He is a legend in football, with a keen interest and talent for football from a young age, he grew into an excellent striker at Atletico Madrid, he reached the pinnacle of his career at Liverpool, he experienced lows and rebirths at Chelsea, he sought new challenges at AC Milan and Tosu Sandstone, he made a glorious history with the Spanish national team. He is a perfect scorer with speed, superb shooting, excellent header, balanced left and right feet, he is a brave, strong, dedicated, excellent captain, he is a loyal, humble, friendly, charitable good man. He has nicknames such as "Holy Child", "Golden Boy", "Tonyu", he also has the title of "winner in life", because he has received numerous honors and awards in the field of football, he also has a happy family and many fans.
His name is Fernando Torres and this is his story.
1. The birth of the Holy Child
Fernando Torres was born on March 20, 1984, in a non-sporting family, he has an older brother and an older sister. But he had a keen interest and talent for football from an early age, and he joined his first team, Parque 84, in 1989 and played in local football competitions. And his grandfather, a big fan of Atletico Madrid, told Torres the name of the team and since then he has aspired to be part of it, "When I was a kid, there were 24 people in the class, 23 of them supported Real Madrid, but I don't, I only love Atletico Madrid. "It's a bland description of Torres. At first he was a goalkeeper on the pitch and later transformed into a striker. In 1991, he joined another local team, Mario's Holland, where he showed great offensive ability. In 1992, his family moved to Estorde, Galicia, and the following year he was taken by his father to the trophy room of Atletico Madrid, where he was fascinated by those shining trophies. When he was ten years old, he played for the "Rayo 13" team and scored 55 goals in one season, which gave him a tryout at Atletico Madrid, and his performance amazed the coaches, so Torres was officially included in the youth system of Atletico Madrid in 1995, starting his legendary path.
Torres continues his progress and growth in the youth academy at Atletico Madrid, with outstanding performances at all ages. He also began his national team career, representing Spain Under-15, Under-16, Under-17, Under-18, Under-19 and Under-21 in various international competitions and scoring many goals. He helped Spain U16 win the European Junior Championship in 2001 and won the Golden Boot. He helped Spain Under-19 win the European Junior Championship in 2002 and won the Player of the Year award.
Torres made his first team appearance for Atletico Madrid in 2001 at the age of 17 and it was a dream come true. With his speed, shooting skills and headers, he quickly became the team's main striker and the youngest captain in Atletico Madrid's history.
He helped the team return to La Liga and scored 19 league goals in 2003-04, setting a personal best and finishing third in La Liga's top scorers. The young Torres became a hero and icon in the hearts of fans, however, Torres also longed for higher honors and challenges.
Second, go to England, a new journey
Torres left Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2007 to join Premier League giants Liverpool. It was a surprising transfer as Torres is the captain of Atletico Madrid and an idol for fans, who has also once expressed his desire to end his career at Atletico Madrid. However, Torres is also hungry for higher honours and challenges, he is drawn to Liverpool's history and traditions, and he is also confident that he can find his place and joy in Liverpool. He joined Liverpool for a transfer fee of £26 million, becoming the most expensive player in Liverpool's history at the time.
Torres reached the peak of his career at Liverpool, breaking Liverpool's record for the most goals in a single season in 2007-08, scoring 33 goals, 24 of them league goals. He became the first player in Liverpool's history to score 20 league goals in his first season and the first foreign player in Premier League history to score 20 league goals in his first season. This season's outstanding performance earned him the opportunity to play in the 2008 European Championship. The Bull Legion made it all the way to the final, where against Germany he rushed forward into a corner to overtake Ram, fulfilling Espanyol's dream of winning the title with the only goal in the final, as Torres helped the Spanish national team win Euro 2008. A great era began, and Torres was the best witness to it.
Torres showed his speed, shooting and header at Liverpool to become one of the best strikers in the world. He formed a strong squad with players such as Gerrard and Mascherano and caused many problems for opponents. He spent three and a half seasons at Liverpool, scoring 81 goals for the team, including many classic goals.
No one can predict where Torres' ceiling will be if it weren't for injuries, and in 2010 Torres went on to South Africa with Spain to compete in the World Cup, this World Cup, Torres failed to score a single goal in South Africa, but he lifted the Hercules Cup that countless players dreamed of.
Torres lost form and confidence at the start of the 2010-11 season. He has been affected by injuries and transfer rumours, and he is also unhappy with Liverpool's management and tactics. What happened later left many Liverpool fans angry and betrayed, who saw Torres as a traitor and greedy. Torres left a glorious and tragic story at Liverpool.
