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Fernando Torres Profile |
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Birth Date: March 20, 1984
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Birth Place: Madrid, Spain
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Birth Name: Fernando José Torres Sanz
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Height: 6'0"
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Biography |
Fernando José Torres Sanz is a Spanish football player and
the captain of Atlético de Madrid.
He was born in the Fuenlabrada neighbourhood, traditionally
Real Madrid territory, but he grew up to wear the red and
white stripes of Atlético de Madrid. Nicknamed El Niño (The
Kid) for his youthful face, Torres is a striker for the
Spanish National Team and Atlético de Madrid.
In 1999, Torres signed his first contract with the club and
at the end of the 1999–2000 season he was part of the first
team. His next success was at the European Under-16
Championship in England in 2001, where he finished as the
Player of the Tournament en route to Spain's victory. This
catapulted him to celebrity status in his native Madrid.
Torres made his debut for Atlético de Madrid in the Vicente
Calderón Stadium against Leganes and he scored his first
goal for the club the following week, in a game against
Albacete. 2002 saw Atlético Madrid returning to the first
division of Spanish football. In his first season playing in
the top division, Torres did not find the transition from
second tier football too much of a hindrance as he scored 13
goals. Torres has been the top scorer for Atlético in La
Liga for the past four seasons.
He is the youngest player to play for Atlético de Madrid,
the youngest to become captain (at age 19), and the youngest
goalscorer for the Spain national football team.
In November of 2001 Torres played in the Under-17 World Cup
in Trinidad and Tobago. In July of 2002, he played in the
Under-19 European Championships in Norway, a tournament
Spain won. Torres was both top scorer and Player of the
Tournament. He made his debut for the Under-21 national team
in 2003. On September 6, later that year, Torres made his
debut for the senior national team against Portugal. His
first goal for Spain came against Italy on April 28, 2004.
It was widely expected that a good performance for Spain at
the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany would boost Torres'
already significant demand among major European clubs. At
his first ever appearance in a World Cup finals match,
Torres scored with a spectacular volley helping Spain to a
win over Ukraine. In the second group match Spain rallied
from a 0-1 deficit against Tunisia to win 3-1. Torres scored
in the 76th minute for Spain to take the lead 2-1 and then
again from a penalty kick in the 90th minute. He was
subsequently given a much-needed rest in Spain's third group
match against Saudi Arabia, entering the game only to
substitute José Antonio Reyes in the 70th minute. As Torres
walked onto the field the crowd roared with excitement,
showing just how popular he is among Spanish fans. Having
managed to score 3 goals in the tournament, Torres is one of
the leading goal scorers in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was
also the first player to score 3 goals in the tournament.
Torres started the round of 16 matches against France, but
after initially taking the lead, Spain went on to lose 1-3
and were knocked out of the tournament.
The Spanish national team coach, Luis Aragonés, remarked
that he "never scores two goals the same" because of the way
he seems to score a different goal every time he steps onto
the pitch.
In the summer of 2005 Chelsea and Manchester United were
supposedly fighting to sign him with millions of pounds
reportedly being offered. However, Torres rejected their
alleged offers and decided to stay with Atlético.
In March 2006, the Spanish striker said it was confirmed to
him by Atlético chiefs that Newcastle United had made a bid
which was subsequently rejected. Atlético's coach, Javier
Aguirre has stated many times that Torres will not be sold
for less than his buyout clause of more than £40 million.
Other sources have reported that Ferguson will not pay £40
million for the Spanish striker, and has instead put in an
offer of £25 million to Atlético, who have been facing
financial difficulties.
There has been some confusion over Torres's own opinion on
the matter. Javier Aguirre, has told the Spanish newspaper,
Marca, that "I've spoken to Fernando and he hasn't been able
to guarantee his presence in the team in the forthcoming
season. The market is still open and a lot of things can
happen, but it is clear that every day that passes is one
day less for something to occur. What I want to make clear,
though, is that Fernando has a great commitment to the
club." However, his agent has made opposite claims, saying
that "On 21 July, Torres will join Atletico Madrid for
pre-season training. Torres has two years left on his
contract with Atletico and then we will see what happens.
After the World Cup, there has been interest from Italian
clubs but not from English clubs, and there hasn't been
anything concrete." He also added that "The player's
intention is to remain at Atlético. Neither us, nor the
club, has received an offer from Manchester United, or any
other clubs for that matter."
Torres has recently stated in a news conference that he is
staying at Atletico until his contract is up. However,
speculation remains rife that Manchester United and AC Milan
have remained interested. It has been reported that Torres'
agent has stated that his client may be tempted by Milan,
while reports in the English press suggest that Torres is
desperate to replace Ruud van Nistelrooy at Old Trafford. As
Torres has only two years remaining on his contract and is
unlikely to sign an extension, a bid of around £25m may
tempt Atletico to release Torres, as his value will drop by
65% in the last year of his contract. The English newspaper
The People has claimed that United is planning to launch a
bid of £27m. The paper noted that United manager Sir Alex
Ferguson is pressuring Chief Executive David Gill to
seriously bid for Torres to quell the anxiety among United
fans following the departure of van Nistelrooy. The article
also suggested that United would have trouble raising the
funds to bid for Torres following the less-than-spectacular
sale of van Nistelrooy, Ferguson's desire to aquire Brazil's
Marcos Senna for £4m, the owning Glazer famiy's financial
woes, and the recent purchase of Tottenham Hotspur F.C.'s
Michael Carrick for (up to) £18.6m, which would make him the
fifth-most expensive British footballer ever. |
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Other Information |
He met his current girlfriend, Olalla, in 1992 when his
parents bought a house in Galicia.
He has three tattoos: one is on the inside of his left arm
that says "Fernando" in Tengwar; the number 9, his number
for Atlético de Madrid and the Spanish national team, is
tattooed on the inside of his right wrist; and the Roman
numerals VII VII MMI (7 7 2001) are tattooed on the inside
of his right shin. It is likely that the Roman numerals
represent the date of his first date with his current
girlfriend, Olalla.
He's said that signing autographs after training sessions
are "almost a duty, a moral obligation". |
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Sooo hot!