The youngest of three siblings in the family, Fernando Torres was born in Fuenlabrada, about 22 kilometers from the Spanish capital. At the age of 5, he joined the local Pargue 84 club, following in the footsteps of his older brother Israel and learning the techniques of goalkeeping.
Every day, his mother, Flory Sands, accompanies Torres to and from the training ground, and he has been immersed in football since he was a child. Torres' grandfather was not an avid football fan, but he is still proud to be a supporter of Atletico Madrid, because more people in this small town are real Madrid fans. Grandfather took Torres to the Vincent Calderon Stadium to watch the game, which later became a temple to witness Torres's glorious moments, and it was also a haven from the wind, a warm home for him after walking through the trough.
At the age of 7, Torres took off his goalkeeper gloves. He joined Mario's Holland, another community club, and became a striker, a shift that ultimately propelled his football career to success.
Torres credited his love of football to the Japanese manga Soccer Boy, who recalled the story in the manga about two young children who started at school, played for the youth team, the national team step by step, and finally won the World Cup. Nineteen years later, Torres turned the story in the comics into reality.
At the age of 10, Torres experienced 11-a-side football for the first time, when he played for a team called Rayo 13, where he scored 55 goals in his first season, and thus qualified for the team's only three trials to go to Atletico Madrid's youth training.
In 1995, Torres officially joined Atletico.
After honing his atletico youth system, Torres signed his first professional contract at the age of 15. In May 2001, in a match against Leganes, Torres made his Atletico first-team debut. At the time, Atletico were a far cry from their current position as European giants, faltering in the La Liga before the 2001-02 season. In 2002, Atletico finally returned to La Liga, a season in which Torres scored six goals and played a behind-the-scenes role in the promotion process.
The following season, Atletico cemented their position in La Liga with a record of 11th place, and in his first season in La Liga, Torres scored 13 goals, which attracted the attention of European football. In July 2003, Atletico's Atletico-based Romain Abramovich presented Atletico with an offer of £28 million, which was rejected by Atletico's board. Torres' value continued to rise after his national team debut in September 2003. In 2003-04, with 19 goals, Torres reached the top three of La Liga's top scorers for the first time, behind Ronaldo and Baptista. At the age of 19, Atletico appointed Torres as captain. "Golden Boy" Torres is destined to become a shining star.
Chelsea visited again in 2006 and were once again turned away. But during this period, there was a growing awareness that Atletico could no longer keep Torres. After scoring 82 league goals for Atletico Madrid with the pride of his grandfather, Torres eventually left Madrid as a fairy tale protagonist. In 2007, he signed a six-year contract with Benitez's Liverpool. This is the final chapter of a beautiful story and the beginning of another beautiful story. Torres entered the golden age of his illustrious career.
It was the biggest signing in Liverpool's history, with Benitez saying in a later interview that Liverpool had only paid Atletico £20 million, but that Luis Garcia's transfer had to be taken into account. Despite carrying a variety of titles and expectations from all sides, Torres was very relaxed, and he immediately fulfilled his promise when he joined, setting off a red storm in the Premier League. The newcomer – affectionately known as "El Niño ( another nickname for the 'Holy Child' since then known as Torres due to the El Niño phenomenon) – scored 24 goals in his Premier League debut season, becoming the first Liverpool player to score more than 20 goals in a single season since Robbie Fowler in 1995-96. The team advanced to the Champions League fourth in the league.
Liverpool has born a new icon, "Fernando Torres, Liverpool's No. 9" becoming the most popular fan song at Anfield Stadium. Torres rekindled the love and adoration he had at the Calderon Stadium.
After an outstanding Premier League season, Torres's dazzling performances in the 2008 Euro 2008 final added to his success at the club. Chelsea struggled for the third time to get Torres and their offer was raised to £50m. This time, Torres personally dispelled speculation about his future at Liverpool, stating that he would consider leaving after "many years" at Anfield, while admitting that he hoped to eventually return to Atletico and achieve his unfinished business in his hometown.