Third, the trough and highlight of the blue coat
"There was never Tohei, only Tommy and the heartbroken Tomi", former Chelsea boss Abu is probably the craziest Tommy in the world, the Russian billionaire made a 28 million offer when Torres was still at Atletico, and then his offers in the summer of 05,06 were also rejected. Finally, on the last day of January 2011, Torres was brought to Chelsea for a sky-high transfer fee of £50 million, setting a record for the most expensive transfer in Premier League history.
However, Torres has not regained his bravery at Liverpool at Chelsea and has often suffered a goal drought and criticism. He scored just one league goal in his debut season at Chelsea, and only in his 14th game. He spent four seasons at Chelsea scoring 45 goals for the team, many of them insignificant or unremembered.
Despite this, Torres has won Chelsea three FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League, most notably when substitute Torres scored the winning goal in a desperate situation against Barcelona in the 2012 Champions League semi-final. The goal left many Chelsea fans happy and grateful, who saw Torres as a hero and savior.
All doubts, all accusations, all cold eyes vanished against the backdrop of passionate celebration.
Torres also scored a goal in the 2013 Europa League final to help Chelsea win the title. He experienced highs and lows at Chelsea, sometimes ridiculed and disliked, sometimes praised and embraced. He left a complex and contradictory story at Chelsea.
Torres was loaned to Serie A AC Milan by Chelsea in the summer of 2014, where he had two years left on his contract at Chelsea, but Torres, who had failed to find his form, was also looking for a new environment and opportunity, and he believed he could regain his form and confidence in Milan.
Unfortunately, Torres did not find his form at Milan, where he only scored one league goal, and only in the 10th game. He spent half a season at Milan and scored 1 goal for the team, none of which was significant or significant.
Fourth, the golden boy goes home
Torres returned to Atletico Madrid on loan from Milan in January 2015, and after seven years, he finally returned to the Calderón Stadium, where his dream began. On January 4, 2015, the return debut of the former hero attracted around 45,000 fans to Calderón to welcome Torres' return. This delighted and thrilled many Atletico Madrid fans that their heroes went home.
Ten years ago, team-mate Simeone is now the creator of the pinnacle of the Bed Sheets, and it was he who allowed Torres to find his niche in the final years of his career, returning to Calderón, still playing the "Barça killer", scoring twice against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, and the familiar red and white No.9 is back, and he has regained his confidence and joy at Atletico Madrid.
From his loan return to his contract extension, he scored 100 goals of his Atletico career, he played his 300th game for Atletico, and his love for Atletico has never changed, even if he is reduced to a substitute and even if he is no longer young. Unfortunately, Atletico failed to avenge the 2015/16 Champions League final, and that night Torres cried tears about how he was desperate to win the Big Ears Cup for his parent team. Fast forward to the 2017/18 season, Atletico won the Europa League and the European Super Cup, and Torres said after the Europa League that all the trophies he had won before were not as important as today's Europa League winner. Maybe that's the love for Atletico.
Fifth, those who run fast can't run the years
Torres said goodbye four days after winning the Europa League with his team, officially bidding farewell to his red and white playing career at the Metropolitano on 20 May 2018, to the full cheers of Atletico fans.
Leaving Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2018 to join Japan's Saiwa Tosu, Torres spent a season in Japan, scoring five league goals for the team. He encountered some difficulties and challenges in Japan, such as language, customs, and level. He also suffered some injuries. People suddenly realized that the original "golden boy" was old. However, he still tried his best to contribute his strength and experience to the team.
Torres' form is gone and on August 23, 2019 he announced his retirement, ending his illustrious career and officially hanging up his boots.
Whether it is a golden boy or a winner in life, whether it is full of honor or regret, Torres' story will eventually come to an end, like a river of time, irreversible. Torres' career is undoubtedly brilliant, he has won countless trophies such as the World Cup, European Championship, Champions League, Europa League, major league titles, etc., and can be called a Grand Slam player in football, but his career is also full of injuries, and his talent is constrained. But no matter what, Torres' story is moving enough to carry the youth of countless fans, and that's enough.
After retiring, Torres became the head coach of Atletico Madrid's youth team, responsible for developing and mentoring the next generation of players. He uses his experience and knowledge to help young players improve their skills and psychology and make them better players and people. Once he was the Holy Child of Atletico, now he returns with a new identity, his football story continues, and he continues his love and contribution to football in his own way.