He is Calderón's golden boy, with long blond hair flowing incomparably;
He is Anfield's darling, and he is infinitely beautiful in a red shirt;
He is an outcast of Stamford Bridge, and he laughs and laughs generously;
He is the lucky player of the Bullfighters, and he has created a brilliant team with one hit.
He is the big winner we remember - Fernando Torres.
Torres has a very high popularity among Chinese fans, he has a handsome appearance, superb ball skills, although many people are not his fans, but for Torres, there is no Tohei, only Tommy and the "crazy" Tomi.
The author will act as a Tommy, with three serialized articles to take you into the Torres in the depths of our memory, today I bring you the first serialized article, the full text is more than 3400 words, please enjoy it slowly.
On June 21, 2019, Tosu Sandstone faced Kobe Victory Ship, which was supposed to be just an ordinary match in the 24th round of the Japanese J-League. Torres, however, gave it a different color: it was the farewell race of his career. In the end, Tosu Sandstone lost 6-1 at home to Kobe Victory Ship.
The result of the match is no longer important, the Tosu stadium is full of sadness and goodbye, but for Torres he is happy, because in the opponent's line-up, Iniesta and Villa, two outstanding representatives of Spanish football, will witness Torres' departure firsthand.
Torres and Villa exchanged pleasantries, and these two top scorers and third scorers in Spanish football history suddenly brought us back to the memory of that golden partner. Standing on the sidelines, Iniesta stared affectionately, why he often had tears in his eyes, because it was a farewell to a good friend, but also a farewell to his own imminent turn and leave. Iniesta posted before the game: "You haven't left yet, I'm starting to miss it. ”
Yes, Torres, we started to miss it before you left. The final whistle sounded, and the short 90 minutes seemed to have passed through these 18 years, hurried but long. Torres was thrown high by his teammates, and the appearance uniform he personally designed for this match adopted the classic style of his old club Atletico Madrid in the 90s, and the moment when time was turned back and the world turned back, Calderón's fledgling teenager returned to our eyes.
"At that time, about 1,000 children signed up for the Atletico test, they had been testing for several days and they heard no, no, no, I don't know if anyone passed until they saw Torres" – Jose Torres (Torres' father)
At the age of 10, Torres joined the Atletico Madrid junior team, and in the echelon of Atletico, the slender and fast Torres quickly stood out and began the beginning of this dream journey.
In May 2001 , in the 39th round of the 00/01 La Liga season , the 17-year-old Torres made his professional debut as a substitute against Leganes. But Torres, who made his professional debut at the age of 17, was not happy, and in an interview with reporters, he admitted that he played nervously and did not play well, but the fans gave him a warm welcome. At that time, Atletico were still in the second division, but the arrival of young talent Torres gave Atletico a bright future.
A week later, in the 40th round of La Liga, Torres not only caused two players to be sent off against Albacete, but also scored the first goal of his career. With this goal, Torres' football dream officially set sail at the Calderón Stadium.
After two years of stumbling in La Liga, Atletico returned to La Liga in the 02/03 season and Torres finally waited for the opportunity to compete in the top flight. But at that time, the veteran of the team was not friendly to the freckled teenager, and everyone called him "The Child", which is why Torres later became widely known as the nickname "Holy Child". No one expected that "that kid" would then become Calderón's darling, the youngest captain in the history of Atletico Madrid.
Under the promotion of then-manager Aragonez, Torres scored in his second La Liga game to help his team draw 1-1 at home to Sevilla. In his first La Liga season, Torres eventually scored 13 goals, helping Atletico Madrid, who had just returned to La Liga, to 11th place in the league.
The excellent performance of the first La Liga allowed Torres to gradually win the affirmation and trust of the big brothers in the team, and gradually the title of "that kid" was replaced by Fernando Torres.
In the second season, Manzano succeeded Aragonez as director of Atletico, under Manzano, Torres began to cash in on his talent, and the 19-year-old Torres replaced the old captain Aguilera as the youngest captain in Atletico history, and the "Holy Child" in the eyes of the veteran has become the leader of the team. Torres scored 19 goals in 35 games that season, ranking third in La Liga's top scorers.
Debut is the peak, this is the portrayal of Torres, a blonde hair bathed in the bright sun of Madrid, handsome appearance reveals confidence, perseverance and sunshine, Calderón's golden boy stands in the middle of the stadium, enjoying the applause and cheers of the fans alone.
Since ancient times, the golden boy who has been tempted by the giants and provoked the heroes of the world to bend their waists, and the golden boy who shines at the Calderón stadium can hardly resist the call of the giants, and he will carry his bags and go to a far place, away from home. In the round of 31 of the league against Real Sociedad, Torres' captain's runoff unexpectedly fell off with the words "We will never walk alone", and Golden Boy's next stop was already obvious.
In the 36th round of La Liga away to Tarragona in the 06/07 season, Torres scored the last two goals of his first Atletico career, putting the total number of goals tentatively fixed at 91.
