The legendary vanquisher of Manchester United in their own back garden was the pinnacle of Fernando Torres’ blinding first two-and-a-half years in English football. From the moment he arrived at Liverpool he looked to be the ultimate goalscoring talisman so craved on our shores.
Although the Spaniard had a good reputation on arrival on Merseyside in 2007, the impact of his first season caught pretty much everyone off guard, leaving the likes of Ferguson wondering what might have been should they have competed harder for the forward’s signature.
With a record of 33 goals in 46 games in the 2007/08 season, Torres capped off an incredible year by scoring the goal which won his country Euro 2008. It would have been hard to follow up these achievements, despite Liverpool not winning a trophy that season, to continue this impeccable form into 2008/09. And true to this his goals return was not as impressive as in his debut year, at least not initially.
However, the second half of this season saw him take up role of chief tormentor to Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United’s otherwise impeccable centre back. In an astonishing two months for the club Real Madrid were put to bed by a ferocious Liverpool, a 4-0 victory for the reds at home in March sealing a 5-0 aggregate win in the Champions League. This made the club many people’s tip to win the competition should favourites Barcelona stumble, and this was followed by one of the biggest results in the Premier League era.
The way Liverpool humbled Manchester United on their home turf was something that hadn’t been witnessed in the Premier League era. Although they had conceded the lead to their rivals in the title race in January, Liverpool were coming back strong and, fuelled by the Madrid euphoria, went on to fairly demolish the defending champions. This included a masterclass by Torres in making United defender Vidic look desperately out of his depth. Despite not reaching the goal tally of his first year in the EPL, the striker was still unmatched for pure centre forward qualities, and his value soared with each passing year while remaining Spain’s most effective striker.
Fernando Torres showcased everything that makes a world class centre forward: poise, guile, strength and power. These were galvanised by a deadly potency in front of goal, making him perhaps the most feared striker in English football. However, the task was made harder for him in the next season.
In the summer of 2009 Liverpool dispensed with Xabi Alonso, arguably the best midfielder in the league and an indispensable member of the club’s resurgent form. As a result, despite being many people’s tip for the title in 2010, all the good work of the last two years came undone over four months.
Although Torres was still scoring at a decent rate, he couldn’t prevent Liverpool crashing out of the Champions League group stage and falling away from the title race altogether in the autumn. His class was evident in his brace against Man United, again tormenting the unfortunate Vidic, and the problems lay in midfield with no able replacement for Alonso.
What may be seen in the future as a watershed moment for Torres was the decision to undergo knee surgery in the following spring. When the operation was carried out in April 2010, Liverpool announced their star would miss the remainder of the season, having scored 22 goals in 33 games in all competitions. Once again the club’s top scorer in a season, it was imperative that Torres was brought back gradually to ensure he could pick up where he left off.
What stood in the way was the 2010 World Cup, in which the striker was expected to play a key role.
Although Spain emerged as the eventual victors in what many saw as a below-par tournament, Torres’ own performances drew criticism from many in the footballing profession. This may have been down to a lack of match sharpness, but there was an alarming paucity of confidence in the once larger-than-life player and this endured the return to match sharpness.
Liverpool under Roy Hodgson didn’t get any better, and this time Torres had to take his share of the blame. Once the serial terroriser of defences, he looked a shadow of his former self and attracted much criticism for his negative body language and startling sloppiness in front of goal.
A brace against Chelsea was expected to mark a return to form, but like every goal since then much expectation has been dashed by long runs of indifferent displays. In January 2011 Liverpool made £50m off the striker’s departure to Chelsea while recruiting Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez. Although the defending champions had attracted a player of unquestionable talent, the big picture showed that Liverpool were the real winners in the deal.
Unlike Torres, Suarez’s presence lit up the world cup, and combined with an incredible scoring rate in the Dutch league he was a big signing for Liverpool that winter. The Uruguayan went on to become perhaps the club’s best performing player for 2011, while Torres’ fortunes took a marked downturn following his move to the capital.
A run of 903 minutes without a goal for Torres ended in April against West Ham United, but this failed to revive the striker’s form and was followed by a goal drought for the rest of the season. The price tag for the move, which made him the most expensive player in British transfer history, was coming under heavy scrutiny.
The 2011-12 season began with a promisingly sharp display from Torres, who showed some of the verve of old with some incisive runs at Stoke City, although the goalless run went on. A fine finish against Manchester United in September whipped up the fervour once more, but the striker’s open goal miss in the second half at Old Trafford was symbolic of the start-stop nature of his form since the 2010 knee operation.
A goal against Swansea City the same month was again followed by disaster with the player’s subsequent sending off. Since then Torres’ performances, bar a brace against a capitulating Genk team in Europe, have failed to meet the mark. He hasn’t been helped by his team’s inability to supply a conveyor belt of chances in front of goal, but it is a long time since the former Spain hero has looked world class and, at 28, Torres may find opportunities harder to come by in the future.
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