Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres


Fernando José Torres Sanz (born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the Spanish national team as a striker.
Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth ranks. He made his professional debut in 2001 and finished his career with the club having scored 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances, earning the nickname El Niño ("The Kid"). Prior to his La Liga debut, Torres played two seasons in the Segunda División, making 40 appearances and scoring seven goals. He joined Liverpool in 2007, after signing for a club record transfer fee. He marked his first season at Anfield by being Liverpool's first player, since Robbie Fowler in 1995–96, to score more than 20 league goals in a season.
He is also a Spanish international and made his debut for the country against Portugal in 2003. He has since participated in three major tournaments, UEFA Euro 2004, 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008. He did not score a goal at Euro 2004, but he scored three at World Cup 2006. Torres scored the winning goal for Spain in their 1–0 win over Germany in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final.
Early career
Born in Madrid, Torres became interested in football as a child and joined his first team, Parque 84, at the age of five. His father José worked during Torres' childhood, and his mother Flori daily traveled with him to training sessions. His grandfather was not a passionate football fan, but took pride in being an Atlético Madrid supporter, and Torres inherited the love for the club.
Torres started playing football as a goalkeeper, the position his brother played in. When he was seven years old, however, he started playing regularly as a striker in an indoor league for the neighborhood club, Mario’s Holland, using the characters from the anime Captain Tsubasa as inspiration. Three years later, aged 10, he progressed to an 11-side team, Rayo 13. He scored 55 goals in a season and was one of three Rayo 13 players to earn a trial with Atlético Madrid. He impressed the scouts and joined the club in 1995.


International appearances
National team Year Friendly Competitive Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Ratio
Spain
2003–04 5 1 5 0 10 1 0.1
2004–05 4 1 6 1 10 2 0.2
2005–06 6 1 9 9 15 10 0.67
2006–07 2 0 6 1 8 1 0.13
2007–08 5 0 7 3 12 3 0.25
2008–09 3 3 10 3 13 6 0.46
Career Total 25 6 43 17 68 23 0.34

Honours

Atlético Madrid

• Segunda División: 2001–02

International

• UEFA European under-16 Championship: 2001
• UEFA European under-19 Championship: 2002
• UEFA European Championship: 2008

Individual

• Nike Cup top scorer: 1999Algarve Tournament Player of the Tournament:
• 2001Algarve Tournament top scorer: 2001
• UEFA European under-16 Championship Player of the Tournament: 2001
• UEFA European under-16 Championship top scorer: 2001
• UEFA European under-19 Championship Player of the Tournament: 2002
• UEFA European under-19 Championship top scorer: 2002
• PFA Team of the Year: 2007–08, 2008–09
• Premier League Player of the Month: February 2008
• Liverpool top scorer: 2007–08
• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2008
• FIFPro World XI: 2007–08