Gracias, Fernando

Oh, how time flies. It feels like only yesterday that Torres was making his Anfield debut. Or scoring THAT goal against Germany in Vienna. Or lifting Chelsea’s first ever Champions League trophy. Or filling the Vicente Calderón on his return to Atleti.

But it’s not. It’s been almost 20 years since El Niño made his debut against Leganés in Spain’s second division. And it’s been one hell of a ride.

His first year of professional football was played in the silver league due to Atletico’s relegation a few years prior. Torres seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel for many Colchoneros, and they held on so tight to that simmer of hope, that even today they find it hard to let go of what once was. This kid that suddenly appeared from nowhere, just towards the end of the 2001 season as they missed out on promotion, finally gave the fans the faith they needed.

Despite only netting 6 goals the next season, Atletico managed to make it back to La Liga, and Torres quickly became a club hero. At the end of the day he was only just a 17 year old kid that had been sitting in the stands like them a few weeks before. And it just kept getting better, Torres scored 13 and 19 goals in the next two campaigns, and was named club captain at only nineteen. It only took a few more successful seasons, in which El Niño proved to be playing at a different level to his teammates, for Atlético’s president, Enrique Cerezo, to announce that the club was open to offers for their star player. Liverpool finally won the bidding war and he set off on a new adventure in England.