Jonathan Wilson / Jonathan Wilson / 27 June 2009 / Leave a comment

Jonathan Wilson discusses the Lord of the Rings with the King of the Kop and looks at the contenders for the Confederations Cup leading scorer mantle...

Mixed zones are strange things. People outside journalism probably don't even realise they exist. They began as the area between the dressing room and the team-bus, in which journalists could hang around and try to speak to players as they left the stadium after a game.
These days, they have become formalised, long snaking corridors marked out by barriers, with journalists on one side trying to catch the attention of a player as he walks by.

Many adopt the tactic of pretending to be on the phone. Others put headphones on and bury their heads in their tracksuits. But some seem to recognise some responsibility to the press, perhaps even relish the opportunity to give their view of the game. Gilberto Silva is a calm and beaming mixed-zone stalwart, most of the South Africans and US side seem slightly bewildered and flattered by the attention, and, amazingly for a player of his stature, you can always rely on Fernando Torres.

The problem is that in the snatched five or 10 minutes available, you can't really have anything more than a superficial chat, and by the fourth in a little over a week, you're running out of things to say.

And yet, how often do you get the chance to speak to Torres? So you stop him, and find the conversation running in bizarre directions.

After the final group game in Bloemfontein, for instance, it was pointed out that JRR Tolkien was born in the city. Torres is a big fan of Lord of the Rings, to the extent that he has his name tattooed in Tengwar, an Elvish language invented by Tolkien, down the inside of his arm.

So in one of those moments that in retrospect seems barely credible but at the time seemed utterly logical, I found myself discussing, with arguably the greatest striker in the world, the fact that Tolkien was bitten by a rain spider in the garden of his Bloemfontein home when he was three-years-old, the poison being sucked out by his nurse. The incident led his mother to relocate to Birmingham. It is often said that that spider was the prototype of Shelob, the giant spider that attacks Frodo towards the end of Lord of the Rings, although Tolkien always insisted he would not have remembered being bitten had he not been told about it.

I don't know whether Torres subsequently visited the Tolkien House in Bloemfontein, but I hope it wasn't thinking about the great author that led to his distracted performance in the semi-final against USA.

He is [3.1] to remain the tournament's leading scorer, although there must be serious doubts as to whether he will start the third and fourth place play-off against South Africa on Sunday. Spain are [1.62] to win; South Africa [6.6].

Torres admits that fatigue from the Euros was probably a contributory factor to his injury-ravaged start to last season so, having played four games in a week and a half it would be no surprise if he were to be given a rest. You wonder, too, what affect the Confederations Cup may have on Liverpool next season, given the involvement of five of their players. Rafael Benitez's side are [4.2] to win the Premier League.

With David Villa [3.05], who is level with Torres on three, equally likely to be left out, that leaves Luis Fabiano [1.71], who also on three, with a great opportunity to take the goalscorer's award in tomorrow's final. Fabiano was widely expected to have to share the striking role with Pato, but seems to have made the position his own.

He has not merely taken his three goals well, but has also led the line, providing a mobile and combative presence to win and hold possession from clearances. Given the way this tournament has unleashed a great wave of transfer speculation, it is perhaps surprising he has not been linked with a move to a bigger club than Sevilla.

Kaka [6.2] and Clint Dempsey [26], both on two, are the only other realistic contenders in the final, although Bernard Parker, who is also on two, could give South Africa fans something to celebrate beyond their successful hosting of the competition.