a really important game. He did great work – all the “dirty work”, that allowed me to do the beautiful bit. I’ve benefited from him and wanted to thank him for it. I wanted to dedicate it to him so that he would be happy,’ said David Villa at the time. A demonstration of friendship that put an end to a long month of controversy.
Voices in the dressing room were saying that the two were incompatible, they didn’t understand each other, they weren’t talking and they were constantly in competition with each other. What’s more, many were putting forward the following theory: if Torres is playing, Villa is on the bench and vice versa. But Innsbruck proved the opposite. ‘In the end, we finished up playing together,’ added Villa, ‘and I have to say that, with him, I felt very good. He’s an exceptional footballer, who can drop to the wing and who works hard for whoever plays alongside him. He’s wonderful.’
The match finishes 4-1 with a final headed goal from Fabregas but there’s no doubting that the hero of the game is El Guaje. A quick glance at the Spanish press headlines confirms it. ‘Illa Illa Illa ¡Villa Maravilla!’ (Marvellous Villa) is the front page headline of Marca, the Madrid sport daily. ‘Villa, the Number 7 of Spain’, shouts ABC, while El Mundo booms ‘Lethal Villa, Lethal Spain’. The last Spaniard to score three goals in the finals of a European Championship was Michel.
Next up was Sweden. Villa has already caught up with Alfonso at the top of the table of Spanish goalscorers in European championship finals. As is to be expected, there is much praise for the lad who comes from the Asturias region of Spain and who grew up in a family of miners. For Torres, the critics are also positive. They say that he’s been rapid, lively, dangerous, demonstrated his class and formed a deadly partnership with Villa. He’s not been seen very much, almost a spectator when the national side was playing the short passing game, but decisive on the counter-attack when he had space to run, like he does at Liverpool. A pity, they say, that he’s on the pitch so little.
‘Torres has come from a long, hard season and he is very important for us. I had to take him off to give strength to the midfield,’ explains Aragonés at the end of the match. He minimises the fact that the Number 9 hadn’t scored: ‘The next day Torres could put away three goals just like Villa.’
What’s certain is that after the first match and the first overwhelming success against a rival that, on paper, seemed a hard nut to crack, the euphoria in Spain is widespread. And it’s also important to point out that this is the seventh consecutive victory for Aragonés’ men in a run of seventeen matches without defeat. But nobody trusts first impressions. Starting with Fernando: ‘We’ve played at a good pace and we’ve been lucky. It’s very important to start like this but we haven’t done anything. Don’t forget what happened to us in the Germany World Cup.’ Yes, Torres knows the failures of the national side all too well, having been a regular participant in recent years. Against Russia he celebrated a Golden Wedding with the side. A round figure of 50 matches and fourteen goals scored (three penal
ties), the numbers of a story that begins on 6 September 2003 at Guimares in Portugal.
He’s called up for the first time with the senior side by Iñaki Sáez, already his mentor from the junior teams. ‘He was the first that I called out of all those lads that I’d known and trained in the Under-16s and Under-19s. A fantastic group that brought us a lot of pleasure. Fernando was the most ready, physically, and he already had a lot of experience – two years in the first team at Atlético. His qualities? A speed and movement bonus, plus a lot of goals. He also had some weak spots to clear up, like receiving the ball with his back to the defender, one-on-ones with the keeper, coordination. But I had to put him on, I had to put on the best,’ remembers Iñaki with pleasure.
For Fernando it’s a dream that is becoming reality. For some time, there’d been talk about his possible call-up but the gaffer hadn’t wanted to give in to those temptations. This time things seem to be different, so during the week before the announcement of the squad for the friendly against Portugal, the Atlético Number 9 is beside himself with excitement. He wants to be part of the ‘club’, to see the national team from the inside, the atmosphere within the group, the training sessions, the prematch preparations. He wants to play with the ‘grown-ups’, and he is fed up of being the lad destined for the Under-21s. He feels that this is the moment. The anticipation is intermittent until the great day finally arrives. He’s in a car with a friend when he learns the good news on the radio. Amongst the 22, his name is included. It’s the moment he’s been anticipating ‘for a long time. Since last season, when I was dreaming so much about being able to join the side,’ he declares in an interview. ‘It’s not that you expect it but it’s more when everyone talks about the same thing, you begin to get worked up about it. But I wasn’t getting down. I knew that one day it would have to be. With each list the debate began but I was apart from all that. I said that I wasn’t in a hurry, that it wasn’t a priority. I never understood all that expectation. They wanted to see me in the national side. Now it’s up to me to show they weren’t mistaken.’