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Authors: Luca Caioli

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Torres (2 page)

BOOK: Torres
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Chapter 2
He is a red

4 July 2007

The photo is unforgettable. On the left, Rafa Benítez, as happy as a sandboy, in dark jacket and white shirt with red stripes, holding up one end of a Liverpool scarf with the words ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ written on it. On the right, holding the other end, is Fernando Torres, wearing the club’s Number 9 shirt. The one that has graced legends like Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler.

The tiered seating in the stands at Anfield forms the background. It’s a little after 3pm (UK time) when El Niño arrives to be presented to the media as a new player in the Merseyside squad. First, the signing of the contract that ties him to Liverpool for six years on a salary of 6.5 million Euros a season – a sum exceeded only by captain Steven Gerrard’s. Then the press conference in jacket and tie with the shirt collar slightly undone. One can see that the lad from Fuenlabrada is nervous. He talks in Spanish and says straight away that ‘the club is one of the best in Europe, a victorious club, its past and its present shows it. For me it was an opportunity which I couldn’t miss out on.’

He looks to Benítez, always at his side, and explains:

‘We didn’t know each other personally but when I spoke to him for the first time … simply to know that Benítez had confidence in me is something incredible. And that a club like Liverpool, which can buy any of the best players in the
world, should choose you to form part of the team comes as a surprise and fills you with pride. The fact that Liverpool are giving me the Number 9 jersey just goes to show the confidence they have placed in me, when considering those who have worn that shirt before me. But I’m not afraid of the responsibility that this brings.’

Torres knows the expectations that his transfer has created, the most expensive in Liverpool’s century-old history (£26.5 million compared with the £14 million paid for French striker, Djibril Cissé, from Auxerre in July 2004). He knows that the public wants compensation in the form of goals. He hopes he can do it.

Rafa Benítez, who doesn’t let him out of his sight for a second, maintains: ‘We have signed a youngster with a promising future ahead of him. He is the player we needed.’ There is no problem with responsibilities within the squad: ‘Crouch,’ he explains, ‘works hard and Fernando can hold up the ball, look to get round the defence and construct moves.’

He stresses Fernando’s intelligence, his ability to understand situations in a flash, and gives, as an example, the fact that the lad had immediately understood what it means to touch the badge with the words ‘This is Anfield’ at the entrance to the tunnel leading to the pitch – perhaps the most frequently broadcast image on the British television reports.

The Spanish manager reiterates Torres’ passion and competitive abilities: ‘He demonstrated these when he was only seventeen.’ When asked what his goal-scoring abilities will be, he responds: ‘I’m not going to put any pressure on him and say that he’s going to score more than twenty goals. I prefer to have four strikers who score fifteen each.’ He stresses the fact that ‘Torres wanted to come. He was very clear. It would be a disappointment if he doesn’t try to be a star.’ He also talks of his new acquisition’s feelings. Benítez
has no problem in declaring them: ‘His heart will stay with Atlético and that’s normal. But one cannot doubt his professionalism. In his two final games with Atlético he played with an injured toe. He defended the club badge right up until the end!’

Of course, his Atlético heart … Fernando confirmed it a few hours earlier in Madrid when, dressed in black as if at a funeral, he said goodbye to the Atlético fans in the Vicente Calderón stadium at 10.30am (9.30am UK time): ‘Wherever I am, my heart will always be red and white. This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a “see you later”. Atlético is my family. I hope to return one day, when the club is at the high level where it deserves to be,’ says El Niño who, with difficulty, manages to contain his emotions. He assumes responsibility for the transfer, saying that he had asked the directors to listen to the Liverpool offer.

Taking this position goes down very well with the club, which does not want to appear as the guilty party in the departure of Torres. Enrique Cerezo, the club president – more relaxed after hearing what the blond youngster sitting at his side has said – wishes him good luck and adds: ‘Atlético understands and lets you leave in the hope that you come back soon. We don’t want this to be a sad farewell act but a happy one, as when people who are very close say goodbye to each other.’ To explain the mutual separation after twelve years of life together, Torres adds that ‘the club is more important than the individual people. And my leaving for Liverpool benefits everyone.’ It benefits Atlético, which, thanks to the money from the transfer, will be able to reinforce the team. And also Fernando Torres, who takes the right European train to be nearer those goals he has always dreamed about.

