Fernando Torres

[DYC. 7,542]

Torres 'leading' his side to glory during EURO 2008 is such a myth. He scored in the final, but that's it. I guess Gotze led Germany to World Cup glory. Spain's superb midfield won them that tournament, in combination with some brilliant defending. Xavi was incredible. Senna was absolutely excellent as well. And I remember Casillas enjoying quite the tournament. He was truly in his prime back then.

Eto'o was Barcelona's star striker, scoring goals left and right. Important goals, goals in big games. Scored in two seperate CL finals. A serial winner, a key player in winning those trophies. How do you compare him with the striker of Atletico and Liverpool, who won nothing? Despite what some might think, you don't play for a top team because of luck. There's a reason Eto'o played for winning teams and Torres for non-winning teams. It's a difference in quality. And I'm talking about key players here, not types like Wes Brown and John O'Shea with their impressive CVs as squad players. It's not like Torres turned down the likes of Barca, Milan, Man Utd etc. in favour of Atletico and Liverpool.

Torres played in support of Villa for Spain. He was the one making dummy runs, creating space for his team mates, scoring fairly regularly. Torres made a name for himself sooner than Villa in the national team, but Villa went hard as soon as he became a regular. Villa was Spain's star striker. Winning Golden Boots, their highest all-time goal-scorer. How was Torres better? In fact, not being able to replace Villa has really hurt Spain. Scoring goals comes a lot harder for them nowadays.

Villa scored goals for fun at Valencia, a team under the elite. Torres scored goals for fun at Liverpool, a team under the elite. Villa joined a top team when he went to Barca. His added presence helped Barca win the league + CL double, until his unfortunate major injury ruined the rest of his time at Barca. Torres joined the elite and failed spectacularly, lucky enough to win some trophies in the process. Villa even went on to join Atletico, playing a big role in winning the league and reaching the CL final (!), even though he was past his prime.

Not to mention Villa's and Eto'o's superior technique and overall game, which only made them more valuable to their sides. Torres was one of the best strikers in the world in his prime, but he never stood out. And people need to stop the 'it's easier to score in La Liga than the PL' argument. Before the freaks of nature named Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo came along, Ronaldo's total of 34, a record set in the 90s, almost seemed impossible to beat. So many great players have played in Spain, no one managed to score 30+ for fun. Managing 25+ goals in La Liga is no easy feat. Players like Suarez, Van Persie, Drogba, Ronaldo have proven it's very possible to score a high amount of goals in the PL, not to mention past greats like Henry and others.

If you have some time, check Aguero's goal-scoring record in England. Despite dealing with niggling injuries in his time at City, he's close to averaging a goal per game.

[Tomo 21,684]

Torres wasn't that good in his prime, Danny Murphy basically summed it up, outstanding pace and power but very average technically which got laid truly to bare when he started struggling post 2010 world cup.

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2015875-fernando-torres-wasnt-massively-rated-by-liverpool-players-says-danny-murphy

If he was great technically he would have still made regular positive impacts despite being past it like Eto'o did.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Torres 'leading' his side to glory during EURO 2008 is such a myth. He scored in the final, but that's it. I guess Gotze led Germany to World Cup glory. Spain's superb midfield won them that tournament, in combination with some brilliant defending. Xavi was incredible. Senna was absolutely excellent as well. And I remember Casillas enjoying quite the tournament. He was truly in his prime back then.

Eto'o was Barcelona's star striker, scoring goals left and right. Important goals, goals in big games. Scored in two seperate CL finals. A serial winner, a key player in winning those trophies. How do you compare him with the striker of Atletico and Liverpool, who won nothing? Despite what some might think, you don't play for a top team because of luck. There's a reason Eto'o played for winning teams and Torres for non-winning teams. It's a difference in quality. And I'm talking about key players here, not types like Wes Brown and John O'Shea with their impressive CVs as squad players. It's not like Torres turned down the likes of Barca, Milan, Man Utd etc. in favour of Atletico and Liverpool.

Torres played in support of Villa for Spain. He was the one making dummy runs, creating space for his team mates, scoring fairly regularly. Torres made a name for himself sooner than Villa in the national team, but Villa went hard as soon as he became a regular. Villa was Spain's star striker. Winning Golden Boots, their highest all-time goal-scorer. How was Torres better? In fact, not being able to replace Villa has really hurt Spain. Scoring goals comes a lot harder for them.

