Champions League, Liverpool, Premier League
Fernando Torres: The best finisher on the globe?
Fernando Torres has proven to be worth every penny as Liverpool's search for a prolific forward came to an end with the Spaniard's entrance. Yet after a trophyless season, Torres needs to help guide the club to Premier League glory in 2009 if his time at Anfield is to be heralded a success.
I was rather hoping that this would be yet another season in which we could gleefully wallow in the many weaknesses of Liverpool.
But whilst the club has had a torrid time off the pitch and continues to idle in the Premier League, they somehow keep pulling off big wins in the Champions League. After a slow start in this year’s competition, they have just completed back-to-back victories when it most matters.
For all Rafa’s contentious decision-making, he does seem to have a great understanding of how to match and beat some of the finest teams in Europe.
Perhaps the overall lack of quality in the squad will tell in the latter stages but one player who will doubtless end the season with his reputation enhanced is Fernando Torres. After successive Anfield hat-tricks, he scored the winning goal in the away tie at Inter Milan on Tuesday evening.
If his scoring tally of 26 is impressive, the manner in which he has scored these goals is breathtaking.
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Torres had long been linked with some of the biggest names in club football, but when he finally became available last summer, few were willing to take the plunge at £27m. Some pundits have said that this was perhaps due to his modest scoring exploits in Spain.
Although he was a regular scorer, he was thought by some to need lots of chances to score relatively few goals. I for one never doubted the quality of the player and was surprised that Liverpool were the only overt bidders for his signature. A mere glance at Torres in the 2006 World Cup told you all you needed to know about his potential suitability to the English game. But I never expected him to become quite such a good finisher.
You seldom see Torres with easy opportunities in front of goal, but it is even more rare to see him miss the target from anything less than 20 yards. His finish against Inter on Tuesday was quite superb. The defender gave him what he thought to be a safe amount of space, but Torres simply turned and struck in one movement. It was a half-chance to most strikers but a gilt-edged opportunity for someone in Torres’ form.
As the season has progressed, Liverpool have often stumbled, but the Spaniard has constantly impressed with his speed, strength, balance and composure in front of the posts. With each passing week his shooting accuracy (with both feet) has improved to a now deadly level. You have to wonder how many goals, even the very best of the rest in the Premier League, would score in a Liverpool side which hasn’t otherwise noticeably improved for the last three years.
Would Rooney score 26 goals in this Liverpool side? Drogba? Adebayor? I’m not sure they would get near Torres’ total because whilst all three are great forwards, they all receive better service at their respective clubs than they could realistically expect to receive at Anfield.
Torres’ record is even more impressive when you consider that this is his first season in England.
Can any of the continent’s other top strikers claim to be as good an out-and-out finisher as Torres? |
He makes so many chances for himself and feeds off scraps at other times. He is quite simply frightening in front of goal. Conversely, let us consider for a moment how many goals Torres might score at any of the other top four clubs in England. Long-term admirer Sir Alex Ferguson must surely feel he has missed a trick, whilst Arsene Wenger must drool at the way in which Torres moves, his consummate composure and clinical use of the ball. So is there really a better finisher in world football than Fernando Torres?
Ruud Van Nistelrooy must still be up there, but he is not the man he once was and lacks the pace to continue at the top beyond next season. Dimitar Berbatov shows regular glimpses of world-class but surely isn’t quite as deadly in front of goal.
Ibrahimovic lacks the power/precison combo to be put in the same bracket. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored even more goals than Torres but still couldn’t claim to have scored from quite as many shots to nothing as the Spaniard.
Rooney is just as crucial to United as Torres to Liverpool, but the Scouser needs more chances than his counterpart. Anelka shone at Bolton but hasn’t scored many at Chelsea. David Villa. Definitely not. Henry? Still a great player but no longer as prolific.
The list goes on and has only touched upon the wealth of talent in the Spanish and Italian leagues, but while each of the players mentioned have a healthy complement of qualities, can any of them claim to be as good an out-and-out finisher as Torres?
Even a club of Liverpool’s size might struggle to keep Torres in the summer because he is just about as good as strikers get, and at 23, there is surely much more to come from the ice-cool boy from Madrid.
Can Liverpool hold on to Torres?
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Well the first line and last paragraph were very silly, but they do sandwich some good points about Torres’ progress.
He won’t be going anywhere - unless rafa goes. Even then I’m wouldn’t bet on it.
Torres is a classy forward, and he’s done well, both in his first season in English football, and, particularly, to have scored so many goals for a Liverpool team who, under recent managers, have struggled to create many chances on average per game, compared to those Arsenal & Man Utd conjure regularly conjure up.
But it’s far too early in Torres’ English football career to be making grand statements & predictions about how great/magnificent/legendary a player he is.
Lets see if Torres can score 20 plus goals every season that he’s at Liverpool, including in the the big games, then we’ll be able to make a better definitive judgement about exactly how good a striker he is.
“even a club of Liverpool’s size might struggle to keep Torres” - is that some vain attempt to imply that there a bigger clubs than us ouit there?
Ian
I would have never guessed El Nino would have been so good. As much as I wanted him at Arsenal, the only times he seemed to turn it on was against Barca.
Now he looks like a bargain and makes me think he could definitely be the one that got away. How many goals do you think he would have had by now with the service he would get at Arsenal? Hed probably be in the running for World Player of the Year…
I really had to laugh at your thoughts about Liverpool and some of the ones about FT. Other teams did have a chance to buy him but did not make it happen. He won’t be going to another team as you suggest because he wants to be at Liverpool and in fact is why he did not go to other teams before his transfer to Liverpool. He cost less than your quote so the fee is not why other teams did not get him. He will be one of the reasons people like you will change your tune about Liverpool. Rafa has a good building program in progress at Liverpool and they will do well in the PL as well as the CL. Their will be lots of interest in obtaining FT but he will not go anytime soon.
Not the worst article in the world, better than Sportingo anyway!
The only thing you could have added is that all of Torres’ 26 goals have come from open play, whereas Ronaldo who “has scored even more goals” counts free kicks and penalties in that total. Also, try counting how many goals Ronaldo has scored against big teams when it really matters.
comment number 5. do some homework!
for the last 2/3 seasons, liverpool have created more chances than any other team! Thats why even this season, Rafa has gone on and on about controlling games and creating chances. One game this season saw 31 chances. split between on target, off and blocked..The problem has been finishing them! Other teams such as ARSE and UTD create similar amounts of chances to Liverpool but have been more prolific… but FT is obviously doing his best to change this, by converting his chances.
DAVE CARR: APART FROM AGAINST INTER AND CHELSEA, AGAINST WHO HAS FERNANDO TORRES SCORED GOALS AGIANST BIG TEAMS? THE GOAL AT INTER DIDNT EVEN MATTER MUCH SINCE IT WAS OBVIOUS LIVERPOOL WERE GOING TO QUALIFY AFTER INTER GOT A MAN SENT OFF. YES, HE SCORED HATTRICKS BUT THOSE WERE AGAINST READING, WEST HAM AND BORO - NOT TEAMS THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED AS BEING BIG CLUBS..
RONALDO, AS A MIDFIELDER, HAS SCORED 30 GOALS.HE IS TOP SCORER IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AND SCORED THE VITAL WINNER AGAINST LYON.THIS SEASON, NOT MANY HAVE COME FROM THE PENALTY SPOT.
SO GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT.FERDINAND HAD TORRES IN HIS POCKET AT ANFIELD.
have to be honest some of the things you have said there do make sense!! but FT is only in his 1st season at liverpool, remember drogba he was rubbish in his first season! liverpool now have a foundation to build around! we have got a striker who can score goals for fun from anywhere! just need a couple more players who can chip in with the goal tally along with stevie g and torres!!!! come on the pool
Not sure I agree with the thought that Torres doesn’t get as good a service as other players in the premiership and therefore if they played for Liverpool they wouldn’t score as many as FT. I think he gets just as much service and Gerrard is a perfect example of that. Nonetheless he is definitely quality and its a shame he had a few niggling injuries and Rafa had to be so bloody indecisive on when to select him.
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Fernando Torres: The best finisher on the globe? — Footballing World…
Great piece on Torres - quite agree, I think he probably the best striker around at the moment, he is absolute quality….
Chelsea not a big team?
And IIRC Torres had been injured before the Man U game and was hauled off at half time clearly feeling the effects. Hardly Ferdinand showing a masterclass in defending……….even Alex Ferguson admitted to getting an extremely lucky result @ Anfield.
I think Torres attitude deserves a mention. Despite numerous thumpings from defenders the guy gets up dusts himself down and gets on with it. Ronaldo and co could do with taking a leaf out of his book. Fair play to him. Looks to be a consumate professional who gains respect from opposing players and managers alike.
I just love the hate and jealousey of all you people. He could have gone to either arsenal or united but opted to wait, his friends in spain have the never walk alone moto as their friendship code. His friends are liverpool supporters so it was only a matter of time before he signed for liverpool. Not only do they support liverpool but they all have the moto tattooed on their arms. Not every player want’s to play for united or arsenal you know!! and he has a six year contract also and anin’t going anywhere anytime soon. Sorry i that disappoints all you united supporters. The tyed will change again just like it did in the nineties, fergie will leave and other teams will be competing alot harder than they are now! Torres is a liverpool player so deal with it. Ronaldo’s goals are mostly free kicks and penalties, where as torres’s goals have been in open play! big difference, it goes to show how badly rooney is playing when a winger has to score all the goals for his team. People have always been jealous of liverpool but can’t or won’t admit it for some reason. I wonder why? Maybe a poor city neglected by the goverment had become the standard of english football and being the most successfull to boot. Poverty breeds heart and passion and that’s what liverpool has that no other city has. Liverpool is not an english city, the bloodline of the people there is welsh and irish, with abit of scots that’s why they say where scouse not english!! Fernando torres, liverpool’s number 9.
I just love the hate and jealousey of all you people. He could have gone to either arsenal or united but opted to wait, his friends in spain have the never walk alone moto as their friendship code. His friends are liverpool supporters so it was only a matter of time before he signed for liverpool. Not only do they support liverpool but they all have the moto tattooed on their arms. Not every player want’s to play for united or arsenal you know!! and he has a six year contract also and anin’t going anywhere anytime soon. Sorry if that disappoints all you united supporters. The tyed will change again just like it did in the nineties, fergie will leave and other teams will be competing alot harder than they are now! Torres is a liverpool player so deal with it. Ronaldo’s goals are mostly free kicks and penalties, where as torres’s goals have been in open play! big difference, it goes to show how badly rooney is playing when a winger has to score all the goals for his team. People have always been jealous of liverpool but can’t or won’t admit it for some reason. I wonder why? Maybe a poor city neglected by the goverment had become the standard of english football and being the most successfull to boot. Poverty breeds heart and passion and that’s what liverpool has that no other city has. Liverpool is not an english city, the bloodline of the people there is welsh and irish, with abit of scots that’s why they say where scouse not english!! Fernando torres, liverpool’s number 9.
Sorry for posting my comment twice. Technical hitch!!!
Where was Torres today?? Did he go out to play?? Did he do anything worthwhile apart from starting the dissent that got mascherano sent off?? he has been kept on leash by rio in both games, and no, he was not injured in the first game..
Cristiano has not played too well, but he has scored against a big club..no sorry..its only liverpool he scored against..they aint that good..
[...] With those in blue still reflecting on the first, Torres’s fine sense of positioning and pinpoint placement secured the three points, confidence clearly re-established with his top corner [...]