Tortilla9

He played 90 minutes for Portugal last week.

DB has been good to Torres but that goes both ways. A main source of friction at Liverpool was Torres/Spain NT/Liverpool. He'd leave Liverpool, join the NT, come back hurt, and Liverpool would miss him for weeks. Liverpool would rush to have him back, another international game/friendly, off Torres would go to join Spain, and he'd get hurt again. It was pissing off Rafa who wanted Torres to rest, it was pissing off Spain who said he was ok, and it was pissing off Torres who wanted to play for club and country. DB brought Torres for the WC because of his history with the NT, his Euro Cup winning goal, etc (similar to Lampard - a good servant for his country). In hindsight it was probably one of the worst things to happen - Torres was only 6-8 weeks post-op knee surgery (second in 6 months) and he wasn't 100%. He probably wasn't even 75% and it affected his game. For me personally (and I don't count according to AVB or DB), Torres needs to stay healthy, needs to play with his club, find a rhythm with his teammates, and find the back of the net. The rest will take care of itself. For me now it seems to be a mental block more than anything else. The hate he receives from the media, "fans", makes me wonder what he's done to piss off so many people other than leave holier than thou Liverpool. He even gets it in Spain which Atletico fans say is because he's repeatedly pledged his loyalty to Atletico and thumbed his nose at RM. In Madrid, if you're not playing for RM, you're sh*t and that permeates a lot of the Spanish media. Bottom line - he needs to work hard, start scoring, and that'll shut up his critics.

Llorente has to play today in his hometown or VDB will find it difficult to make it out of the stadium.

Torres has been part of the Spain NT for a long time. Even when he's been at his best, think 2007/2008, he's looked a little out of place on the Spain NT. That said, he needs to get on the score sheet quick and I say that as a huge Torres fan.

Deleted - my info was pure crap

I've watched him and never thought "he's strong". His strengths lie in his speed of play, movement, and technique.

Why wasn't Ramires at the Brazil game? Hasn't he been a regular lately?

Not saying its right or wrong but I don't think AVB will bench Lampard after the rough English week he's had.

This forum might meltdown from the outrage.

He played the entire game for Portugal yesterday.

The crazy scousers can't understand that a player of Meireles quality wouldn't be happy sitting on the bench behind Henderson, Spearing, etc. while Kenny rebuilds his English armada. Add into it their misguided "thinking" that the transfer actually happened in the last 30 minutes of the window. Sure it did. Morons. And one more rant, their hypocrisy knows no bounds. A LFC player should never ever want to leave LFC or they instantly become a traitor. But when a player comes to them the player is looking for history or whatever else they're selling - not CL. Players come and go and it speaks to the small minded nature of LFC that they think they are the end all be all of football.

On the way to the HDC to watch the next step of the Klinsi era. Lets see what the USMNT look like tonight. Will be weird to see no Bradley name out there (about time I say).

That penalty was pretty soft IF it was a penalty. Not quite sure what set off Iniesta but he is so talented its ridiculous.

Mata didn't play. Meireles I read on Portugese forums played solid. Didn't stand out in a 4-0 win. Portugese fans not happy with the team's overall performance but no hating toward Meireles. Torres came on and played about 25 minutes. Cesc played a good through ball, Torres had a good touch to collect it and as he went left he tried to take a shot with his left. The bend wasn't quite there. He played at the top of the spear but didn't see the ball too much. Lot of middle of the park play typical of Spain. Even Spain with their great talent have some inept crossing at times.

LOL

Too keep in mind Mata is a relative newcomer to the NT and one of the younger ones. He's a little further down the pecking order for Spain.

Torres is probably thinking what the hell is the matter with you La Liga players?!? It's a freakin' friendly. DB needs to do a little ass chewing because the team is that talented that they don't need dumbass behavior like that.

At least he's taking shots. I'd rather he try shooting than laying it off to someone else. Spain's drama queen antics continue.

Spain wins 3-2 with a PK in the dying minutes. Chile 2 red cards. Fight breaks out at the end of the friendly.

Damn DB - Torres is warming up.

Reina on for Casillas who shouldn't be blamed that his defense is crap. Iniesta and Pedro also on for Alonso and Villa. No need to play Torres or Mata today.

What a concept.

So he can actually get the ball past the near post defender?

Maybe DB isn't too bothered because it's a friendly? On the other hand, Spain has taken their foot off the pedal since winning the WC while other teams are looking to head hunt when they play them.

Sometimes DB is a victim of favoring players based on reputation, ie they play for Barcelona or RM. Puyol has proven how invaluable he is to the SNT. The problem is he's not getting any younger and DB has to find a better solution.