Fernando Torres Facts
What goes up must come down. That’s the basic definition of Newton’s law of gravitational bodies. Little did Fernando Torres, who was scoring goals for fun at Liverpool back in 2010, realize that this very law would apply to him after his doomed £50 million move to Chelsea in 2011. From being the golden boy of Anfield, Torres was reduced to an expensive eyesore in the eyes of Roman Abrahamovich at Stamford Bridge. These Fernando Torres facts will surely throw some light on the man who was once the most feared striker in Europe.
Fernando Torres was born on 20th Match 1984 to Jose and Flori Torres in Fuenlabrada, a city on the outskirts of Spain’s capital Madrid. Although Real Madrid is the main club supported in those parts, Torres grew up supporting Atletico – his grandfather’s favourite team. The striker first kicked a football at the age of 5 and soon joined local club Parque 84.
You’d be surprised to know that Torres’ first position was not that of a striker but a goalkeeper, the same role his brother played, and he remained in that position until the age of 7 after which he switched to the strikers role. His impact as a forward was immediate and Torres soon became a local sensation which earned him a transfer to Rayo 13.
Torres continued scoring goals for fun at Rayo and managed to score 55 goals in a season, which attracted the attention of his boyhood club Atletico who offered him a trial. Atletico’s scouts were bowled over with his progress and the club soon offered him a youth contract in 1999 which he accepted.
Torres took no time in breaking into Atletico’s first team and was so impressive that he was named the club’s captain at the age of 19, making him the club’s youngest skipper. The striker also acquired his now famous nickname ‘El Nino’ which translates to ‘The Kid’. Torres’ heroics with Atletico soon attracted the attention of Europe’s elite clubs and Liverpool finally won his signature for a club record fee of £20 million. Torres moved to Liverpool on 5th July 2007 on a six year contract after scoring 91 goals in 244 appearances for Atletico.
The Spaniard continued his explosive form at Liverpool and became the clubs first player since Robbie Fowler to score more than 20 goals a season. In addition to that, he also became the fastest player in Liverpool’s history to score 50 goals, cementing his status at the club. However Liverpool’s lack of silverware caused him to become unhappy and he forced a move to Chelsea for a British record fee of £50 million, making him one of the most expensive footballers ever.
Torres’ form dipped drastically at Chelsea and he went 903 minutes without scoring a goal before a strike against West Ham ended that spell. Things didn’t seem to get better for him, as he never scored more than ten goals per season for Chelsea which is a far cry from his Liverpool days. Chelsea finally decided to end their relationship with Torres and shipped him off on loan to AC Milan.
He married his longtime girlfriend Olalla Dominguez on 27th May 2009 in a private ceremony consisting of just two guests in Madrid. The pair have two children, a daughter named Nora and a son named Leo together.
Torres also released a biography called ‘El Nino – My Story’ back in 2009 which he wrote entirely by himself, something that is rare for today’s footballers. Torres discusses his love for Liverpool along with his life off the pitch in the book.
The striker certainly loves his food and his favourite dish is chicken curry but also has a place in his heart for seafood and loves the quail cooked by his wife’s grandmother. Besides all the mouthwatering delights, Torres is also known to hog on various candies whenever time permits.
He is also a gadget freak and always takes his laptop with him to away matches so he can watch his favourite TV shows which are Lost and Prison Break. The Spaniard also loves his Playstation 3 and has installed a gaming room consisting of three Playstation 3’s at his home. The entire set up cost him £35,000. His favourite PS3 games are Pro Evolution Soccer, Grand Theft Auto IV and the Halo series.
Music is something that the striker enjoys and stated that his favourite genre is rock. His favourite bands are The Beatles, Oasis and Kasabian and his favourite song is Yellow Submarine. Apart from that Torres also appeared in the music video for Spanish band El Canto del Loco whose lead singer Dani Martin is the striker’s close friend.
The 30-year-old has been inked plenty of times and some of his tattoos include his jersey number 9 on his right arm and also has a tattoo of the name Tengwar, the language spoken in the Lord Of The Rings series, on his left forearm.
Torres is sponsored by German sportswear manufacturer Adidas who supply Torres with their predator boots. The striker has also appeared in numerous advertisements for American beverage maker Pepsi.
As I end this piece, I must note that Fernando Torres still has a chance to salvage his once glorious career. One can only hope he gets his old form back and reminds us why he was touted as one of the world most feared strikers back in the day.