Blooming once in a Blue Moon – In search of the El-Nino of old

Fernando Torres

As the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals at the Parc des Princes ended in a morale-crushing loss for Chelsea, a forlorn figure stood on the ground, his eyes fixated on the green turf, his mind presumably wandering towards “days of the glorious past”, a time when his feet would run riot around opposing defenders, their reputation counting for nothing. A prolific goal-machine who once recorded 81 goals in 142 appearances for Liverpool, Fernando Torres has been Chelsea’s flag bearer of criticism countless times since his arrival, cynics jumping at the earliest instant to lambast the “£50 million flop”, a moniker that has stuck to him.

El-Nino is the latest addition to Chelsea’s bandwagon of misfiring strikers, with the club’s iterating penchant for luring big-game strikers only to see them fail to flourish at the club. The enduring saga eventually comes to an end when the club decides to offload the player, albeit for a fee that would amount to a fraction of the initial money doled out.

Perhaps it is not Torres’ foible that his playing style and Chelsea’s brand of football are as different as chalk and cheese. For countless years, the focal point of the Blues’ attack was a bullish Ivorian striker going by the name of Didier Drogba. Every piece of silverware that Chelsea won in eight years, from 2004-2012 would be stamped by emblematic contributions from the talismanic Ivorian, the icing of the cake coming on that unforgettable night in Bavaria in May 2012, a night when Drogba permanently etched a name for himself in Stamford Bridge folklore.

Power and sheer strength form a major part of Drogba’s arsenal and a cursory glance at Drogba’s frame would leave you in no doubt why. Drogba was the master of conjuring “something from nothing” with a proverbial example coming from Chelsea’s Champions League triumph at the Allianz Arena in 2012.

Bayern Munich had arguably dominated the game for most periods, enjoying a far greater share of possession throughout but could not find the bottom of the net against some resolute and disciplined defending by Chelsea. But the deadlock was finally broken on the 82nd minute when a lapse of concentration by Ashley Cole left Thomas Mueller unmarked to head into the ground. Petr Cech was deceived by the ball’s bounce and the ball eluded his grasp. Bayern players collapsed onto Mueller in celebration and Bavaria erupted into a frenzy.

Chelsea had their backs to the wall and a twist to the tale would have to result from a godsend miracle, but another man had different ideas. During the dying embers of the game, Juan Mata sent a corner wafting towards the box. Didier Drogba lost his marker and made his way to the near post, met the ball with a thumping header. Such was the power on the ball that Manuel Neuer could only parry it into his own net. The match would be decided by a penalty shootout and it would be Drogba’s night to savour as he scored the winning penalty to finally lay his hands on the elusive European silverware.

Fernando Torres in his prime at Liverpool

Roll back to January of 2011 and Fernando Torres was the toast of West London. Torres who had announced himself to the football world in 2001 as a sandy-haired bloke with boundless talent from Atlético Madrid, would go on to captain the side at a tender age of 19 before moving on to Liverpool where he would establish himself in the upper echelons of strikers to have graced the Kop.

But Torres would find life at the Bridge difficult to adapt to, the intensive media hounding something he would have never imagined. Behind Drogba in the Chelsea pecking order, Torres would find himself irrationally being singled out for Chelsea’s failures. Besides, Torres never found himself in sync with the footballing philosophy at Stamford Bridge. Hold-up play and playing with his back to the goal were never his cup of tea as Torres was more of a finesse-based player – change of pace and stealth being his forte.

The post-Drogba era of Chelsea witnessed a wholesale shakeup in the Chelsea squad, fueled by a craving for attractive football from Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich. When he bought Chelsea in 2004, the intention was to build a successful squad, one that would fill the Chelsea cabinet with silverware. José Mourinho followed his owner faithfully, winning successive Premier League titles and a plenitude of Cup titles. But as the years progressed, the Russian oligarch grew weary of the criticism that engulfed his team’s style of football that was described as “defensive and overly cautious.” Besides, deep down inside he yearned for a style akin to that of Barcelona’s.

Consequently, the summer of 2012 witnessed an influx of creative talent to Chelsea, with the likes of Oscar and Eden Hazard joining the club. If the Drogba era had posed a challenge to Torres, his departure seemed to pose a challenge albeit of a different dimension to him. Torres’ role had changed and he would have to work off the ball, open up spaces for his teammates but would rarely be a recipient of the final ball, his teammates deciding to go for glory instead.

On the few occasions that would present him a chance to score, his confidence would desert him and profligacy would take over. The most evident display of the discord between the principles of the club and the player can arguably be as recent as this week’s Champions League semifinal with Atlético Madrid. Mourinho true to his principles, had named an overtly defensive squad which left Torres in isolation and further up the pitch than his teammates. Chelsea lacked intent in their passes going forward, and Torres was left to do it all by himself. The occasional foray into the Atlético half that came to him would amount to nothing because of the lack of support from his midfielders.

When José Mourinho bemoans the lack of true strikers in his club, one can understand the type of striker he desires. Mourinho desires a poacher who is eternally alert, so that no defensive lapse by an opponent is left unpunished. If the keeper spills the ball, the striker should be on board to put it in the back of the net. Hence, it is no surprise that Chelsea are looking to add Diego Costa to their roster for he fits the bill to a T.

Costa has been the ambassador of Atlético’s brand of rugged football, a contrast to the patient, passing style adopted by most Spanish sides. His aggressive intent has seen him score 35 goals in all competitions this season, with 27 of them coming in the La Liga. Chelsea’s strikeforce of Torres, Samuel Eto’o and Demba Ba have combined for a total of only 21 league goals this season. Costa could be to Chelsea what Mario Mandzukic is to Bayern Munich – a forward with the dynamism to make his teammates better by deflecting all the attention towards him but at the same time ready to take centre stage when the situation demands it.

Atletico Madrid’s Brazilian-born forward Diego da Silva Costa

As for Torres, maybe it is time to seek greener pastures, away from Stamford Bridge, despite Mourinho guaranteeing that Torres has a future in the club. An interesting prospect for him would be a stint in the Serie A. Inter Milan covet the Spaniard and have made no attempt to keep their desire for Torres a secret from the public. And why would they? For they desperately need another striker to partner Rodrigo Palacio. Palacio has been tremendous for them this season but apart from him they only possess Diego Milito, whose heydays seem to have come to an end.

And football in Italy has a counter-attacking flavour splashed all over it, with even the top teams like Juventus, and Roma looking to capitalize on a quick break, something Torres would relish. The Spaniard is only 30, and for a striker it would effectively mean that there would be at least three or four seasons left in the tank.

An alternative for Torres could be a return to his boyhood club, Atlético Madrid. Diego Costa is sure to depart this summer with Chelsea being the likely destination and speculations have arisen that Torres may be headed in the opposite direction. Diego Simeone has lavished praise on Torres, and even seems open to building his squad to suit Torres. For Chelsea, it seems financially sensible to let Torres leave, for it could help them offset the transfer fee required to lure Costa to West London.

Irrespective of what transpires, Fernando Torres’ agent Antonio Sanz is in for an interesting off-season this summer.