In the 2008-09 season, despite injuries, Torres had two memorable wins, a 4-0 win over Real Madrid at Anfield and a 4-1 win over Ferguson Atford at the Old. In the match against Blackburn, Torres also scored one of the most brilliant goals in Premier League history.
In August 2009, Torres signed a new contract at Liverpool. He found a new home in Merseyside and enjoyed life here. Torres is not a typical superstar with international fame – his fame is just a derivative of his illustrious athletic career, which is inevitable, nothing more. The shy by nature of Torres remained introverted after great success – never seeking the limelight.
In May 2009, Torres and Aurora Dominguez married. No complicated celebrations, no crazy parties. There were only two guests at a private ceremony held at a small local town hall in El Escoria, Madrid.
He is an ordinary man who makes a living from football. In this day and age, astronomical incomes and extravagant lifestyles are stereotypes of top footballers, but Torres is the opposite of them. He always avoids making headlines and when away from the pitch he only wants to spend quiet time with his family and friends. "I am a very ordinary person, and I feel most comfortable and relaxed there [where I have friends and family]." Torres said.
Far from the sunny streets of Fuen Labrada, in the overcast merseyside, Torres has a strong affection for the city of Liverpool.
Not all the joy is as simple as his self-proclaimed love of ice cream and the Beatles. He bought the Aston Martin DBS sports car driven by James Bond in the 007 series of films Casino Royale, a rare exception to the extravagance of a restrained and modest man.
After losing 1-0 to Marseille in 2007, Torres returned home with a sense of frustration: "The way I decided to vent my frustration was to piece together the two pieces of furniture in the living room. ”
The pragmatic yet unorthodox Torres always had a unique way of presenting himself – a charismatic aspect of his personality.
On the pitch, Torres' upward momentum showed no signs of slowing down. In December 2009, he was named to the WORLD's Best 11-man squad for the second consecutive year. Despite shortening his season with knee surgery in April, he went on to be the team's top scorer with 22 goals. In the summer, he recovered from injury in time to catch the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Although Torres, who had just recovered from injury, was mediocre from an individual performance point of view, with Iniesta's winning goal in extra time in the final, Torres became the world champion with the team.
Since then, however, at club level, the situation has rapidly deteriorated. Under Roy Hodgson, Liverpool entered a dark period in the club's history, which also affected Torres' performances, and his form began to decline sharply when expectations of him were difficult to meet. During Torres' time at Liverpool, the Reds failed to win any trophies, frustration, and for Torres it was completely understandable.
On 27 January 2011, Chelsea's £40 million offer was once again rejected. But Torres then applied for a formal transfer application, and on the transfer deadline, the Reds sent Torres to Stamford Bridge for £50 million, which also set the Record for England's transfer at the time. After nearly a decade of chasing, Chelsea have finally got the player of their dreams.
But it wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration to compare this transfer to jumping off a cliff or falling into the abyss. Cruel but realistic, one of the world's best strikers will be the most popular jokes and jokes among the media and fans.
Meanwhile, Torres also cut ties between him and the Liverpool fans, who lost support and admiration at Anfield, who was no longer Merseyside's hero but a traitor in the mouths of the fans – choosing to turn around and leave when the situation in the team became difficult.
At Liverpool, no player has shown loyalty and dedication more than Gerrard, yet things don't seem to have changed much after the Reds captain made pro-Torres remarks. He said publicly to Torres: "Be yourself and make the decisions that you think are in your best interest." You don't need to prove anything to anyone. ”
More fans still believe that Torres' decision was selfish, motivated only by a better pay. But the truth may be closer to Gerrard's words, and Torres doesn't need to prove anything. His efforts were not enough to propel Liverpool to glory, and it is not his fault alone. Torres' performance at Liverpool was omnipotent: speed, concentration, amazing marksmanship and an almost telepathic tacit understanding with Gerrard. At his peak, Torres wanted to fight for more honors in the highest level of the team and fight for the trophy. Chelsea is an overly alluring destination that cannot be ignored. A player's career is so short that Torres wants to make the most of it.