Villa scored goals for fun at Valencia, a team under the elite. Torres scored goals for fun at Liverpool, a team under the elite. Villa joined a top team when he went to Barca. His added presence helped Barca win the league + CL double, until his unfortunate major injury ruined the rest of his time at Barca. Torres joined the elite and failed spectacularly, lucky enough to win some trophies in the process. Villa even went on to join Atletico, playing a big role in winning the league and reaching the CL final (!), even though he was past his prime.

Not to mention Villa and Eto'o's superior technique and overall game, which only made them more valuable to their sides. Torres was one of the best strikers in the world in his prime, but he never stood out. And people need to stop the 'it's easier to score in La Liga than the PL' argument. Before the freaks of nature named Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo came along, Ronaldo's total of 34, a record set in the 90s, almost seemed impossible to beat. So many great players have played in Spain, no one managed to score 30+ for fun. Managing 25+ goals in La Liga is no easy feat. Players like Suarez, Van Persie, Drogba, Ronaldo have proven it's very possible to score a high amount of goals in the PL, not to mention past greats like Henry and others.

If you have some time, check Aguero's goal-scoring record in England. Despite dealing with niggling injuries in his time at City, he's close to averaging a goal per game.

/closethread

[zolayes 14,489]

Torres had tremendous acceleration and pace ,,, once that was gone he was a three legged donkey

[iceman 329]

[OhForAGreavsie 5,776]

Remember Torres didn't even take penalties in that time period. He was absolutely better than Torres & Villa.

https://youtu.be/DU0NlQEIOxg

Just ridiculous

What seems ridiculous in my opinion is to imagine it is possible to quantify a player's ability simply by counting goals. Thinking like that can lead to flushing £100m down the toilet if you're not careful.

I frequently said, while Torres was scoring those goals, that he was nevertheless a very ordinary player. We have since learned from Danny Murphy that Torres's Liverpool teammates thought so too. Recently Iker Casillas has also broken cover, which I expect more professionals will as the years pass and the autobiographies are published. Forget the goals, the truth about Torres was inescapable if you just watched him play. A bloke might be able to beat the odds for a while but Nando's luck was always going to run out.

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

I think people here exaggerate Torres's struggles. The guy was decent was just unlucky because of his price tag which really affected his confidence, we have had much worse flops like Shevchenko, Veron and Kezman. He was not a success but neither was he a failure imo

[Spike 12,049]

I think people here exaggerate Torres's struggles. The guy was decent was just unlucky because of his price tag which really affected his confidence, we have had much worse flops like Shevchenko, Veron and Kezman. He was not a success but neither was he a failure imo

Unlucky because of his transfer? His knees were shot and he burnt out by 27. He was once the best striker in the world, bar no one. He demolished the Premier Leauge in its peak for three solid years. It was never a matter of confidence or lack there of, the injuries, surgeries and poor management from the Spanish and Liverpool medical teams is what contributed to his downfall. To say that Torres lacked confidence for the entire duration of his Chelsea career is a copout. He at one point, he scored a betler of a goal against the supposed 'best team in the world' in a Champions League semifinal, if that doesn't give a man confidence not much will.

Shevchenko wasn't a flop per se (he was with a *). It was a bad transfer moreso. Sheva was already 30, closer to 31 when he joined Chelsea. To expect him to replicate waht he had done in Italy probably wasn't the wisest. Sure he could have done better, but really he wasn't suited to the team nor was he in his prime.

Kezman was from a striker from the Eredivisie. Flops from that league are a dime a dozen.

[Tomo 21,684]

I think people here exaggerate Torres's struggles. The guy was decent was just unlucky because of his price tag which really affected his confidence, we have had much worse flops like Shevchenko, Veron and Kezman. He was not a success but neither was he a failure imo

He was worse than Sheva and Kezman.

If those two got the unconditional chances and their name chanted every time they got dispossessed I'm certain they would have done better.

The fact that we brought back the striker he was suppose to replace at 36 years old to replace him says it all, there is just no way of sugarcoating Torres, he was a complete disaster.

