Our new series takes a look at one of many Spaniards who, over the years, have graced our first team, our choice for this article is Fernando Torres.
Back in January 2011, news broke that with the January transfer window set to close, Chelsea Football Club had broken their transfer record to bring Fernando Torres to the club from Liverpool. It is believed that the transfer fee involved was somewhere around the £50 million mark.
The words, when the deal was announced were something akin to shock and awe with the deal being portrayed on Sky Sports News as thus:
Meanwhile, talking to the media, Torres had described his move to Chelsea, in the following manner,
‘This is the target for every footballer – to try to play for one of the top clubs in the world.
‘They are one of the biggest teams in Europe and are always fighting for everything.
‘I’m so happy and proud to be here.
‘It’s been two, three, four very hard days for me. I’m really happy – this is a great club. I’m prepared and ready for the challenge.
‘I know there are many great players here and I will work hard to win a place in the team.
‘I am looking forward very much to helping my new team-mates this season and for many years to come.
‘It’s my dream to win the Champions League and I’m sure I can, playing for Chelsea.’
The deal that brought Torres to Chelsea made the Spaniard the sixth most expensive footballer in history.
Torres made his debut for Chelsea on 6 February 2011, ironically against his former club, Liverpool, in a game that Chelsea lost 1-0. He didn`t score his first goal for Chelsea until 23 April 2011 when he scored in a 3-0 rout of West Ham, thereby ending a run of 903 minutes without a goal.
The goal against West Ham was the only goal Torres scored for Chelsea that season despite making 18 appearances.
The following season, 2011 / 2012, Torres added another to his Chelsea total in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United, at Old Trafford, on 18 September as Chelsea lost 3-1. His second goal of the season came against Swansea but ten minutes after he`d scored, Torres was shown a straight red card for a two-footed challenge o Mark Gower, it was his first red-card in English football.
Two goals, on 19 October 2011, gave Chelsea fans hope that the Spaniard was about to hit a rich vein of scoring form but it wasn`t until 18 March that Torres was to score again, against Leicester City in the FA Cup, the goals ended a drought that had lasted 24 games. Later in the month, Torres was to score against Aston Villa in a 4-2 away win, his first goal in the Premier League since 24 September 2011.
Despite his poor goal-scoring record, Torres was about to score what was, quite probably, his most famous goal for Chelsea Football Club. On 24 April 2012, Chelsea were in action in the Nou Camp, against Barcelona, in a Champions League semi-final. Down to 10-men, with John Terry having been sent off in the first half, Chelsea were trailing 2-1 but leading on aggregate courtesy of the away goal scored by Ramires and the 1-0 win from the first-leg.
Torres was introduced in place of Drogba and with the Chelsea goal under-siege it looked to be only a matter of time before Barcelona scored to knock Chelsea out of the competition. But a resolute defensive display saw them hang on and in the last-minute Torres broke free from the halfway line, out-paced the chasing defenders rounded the keeper and scored to ensure it would be Chelsea that played Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final.
The goal gave Torres renewed confidence and he scored the first hat-trick of his Chelsea career against QPR, at Stamford Bridge on 29 April 2012. The Champions League Final, on 19 May 2012, saw Torres introduced as a second half substitute immediately after Thomas Muller had opened the scoring for Bayern. The rest, as they say, is history, with Chelsea fulfilling Torres prophecy made in the speech when he joined Chelsea on transfer deadline day.
‘It’s my dream to win the Champions League and I’m sure I can, playing for Chelsea.’
The following season, 2012 / 2013, saw Torres score the opening goal in a 3-2 loss to Manchester City in the Community Shield. His first Premier League goal of the season came on 22 August 2012 in a 4-2 home win against Reading. The goals, as Chelsea topped the table, flowed with Torres scoring against Newcastle, Arsenal and Norwich.
On 28 October 2012, Torres received two yellow cards against Manchester United and was subsequently sent-off for the second time in his Chelsea career. A first Champions` League goal of the season came against Shakhtar Donetsk. A change of manager was in the wind with Rafael Benitez taking over from the axed Roberto Di Matteo, could Benitez, who had worked with Torres at Liverpool, get the striker back to his best scoring form?
Torres ended a goal drought that had lasted over 11 hours with two goals against Nordsjaelland in the Champions League on 5 December 2012. Just seventy-two hours later, Torres ended a run of 8 Premier League games without a win when he scored a brace against Sunderland. When Torres scored against Steaua Bucharest on 14 March 2013 he became the first player to have scored in 7 different competitions in the same season.
Two goals in the first leg and another in the second leg, against Rubin Kazem, saw Chelsea reach the semi-final of the Europa League. Taking on Benfica, in the Europa League Final, Torres scored the opening goal as Chelsea won the Europa League, courtesy of a last-minute header from Branislav Ivanovic, on 15 May 2013. The season ended with another goal as Chelsea beat Everton 2-1, it was his first Premier League goal of 2013, Torres ended the season with 22 goals from 64 matches.
The following season, 2013 / 2014, Torres scored the first goal of his season in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup Final against Bayern Munich. Against Tottenham, on 28 September, he was sent off for the third time of his Chelsea career in a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.
On 22 October 2013, Torres made his 100th appearance for Chelsea in a Champions League fixture against Schalke, he marked the occasion by scoring two goals in a 3-0 win. Torres first Premier League goal of the season came against Manchester City, on 27 October.
Torres Chelsea career came to an end when he was sent on a two-year loan to AC Milan, on 31 August 2014.
Was he a success at Chelsea?
That`s the great debatable question!
Mini Fact-File – Fernando Torres
Full Name – Fernando José Torres Sanz
Date of Birth – 20 March 1984
Place of Birth – Fuenlabrada, Spain
Height – Six Feet One Inch
Position – Striker
Youth Career – Atletico Madrid
Career Clubs – Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Chelsea, Milan (loan), Milan, Atletico Madrid (loan), Atletico Madrid
International Honours – Spain U15, U16, U17, U18, U19, U21, Spain
If there is anybody of Spanish origin who you would like to see featured in our new series simply send an e-mail to JUVENILED40@HOTMAIL.COM and we`ll do the rest.
Spanish Armada (1) – Asier del Horno
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