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Fernando Torres

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Fernando Torres
Personal information
Full name Fernando José Torres Sanz
Height 1,86 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Atlético Madrid

Fernando José Torres Sanz (20 March, 1984) is a Spanish football player and captain of Atlético Madrid.

He was born in the Fuenlabrada neighbourhood, traditionally Real Madrid territory, but he grew up to wear the red and white stripes of Atlético Madrid. Nicknamed El Niño (The Kid) for his youthful face, Torres is a striker for the Spanish National Team and Atlético Madrid, where he is considered to be one of their best players ever.

Career at Atlético Madrid

In 1999, Torres signed his first contract with the club and at the end of the 1999–2000 season he was part of the first team. His next success was at the European Under-16 Championship in England in 2001, where he finished as the Player of the Tournament en route to Spain's victory. At the time, Newcastle United manager Bobby Robson was apparently informed of Torres' talent by a Newcastle scout. Robson, however, decided against a move for the Spaniard.

Torres made his début for Atlético Madrid in the Vicente Calderón Stadium against Leganes and he scored his first goal for the club the following week, in a game against Albacete. 2002 saw Atlético Madrid returning to the first division of Spanish football. In his first season playing in the top division, Torres did not find the transition from second tier football too much of a hindrance as he scored 13 goals. Torres has been the top scorer for Atlético in La Liga for the past four seasons.

He is the youngest player to play for Atlético Madrid and the youngest to become captain (at age 19).

International career

In November of 2001 Torres played in the Under-17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago. In July of 2002, he played in the Under-19 European Championships in Norway, a tournament Spain won. Torres was both top scorer and Player of the Tournament. He made his debut for the Under-21 national team in 2003. On September 6, later that year, Torres made his debut for the senior national team against Portugal. His first goal for Spain came against Italy on April 28, 2004.

It was widely expected that a good performance for Spain at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany would boost Torres' already significant demand among major European clubs. At his first ever appearance in a World Cup finals match, Torres scored with a spectacular volley helping Spain to a win over Ukraine. In the second group match Spain rallied from a 0-1 deficit against Tunisia to win 3-1. Torres scored in the 76th minute for Spain to take the lead 2-1 and then again from a penalty kick in the 90th minute. He was subsequently given a much-needed rest in Spain's third group match against Saudi Arabia, entering the game only to substitute José Antonio Reyes in the 70th minute. Having managed to score three goals in the tournament, Torres was one of the leading goal scorers in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was also the first player to score three goals in the tournament. Torres started the round of 16 matches against France, but after initially taking the lead, Spain went on to lose 1-3 and were knocked out of the tournament.

The Spanish national team coach, Luis Aragonés, remarked that he "never scores two goals the same", highlighting Fernando's versatility as a player. Moreover he was Spain's best player at the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.

However, Torres was dropped from the team for a friendly versus Romania in November 2006, after having only scored 2 goals in 8 matches due to a slight drop in form.

During the World Cup in 2006, which took place in Germany, Torres fought off rumors of his sexuality. He was reportedly seen kissing Guti of Real Madrid on the lips. Spanish representatives said that kissing on the lips for Spanish males is normal.

Transfer speculation

The amount of speculation in the media for a Torres transfer is overwhelming. Some of last transfer speculations are below.

On January 27th 2006, the Spanish striker said it was confirmed to him by Atlético chiefs that Manchester United had made a bid which was subsequently rejected.[1] Other sources have instead estimated €36.6m ($46.6m or £25m) to Atlético, who have been facing financial difficulties. [2]

There has been some confusion over Torres's own opinion on the matter. Javier Aguirre, has told the Spanish newspaper, Marca, that "I've spoken to Fernando and he hasn't been able to guarantee his presence in the team in the forthcoming season. The market is still open and a lot of things can happen, but it is clear that every day that passes is one day less for something to occur. What I want to make clear, though, is that Fernando has a great commitment to the club." However, his agent has made opposite claims, saying that "On 21 July, Torres will join Atlético Madrid for pre-season training. Torres has two years left on his contract with Atletico and then we will see what happens. After the World Cup, there has been interest from Italian clubs but not from English clubs, and there hasn't been anything concrete." He also added that "The player's intention is to remain at Atlético. Neither us, nor the club, has received an offer from Manchester United, or any other clubs for that matter."

Torres has recently stated in a news conference that he is staying at Atletico until his contract is up. However, speculation remains rife that Manchester United and AC Milan have remained interested. For the time being at least it seems Torres will remain in Madrid however Torres is believed to be negotiating a one year extension to his current deal. Reports in Spain claim Torres himself wants a smaller buy out clause to the one he currently has of £41.6 million. According to Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo, a Premiership club have offered £25m for Fernando Torres. The mystery club is almost certainly Manchester United. "A Premiership club have offered us £25 million but we have decided to keep him, because for the club he is a strategic player".

“I firmly believe that he is not going to leave, although in England would play a great role,” said Cerezo. Manchester United will almost certainly try to secure Torres services in the summer as he is highly regarded by Sir Alex Ferguson.

At no point did Torres say i would like to join Arsenal over Manchester United, he said they suited his style of play. However when questioned about playing for Spain at Old Trafford he replied "i have always wanted to play at old trafford. from being a little boy i have dreamed about it. i have never played in europe with atletico so i only get a chance to play in these types of stadiums with spain at the moment. i know that every summer i am linked with united and that option still has not closed. but it will be strange playing here because i always wondered if it would be in a united shirt"

Trivia

  • He has three tattoos: one is on the inside of his left arm that says "Fernando" in Tengwar; the number 9, his number for Atlético Madrid and the Spanish national team, is tattooed on the inside of his right wrist; and the Roman numerals VII VII MMI are tattooed on the inside of his right shin.
  • He has said that signing autographs after training sessions are "almost a duty, than a moral obligation". [3]
  • He is a friend of lead singer Dani Martin of the Spanish band El Canto del Loco.
  • He dedicates his goals to the victims of the Madrid train incident.
  • His idol is Kiko, ex-player of Atlético Madrid. He has always dreamed of playing at his side.
  • Atletico de Madrid, in the January transfer process in 2007, rejected a $113 million dollar transfer fee from Manchester United. It was Manchester's second attempt in signing the striker.

Honours

  • 1998/1999: Top Scorer of Nike Cup Europe and Best Young European Player Award[4]
  • 2000/2001: Top Scorer and Player of Tournament Algarve, Top Scorer and Player of the Under-16s European Championship, Under-16 European Championship winners[5]
  • 2001/2002: Top Scorer of the Under 19s European Championship and Under 19s European Championship winners[6]

References

  1. ^ FIFA World Cup official site

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