Atletico Madrid

Fernando José Torres Sanz 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.

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)

Position: Striker
Date of Birth: 20/03/1984
Height: 6′1
Weight: 12st 4
1st team games: 29
1st team goals: 18
International caps: 44
International goals: 15
Former clubs: Atletico Madrid
Birth Place: Madrid, Spain

Fernando Torres became Liverpool’s record signing on July 4, 2007.

The striker had spent the previous 12 years at Atletico Madrid, the club he supported as a boy.

The Spanish giants snapped him up at the age of 11 after he netted 55 goals in his first season at amateur side Rayo 13.

Three years after his arrival Torres was named the best under-14 player in Europe following his performances in the Nike Cup.

He signed his first professional contract in 1999 but had to wait until May 27, 2001 to make his debut against Leganes.

Still, at 17 years and 68 days, he was Atletico’s youngest ever player. Within a week he’d scored his first goal in a match against Albacete.

The 2001-02 season saw him net six times in 36 league appearances, helping his side win promotion to La Liga.

Meanwhile, he was still making waves on the international scene. Torres was top scorer and player of the tournament in the 2001 European Under-16 Championships and 2002 European Under-19 Championships, both of which Spain won.

The frontman bagged 13 goals during his first season in the Spanish top flight, earning him a first under-21 cap for his country.

The 2003-04 campaign proved to be a momentous one for Torres. Not only did he score 19 goals in 35 league appearances, but he was also handed the club captaincy. At 19, he was the youngest skipper in Atletico’s long and illustrious history.

On top of all this, the youngster was also called up into the senior Spain squad, making his full debut in a friendly with Portugal on September 6, 2003. The following April he scored his first international goal against Italy. He was then part of the Spain squad which travelled to Euro 2004 in Holland and Belgium.

The player nicknamed El Nino (The Kid) because of his youthful appearance was selected for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where he scored three goals.

The following year, in May 2007, Torres hit the headlines when he revealed the phrase ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ on the inside of his captain’s armband during a match between Atletico and Real Sociedad. Two months of speculation and paper talk ensued before the striker was finally unveiled at Melwood.

He left Atletico with a record of 82 goals in 214 league appearances.

Torres made his competitive debut for the Reds at Villa Park on August 11, 2007. A week later he bagged his first official goal when Chelsea visited Anfield (though he had already scored in a pre-season friendly versus Shanghai Shenhua).

The centre-forward’s apparently seamless transition into English football was highlighted with a spectacular hat-trick when Liverpool travelled to Reading in the third round of the Carling Cup.

Fernando Torres career
Season Club Games Goals Yellow Cards Red Cards
2000/01 Atlético Madrid 1 1 0 0
2001/02 Atlético Madrid 26 6 6 0
2002/03 Atlético Madrid 28 13 5 1
2003/04 Atlético Madrid 35 20 10 1
2004/05 Atlético Madrid 38 16 3 0
2005/06 Atlético Madrid 36 13 9 0
2006/07 Atlético Madrid 31 10 5 1

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’s said that signing autographs after training sessions are “almost a duty, a moral obligation”.
* He is a friend of lead singer Dani Martin of the Spanish band El Canto del Loco.
* He is currently dating childhood sweetheart Olalla.

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” because of the way he seems to score a different goal every time he steps onto the pitch.

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

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

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. Fernando has since signed a new contract with his release clause reduced to around £26 million fueling rumours that a move to Manchester United is imminent.