FERNANDO TORRES CALLS IT A DAY IN JAPAN
One of my favourite players has just retired at the age of 35.Spanish legend Fernando Torres hung up his boots on the 23rd of August when his J1 League club Sagan Tosu lost 6-1 to Vissel Kobe, who boasted former La Roja teammates Andres Iniesta and David Villa.
"It has been a wonderful journey," Torres wrote in an open farewell letter to Iniesta. "I tried to find an iconic moment to play my final game and I think that is perfect timing."
In response, Iniesta wrote,
"Football brought us together more than 20 years ago when we were children. Well, you will always be El Nino and it will never separate us."
From Spain to Japan via England, he will go down in football annals as one of Spain's golden generation, a lithe and skilful attacker and the epitome of the 'False Nine' forward which came to the fore in the late noughties.
Torres grew up in the southern Madrid suburb of Fuenlabrada so gravitated naturally to Atletico Madrid whose old and beloved Manzanares stadium was a landmark on that side of the capital.
Torres made his debut for Los Colchoneros when they were in the second tier in 2001 and ended up amassing 91 goals in 244 matches and one second division title before moving to Merseyside in 2007.
Much excitement had already built up around 'El Nino' (The Kid) from Madrid but at Liverpool he confirmed his prowess by flourishing in another country,
At Liverpool under Rafael Benitez his strike rate increased to 81 in 142 games across four seasons but trophies eluded him again.
With Spain however he became a European Champion in 2008 as his winner in the final against Germany brought La Roja their first silverware since the 1960s and heralded the start of their tiki-taka golden age.
Torres' goal was typical of him - inch-perfect positioning, acceleration and a deft first touch to score.
Two years later he was in Spain's historic World Cup winning side as they beat the Netherlands to the biggest prize and in 2012 Torres scored again in a European Championship final as Spain thrashed Italy as he bagged the golden boot as well.
After moving to Chelsea in 2012 for £50 million, Torres seemed to decline as a striker and looked less sharp or speedy, suffering unprecedented goal droughts and a knee injury which seemed to sap his explosiveness.
He also had to play second fiddle somewhat to Didier Drogba.
However he popped up as ever to score decisive goals, including a memorable breakaway in the Camp Nou to eliminate Barcelona from the 2012 Champions League, a cup Chelsea won that season for the first time.
In the following season's Europa League final, Torres scored the first in a 2-1 win over Benfica.
He also got a F.A. Cup winner's medla with Chelsea to add to the continent's top two trophies, a pretty decent return on a career, although there remained a sense of potential somewhat unfulfilled as he was less sharp after leaving Liverpool.
Torres was fast and light with excellent feet, symbolic of the shift in English football from the old battering ram / target man striker towards more elusive and skilful forwards, but he was also strong and hard to muscle off the ball.
He was as at home in the close-passing tiki-taka of the Spanish national team as he was with the long punts and channel balls of the Premier League, as he was an expert at bringing down and controlling aerial passes.
Off-field too he was impeccable, shunning the high life and the night life for a cosy and conventional family life instead.
This modest professionalism meant he never became a football 'character' the tabloids could scribble about.
But we should not forget how effective and how talented he was as a footballer.
Gracias Fernando.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile