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Position: Striker
Date of Birth: 20/03/1984
Height: 6'1
Weight: 12st 4
1st team games: 103
1st team goals: 62
International caps: 70
International goals: 23
Former clubs: Atletico Madrid
Birth Place: Madrid, Spain |
For too many years Liverpool had the tag of being a one man team, the general consensus outside the club being that without Steven Gerrard Liverpool weren’t a force to be reckoned with. In the summer of 2007 though manager Rafa Benitez made a signing that would put this theory to bed once and for all, with Fernando Torres arriving from Atletico Madrid for a club record fee of approximately £20m.
Torres arrived with a reputation as one of the hottest properties in Spanish football, and Benitez saw off a host of top European clubs, including Man Utd & Chelsea, to sign the striker for Liverpool.
Despite his undoubted talent there were question marks over whether Torres would be the goal machine the fans were crying out for, his best tally previously having been 21 goals. Any fears proved unfounded though, as Torres elevated himself to hero status in no time at all with 33 goals in his debut season, beating the previous record for a debut season by a foreigner set by Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
It wasn’t just a case of quantity over quality though, the majority of the Spanish striker’s goals coming straight out of the top drawer. When the goods were needed Torres delivered time & time again, with crucial goals in the Champions League against Inter Milan, Arsenal & Chelsea.
Torres then topped off an incredible season by winning Euro 2008 with Spain, his goal deciding the final against Germany.
It is yet to be seen if Torres can reproduce the form of his first season, but one thing’s for sure, if he can get anywhere near his 07/08 tally he is sure to have the Kop bouncing once again.
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