[Tomo 21,684]

Unlucky because of his transfer? His knees were shot and he burnt out by 27. He was once the best striker in the world, bar no one. He demolished the Premier Leauge in its peak for three solid years. It was never a matter of confidence or lack there of, the injuries, surgeries and poor management from the Spanish and Liverpool medical teams is what contributed to his downfall. To say that Torres lacked confidence for the entire duration of his Chelsea career is a copout. He at one point, he scored a betler of a goal against the supposed 'best team in the world' in a Champions League semifinal, if that doesn't give a man confidence not much will.

Shevchenko wasn't a flop per se (he was with a *). It was a bad transfer moreso. Sheva was already 30, closer to 31 when he joined Chelsea. To expect him to replicate waht he had done in Italy probably wasn't the wisest. Sure he could have done better, but really he wasn't suited to the team nor was he in his prime.

Kezman was from a striker from the Eredivisie. Flops from that league are a dime a dozen.

He was never the best striker in the world, even in his prime his all round play was pretty limited.

Eto'o, Drogba, Henry, Rooney and Villa were all better in that period, especially against tight defences were you needed a bit of craft and intelligence to break through.

[Pacquiao 1,834]

I think people here exaggerate Torres's struggles. The guy was decent was just unlucky because of his price tag which really affected his confidence, we have had much worse flops like Shevchenko, Veron and Kezman. He was not a success but neither was he a failure imo

you do know Kezman was bought in as a 3rd choice striker behind Drogba and Gudjohnsen, he scored in a cup final, scored 4 goals in 6 PL starts and lead the line brilliantly in one of our greatest ever matches when we beat Barca 4-2, still to this day i dont know how Kezman can be considered a flop, what more do you want from a 3rd choice striker?

[Spike 12,049]

He was never the best striker in the world, even in his prime his all round play was pretty limited.

Eto'o, Drogba, Henry, Rooney and Villa were all better in that period, especially against tight defences were you needed a bit of craft and intelligence to break through.

I didn't actually mention a period of time. The only period of time I mentioned was that he 'demolished the premier league for three years', not that he was the best striker for all those years.

Torres was better than those players in 07. Limited or not, Torres got the job done. It is very easy to forget how ridiculously good he was.

[cfcs most wanted 657]

He was never the best striker in the world, even in his prime his all round play was pretty limited.

Eto'o, Drogba, Henry, Rooney and Villa were all better in that period, especially against tight defences were you needed a bit of craft and intelligence to break through.

You just hate torres don't you?? Saying Villa was better than Torres is plain absurdity

[Spike 12,049]

You just hate torres don't you?? Saying Villa was better than Torres is plain absurdity

He was for the most part.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Iker Casillas slammed Fernando Torres after he joined Chelsea

Iker Casillas labelled Fernando Torres "the most overvalued player in Spanish football" after the striker completed his £50 million move from Liverpool to Chelsea in January 2011. (According to Dudek's book)

http://www.givemesport.com/583669-iker-casillas-slammed-fernando-torres-after-he-joined-chelsea?autoplay=on

Such a rat that Casillas, himself was the most overrated goalkeeper of the last decade.

Casillas was shit for last three years, but you cant take away his career as whole. World cups and euro, 3 CL, 7 la liga titles. Till Mou benched him, he was one if not best GK for several years, along Buffon. But he turned quite shit after that and last three years he was overrated as fuck.

He become realy good at very young age (around 19), but declined quickly too. After 30, he wasnt the same. Hopefuly this wont happen with Tibo.

[Tomo 21,684]

I didn't actually mention a period of time. The only period of time I mentioned was that he 'demolished the premier league for three years', not that he was the best striker for all those years.

Torres was better than those players in 07. Limited or not, Torres got the job done. It is very easy to forget how ridiculously good he was.

Fair enough, I still disagree mind, in 2007 Drogba and Villa were unreal, although Eto'o and Henry were a bit off mainly due to injuries, both had lengthy spells out IRRC.

One for a greavsie explains the "Torres wasn't as good as made out in his prime" opinion a lot better than I do.

[termninja 5,290]

Just scored against Barcelona, classic Torres goal. Got a through ball, sprint 1-1, hits the post and Atletico lead 1:0.

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

Simeone did what no manager could, maybe just maybe he could be a miracle worker after all.