It's just that, as it turns out, for Torres, London's meadows haven't gotten any greener. Stamford Bridge fans could not give him the same level of adoration and love. In the 2010-11 season, he scored only one goal. Whether it's knee surgery that suppressed his former rhythm or the emotional and psychological impact of leaving Liverpool on him, Torres became a shadow of his past self – a lion whose mane had been cut off.
But Torres was destined to be a child of divine favor. In April 2012, his final-minute goal at camp Nou helped Chelsea eliminate barcelona from another planet, which was almost invincible at the time, in the Champions League. In the final in Munich, they defeated Bayern, who were playing at home, through a penalty shootout, lifting the Champions League trophy for the first time in the team's history. Torres achieved his original intention and goal of transferring.
At Euro 2012, Torres returned to the international arena and was crowned the Golden Boot, with Spain winning the trophy for the third consecutive time in a row. In the 4-0 win over Italy in the final, Torres came off the bench and scored after coming on. Perhaps, it was a false dawn, or the last moment of glory before the slow and painful decline, but in the honor book, Torres was undoubtedly one of the happiest people in the world.
In 2012, a reunion with Benitez briefly improved Torres' form, but it was far from the same as the red-robed striker of the year. Torres himself suffered from difficulties in returning to his peak. He likened his time at Chelsea to "swimming in wet clothes". In the 2013-14 season, under Mourinho, the end of Torres' Blues career was inevitable, and half a season later, he scored only one goal. In January 2015, Torres moved to AC Milan and a few days later he returned to Spain on loan at Atletico.
Calderon's hero is on his way home, and the fans are looking forward to it, which has nothing to do with what he can bring to the club at this moment. In the second leg of the Copa del Rey round of 16, Torres scored two goals, Atletico eliminated the city's sworn rivals Real Madrid, yesterday's glory years have passed for several years, but the love of Calderon fans is still warm. As early as his peak, Torres had announced that he would be on his way home, and although the core of the team, Griezmann, occupied the headlines of atletico's news page, there was always a place in the hearts of fans that belonged only to Fernando Torres. In February 2016, he scored his 100th goal for the club.
The last stop in Torres, choose to head to the East. But for Atletico Madrid, his glory days at Calderon will forever be a golden memory for fans. Torres is a symbol of the club's ability to successfully develop world-class talent.
Fernando Torres has grown from a high-profile youngster to a world-class player at Liverpool, yet as Torres said after leaving Anfield: "Those three and a half years changed my life. I had almost everything except the title. I felt like a king, but the team was falling apart. ”
Perhaps Torres will never be considered Liverpool's greatest player, but his extraordinary performance at Anfield will be remembered. In 2015, Liverpool hosted an All-Star charity game at home, in which Torres re-stepped on Anfield lawn, and the fan song of "Fernando Torres, Liverpool's No. 9" was rekindled in the stands. Time cools people's anger and returns people's sanity to re-examine history. At this moment, the Reds fans are full of gratitude for all that Torres has dedicated to the club.
Not many people will be able to feel the career that Torres has gone through, and people have witnessed a spectacular spectacle in football, rising and falling rapidly. As the most feared striker in all of Europe, the whole world has been trampled under his feet, but his loss and fall are so unpredictable, regrettable and sad. Still, when he returned to Atletico, Torres wrote a romantic football story – from a club as a teenager to a world-renowned superstar, and when he fell into the abyss, he returned to where it all began.
At Liverpool, with the club's resurgence, more tolerant fans will still recall the wonderful memories that Torres made for them, looking back fondly at his time at Anfield. In Fuen Labrada, where he was born, a stadium was named after him.
After a journey through football intertwined with glorious peaks and painful underestimations, Fernando Torres deserves to be recognized by history as a representative of Spain's golden generation. And at the Calderon Stadium, he will always be a hero, an eternal legend of Atletico Madrid.
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