Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres was born in Fuenlabrada, just outside Madrid, on 20th March 1984 and he took up football from an early age, joining Parque 84 as a five-year-old boy. 
Having originally started as a goalkeeper, he moved outfield at the age of seven and, by 10 years old, he had moved on to play 11- a-side at Rayo 13, where he played as a striker. Having scored 55 goals in one season for Rayo, Torres was offered a trial at Atlético Madrid, and he joined their youth system aged just 11.

Torres progressed through the junior ranks at Atlético and, after recovering from a cracked shinbone, eventually made his debut for the first team at the end of the 2000-2001 season. At this time, Atlético were playing their football in the Segunda Division and pushing for promotion to La Liga. Torres made his debut against Vicente Calderón, scoring his first goal a week later against Albacete Balompié. Atlético won promotion at the end of the next season and Torres finally had a chance to prove himself at the top level.  

Over the next five seasons, Torres established himself as one of the top strikers in Spain, scoring 83 goals for Atlético as they established themselves as a force in La Liga. Torres's goal-scoring did not go unnoticed and he was a high-profile target for a number of clubs. Liverpool eventually secured his signature in 2007 for a fee in the region of £20m and he went on to become an Anfield favourite. During his time with Liverpool, El Nino scored 81 goals in 142 games and was instrumental as the club challenged for the title in 2008-2009, eventually coming second.  After three and a half years with Liverpool, Torres moved to Chelsea for a huge £50m fee in January 2011.

The Spaniard took a long time to settle at Stamford Bridge, eventually scoring his first goal in April, but, having staked so much on him, Chelsea would not give up easily. Although lacking in confidence Torres's form has improved during his time with Chelsea and he has finally achieved the club success that eluded him at Atlético and Liverpool. Torres was part of the Chelsea squads that won the FA Cup and the Champions League in 2011-2012 and he played an instrumental role in their run to Europa League glory a year later.

On the international stage, Torres has been part of one of the most successful sides in history and was involved in Spain's European Championship wins in 2008 and 2012 as well as their World Cup triumph in 2010.

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