But things are not so simple … Despite the African-level heat and blistering sun, some 100 fans demonstrate outside
the gates of the Calderón, shouting at the tops of their voices and holding up banners, on which is written ‘Fernando, don’t go!’, ‘We love you’, ‘Torres yes, management no’, and then a series of strong insults aimed at the president, sporting director, secretary etc. They don’t believe all the nice words. They are convinced that the people behind El Niño’s exit are the Atlético top brass, together with the club’s policies, the years of bad signings, the dashed hopes, one manager after another, of responsibilities never undertaken. The
colchoneros
(fans of Atlético) feel sad, despondent and angry. They forgive their captain, their emblem of recent years, who has, without doubt, been the positive image and focal point for the dreams of a club that knows what it is to suffer. And yet the
colchoneros
don’t get too upset with Torres. They understand him. They understand that he wants to go from what has been his home, that the Little Prince wants to grow up. And even if El Niño says: ‘Take it easy, time heals everything,’ getting used to the idea is not that easy.

The news of Fernando’s move to Liverpool is confirmed by Atlético at 7pm on 3 July. But it was ‘Pulcinella’s secret’ – something everyone already knew. The Manzanares (the river of Madrid) club and the Merseyside club had reached a provisional agreement at the end of May. How did this come about? Every summer, offers for Torres arrived at Atlético from several big clubs.

In 2005, for example, there was talk of Chelsea, Newcastle, Arsenal and even Inter who, according to the press, had offered Christian Vieri plus a large transfer fee. In an interview with an English newspaper, Fernando explained:

‘People always ask me about my departure. Atlético is a big club but we don’t win much. Somewhere else, I would be competing for important trophies but here I have things that I wouldn’t be able to have in other clubs – my family
and my friends, my feeling of belonging to a humble Madrid team, the one that represents the working class. We don’t have money, nor power. Very occasionally we win trophies but we exist for other reasons. We give the fans a safety valve of escape for their problems and because of that they absorb themselves into the club.’

In a few words, he explained the quasi-absurd philosophy of the
colchoneros
, the hopes of the fans and the players, which are that – one day or another – their destiny will change. Perhaps for this, after taking into account together with his representatives all the offers that arrived, he never decided to say ‘Yes’. In 2006 the voices of the market became ever more insistent. Three candidates for the presidency of Real Madrid (which will be won by Ramón Calderón) have long pursued El Niño but have always received negative replies. At the end of the season, Manchester United also comes in.

In July, there is a rumour that Sir Alex Ferguson’s club is about to put in, on paper, a 37-million-euro offer. Inter come back again, offering 38 million. But it doesn’t stop there. The Atlético directors say that El Niño is not for sale and is too important for the club.

And in September 2006, they announce the renewal of Torres’ contract until 30 June 2009, with a clause for breach of contract, which, strangely, goes from 90 to 40 million Euros. The player also improves his salary to 7 million Euros per season.

Spring 2007 – Rafa Benítez is thinking of a new striker for his team. Eto’o or Torres? The gaffer weighs up the two possibilities and, according to his custom, asks for reports covering everything under the sun. Not only about the pair’s football skills, but also about their personalities, the behaviour of the Cameroon and Madrid players in their respective dressing rooms, and in their daily lives off the
pitch. Scrupulous and methodical, he does not want to miss even the smallest detail. He wants to minimise the risks of the transaction. In the end, after closely studying the two options, he decides to go for Fernando – who, it seems, has triumphed in the reports.

We are in April and the negotiations between Liverpool and Atlético get under way. Acting as mediator is Manuel García Quilón, a famous football agent who, amongst other things, is also the representative of Rafa Benítez.

At the end of May, a provisional agreement between the two clubs is reached, to the point where Atlético begins to look for a substitute for El Niño. They ask Villarreal the price of the Uruguayan, Diego Forlán. Meanwhile, Rafa Benítez, after the Champions League final in Athens, which the Reds lose against the Milan of Filippo Inzaghi and Carlo Ancellotti, calls Fernando. To begin with, the Atlético player thinks it’s a wind-up, some imitator who is trying to trick him. So much so that he cuts everything short and replies in monosyllables. He doesn’t want to be set-up. So he calls Pepe Reina, his friend in Liverpool, to check that the number of the person who called really is that of the manager. And it is. He can now have a more relaxed conversation and listen more closely to the Madrid-born manager’s offer. Benítez says to count on him, that he will do everything to bring him to England, and that he hopes he will accept. El Niño has always liked English football. He’s always said that, one day, if he decided to leave, he would prefer to end up in the Premier League.

Two years previously, Liverpool got to the final of the Champions League and won. It’s a club with a style and philosophy that’s to his liking. Its fans are devoted to the cause, just like those of Atlético. At a stretch, the Calderón reminds one of Anfield. And also the Reds’ fans have a history of being working class. For sure, it’s not the Manchester
of the shining stars or even the Chelsea of the Russians, but this could mean that there will be more space for him. On the positive side, there is also the fact that Reina, Xavi Alonso and Arbeloa are at Liverpool. With them, and with Cesc Fabregas, Fernando has talked many times of what it’s like to live in the UK, the atmosphere and the way they play football. And he has always got positive feedback. In reality, the Spanish Liverpool could be an important factor in helping to adapt to a new football environment.

Last but not least, there is his Atlético captain’s armband. For years it’s carried the words ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. The story behind it began with Fernando’s group of friends. They all wanted to have the same tattoo and they discovered that this expression represented exactly what was most important to them – the bond of friendship that will never be broken, wherever you are. Torres is reluctant. As captain of Atlético, it’s not particularly smart to get the Liverpool motto inscribed on your arm, because maybe the papers would write about it. So, in order that he’s not left out, they find the best – and the most discreet – compromise. It will be written on his captain’s armband. They get it engraved and give it to him as a gift. A story that is revealed when it comes loose during a match with Real Madrid and the message is caught on camera. A sign, almost a premonition, of what, in fact, is actually happening.

But despite all that, the connection with Atlético is strong. It’s an emotional and footballing way of life that he needs to put aside in order to make the big leap. But here fate steps in to help him make the final decision. It happens on 20 May 2007. Atlético Madrid v Barcelona, league match number 35, the final result 0-6. It’s Atlético’s worst-ever home result. A tennis score that hurts, really hurts. At the end of the match, Torres is alone in the middle of the pitch, crouched down with his head in his hands. ‘Never have they
beaten me like that. They could have scored twenty,’ the club captain commented immediately afterwards. He had said that Atlético was inferior as a team to the top four in the table, but that he had put his faith in the fact that Barça hadn’t won in the Calderón since the 1999–2000 season. He also wanted to end the debate over a UEFA Cup place as soon as possible. If they had beaten Barça, they would’ve been halfway along the road to Europe. But instead – no. Messi, Zambrotta, Ronaldinho, Eto’o and Iniesta hit the net of the unfortunate keeper, Pichu, one after another, highlighting all the team’s failings.

As if that isn’t enough, the fans, who have always supported the players right up until the final whistle, this time actually want a defeat because it would mean that the eternal enemy, Real Madrid, would not win the league. It’s a bad sign and demonstrates the fact that the team isn’t making every effort or, almost, that it prefers to bow down to its historic opponents rather than celebrate its own victory. And that’s not all. The crowd is already starting to leave the Calderón once Barcelona get their fourth. They abandon the stadium with their heads low, tired of always having their hopes dashed. The ones who stay behind whistle and shout at those on the pitch: ‘Mercenaries, you’re just mercenaries!’

It’s the final straw. The situation that pushes Torres to take the decision he’s put off so many times. He’s getting out of Atlético. He’s disappointed, infuriated, impotent and envious of the winning Barça players, who make up a great team capable of dominating at any ground. He also wants to savour this. He no longer wants to be like a young Atlas, carrying the weight of a 104-year-old institution on his shoulders and which, in recent years, is only able to offer disappointment to its supporters.

BOOK: Torres
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