“Steven Gerraaard…TORREEEEEES!”
Memories fail to fade even in light of betrayal. So did the Liverpool faithful admonish Fernando Torres for betraying their trust, as the “Lad from Sunny Spain” swapped his ethereal Red for a rollicking blue when he moved to Chelsea, what seems eons ago.
Life’s come a full circle for Fernando Torres since. He wears neither pure Red nor pure Blue as he steps out on the night to a din that will emanate from the San Siro in Milan to the very streets of Madrid, to fight for the biggest prize in club football.
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Fernando Torres will fight for his boyhood club in a Champions League final, a dream come true for any kid that grows up with an ambition to make it as a professional footballer. So too does Fernando live this dream, a dream for which Torres has had to live through numerous trials and tribulations in a decorated career which already boasts a UEFA Champions League winner’s medal.
Also read: UEFA Champions League final: 5 things Atletico Madrid needs to do in order to win
‘El Nino’ broke through the ranks at Atletico and became a captain, the youngest one ever in fact, for his senior side in which he played alongside, current Atletico Madrid coach, Diego Simeone. The coach will have no qualms in adding the Spaniard to his final line-up should the hour ask for it, especially with the forward in such a rich vein of form, having scored 6 in his last 7 starts for Los Rojiblancos.
Either way, ‘Cholo’ Simeone is happy with Fernando Torres and his contribution to this side. "Fernando has never complained about having to fight for his place,'' Simeone told a news conference. "When I spoke to him I said I didn't want him to return as a club idol, but we needed him to be a team player and in the last four months he's played at a very high level.”
Such has been this impact the Spaniard has had for his boyhood team, that the rumors suggest Atletico have begun negotiations over a new permanent contract for Fernando with his current loan deal up in the summer. So, wait! If he is up for a permanent renewal why is it that one talks of this event with regards to Fernando Torres with a tone of finality?
A fond look back
The Champions League Final will not measure the end of a career in terms of its actuality but will end what has been a beautiful narrative for Fernando Torres. A narrative which has been filled with ups and downs, success and failure but above all a prodigal return with a fairytale end beckoning.
Here is the man who for a brief period of time, when he was a Liverpool idol having been brought to Merseyside by Rafa Benitez, had enraptured the whole world as its most feared striker. At Euro 2008, he handed Phillip Lahm, who had staked a claim at one point to be the best defender on the planet, his greatest nightmare as a galloping Torres outmuscled and outpaced the German to score the winner in the final.
In the UEFA Champions League, he had made former Ballon D’or winner Fabio Cannavaro look foolish across two legs of a knockout round as Liverpool powered by the Spaniard tore Real Madrid apart. Again in the Champions League, he ended Barcelona’s hopes in the semi final with a searing run from his own half on the counter attack, rounding a hapless Victor Valdes and scoring to propel Chelsea into the Final they would go on to win historically under Roberto Di Matteo.
This same man faced the ignominy of being labeled a flop as his tenure at Chelsea ended in tears with a price tag of £50 million which Chelsea paid Liverpool to snatch him away from them for Carlo Ancelotti was deemed to have been wasted. He was then loaned to AC Milan where he faced further humiliation not having been able to make any impact. The National Team, for whom he has scored 38 times, also chose to phase him out as his services were not deemed necessary anymore.
A sensational comeback
Milan did make his loan permanent in a matter of 6 months into the 2-year loan deal only to immediately loan him out to Atletico Madrid two days later with Alessio Cerci going to Milan on the deal.
He has since, embarked on a transformation of sorts as in a matter of one and a half years, he has become a vital cog in the Simeone machine. He has plundered 12 goals from a range of starts this season playing foil to Antoine Griezmann who has set Europe and La Liga alight with his own exploits.
Also read: UEFA Champions League Final: Antoine Griezmann's swansong for Atletico Madrid?
However, his most important contributions have been the goal against Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the quarter-finals of the Champions League which set the tone for his team winning the round in their home leg and a vital assist against Bayern Munich for a goal that sent the favorites crashing out of the competition. Not bad for a flop, eh?
He now stands a few short steps away from returning to the San Siro with a triumphant glint in his eyes. The nightmare has given away to the ultimate dream. He wears the shirt of his childhood club and will fight for its honour as their fiercest rivals stand in their path to true glory.
Whether Fernando Torres starts is a question only ‘Cholo’ will have the answer to. However, the man who scored in the UEFA Euro 2008 and 2012 finals and on many an important night in Liverpool and Chelsea’s history could call the climax of his beautiful career, the beautiful man that he is, by scoring the most important goal of them all:
The goal that wins Atletico Madrid the UEFA Champions League.