Looking back, it's all your youth. Before leaving, Torres received a special shirt from Atletico Madrid, and the Calderón Stadium bid farewell to their golden boys, their captains, their children in their own unique way.
In the summer of 2007, Torres arrived at Liverpool, as shown on his armband, to Anfield and officially became a member of the Reds. 'Liverpool is one of the best clubs in Europe, a winning team, that's proven and is a trophy in the past and for me it's an opportunity not to be missed.' Facing Torres' opening remarks, Benitez, then Liverpool manager and also Spaniard, showed a satisfied smile.
Torres, who debuted in England, did not show unconvinced, and he soon conquered the knockout of Anfield with his wind-like speed and superb technique. In the third round of the 07/08 Premier League season at home to Chelsea, Torres scored his first goal since joining the army. A month later in the Carabao Cup, Liverpool travelled to Reading at the Madsky Stadium, and Torres scored three goals in the 49th, 72nd and 86th minutes to score his first hat-trick since joining Liverpool.
At Liverpool, the team provided Torres with a stage to display his talents in the Champions League, a highlight he had never had at Atletico. Against Porto, Torres scored twice and opened his account of goals in Europe.
With long flowing hair, a pair of slender legs, a foot on the wheel of wind and fire, wearing a red battle robe, under the cannonball transmission of the two major passing masters Gerrard and Alonso, Torres often staged a solo dragon pool, long-distance running, single-handed personal heroic play, at the same time, he can also ambush the penalty area, move flexibly, and grab points to break the goal. This is 23-year-old Torres, the best Torres, but also the most glorious Torres, he brings speed and passion to Liverpool, and Liverpool fans sing Anfield over and over again with the tailor-made "Torres Song".
In addition to "Torres' Song", Reds fans creatively translated Torres' Spanish nickname "Holy Child" into the English "El Niño", this domineering nickname quickly sounded in the Premier League, this nickname was used appropriately on Torres, "El Niño" swept the entire Premier League and became Torres' strongest symbol in that era.
The 08/09 season was Torres' second season with the Reds, when Torres was more mature and more compatible with the team, and he had the best time with the team. This season, Torres made 46 appearances in all competitions, contributing 33 goals and leading Liverpool to the league title.
In the 29th round of the league, Liverpool away to face direct title rivals Manchester United. Park Ji-sung made a point, Ronaldo scored to take the lead for Manchester United, and in an unfavorable situation where he conceded a goal first, Torres stepped up five minutes later. Scottle slotted his feet, Torres sprinted with all his might, forced overtaking and resisted Vidic and calmly pushed Van der Sar into the far corner to score, this ball fully reflects Torres' personal ability, speed, awareness, confrontation, and immediate kick are perfect. Nemanja Vidic was the first centre-back of the Premier League at the time, and he was embarrassed by the confrontation with Torres.
In this double red game, Liverpool won 4:1 away from home, and the double title rival Manchester United was defeated in the season, but Liverpool people lacked stamina and finally missed the league title, but Torres' performance was amazing enough!
On April 11, 2009, in the 32nd round of the Premier League, Liverpool hosted Blackburn, and in the 5th minute of the game, Abeloa found Torres on the right side of the penalty area in front of the field, Torres stopped the ball at a small angle and volleyed with his right foot straight into the dead corner, setting a good start for Liverpool's four-goal victory over Blackburn, which became the most enjoyable goal of Torres' career.
Unfortunately, Benitez, who led the Reds to the Champions League final twice in three years and staged the Istanbul miracle in 2005, was never able to lead the Reds to further in the Premier League, and after repeatedly failing to reach the league title, Benitez left in the summer of 2010, and Torres lost the manager who was very "called" to him in his best form.
In the 2010/11 season, Hodgson succeeded Benitez as his successor. Hodgson's rigid and conservative tactics were dissatisfied and criticized by his players, and his inappropriate speech made fans extremely disgusted with him. Coupled with the departures of Alonso and Mascherano in the summer of 2010, Liverpool struggled in the first half of the season.
Not only that, at this time, Liverpool was on the verge of bankruptcy, the creditor bank asked the high court to allow the two American owners of Liverpool to sell the team, Torres, who joined the army with a heart for the championship, did not see any hope at this time, and it was at this time that Torres had the idea.
As soon as the winter transfer window opened, Hodgson was sacked by the team and King Dalglish returned to Anfield, "I never thought one person was more important than a team", and Torres' departure has become a reality. In the 24th round of the league, in Liverpool's 3-0 win away at Wolves, Torres scored the last goal of the Reds era.
In 142 games, 81 goals and 20 assists, Torres kept his best years, his best form, at his best, at Anfield, closed the door to him, and since then the "Torres Song" will never resound over Anfield again, and since then "El Niño" has passed through the wind, through the rain, and finally walked away alone. Just the golden boy who shines at Anfield has never been accompanied by a trophy is destined to be the biggest regret of Torres Liverpool's career.
To be continued...