Fernando Torres officially retired from football last Friday, bringing an end to his wildly successful 18-year footballing career after Sagan Tosu's loss against Vissel Kobe. The former Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea striker had announced in June that he would hang his boots after Friday's J-League clash against Vissel Kobe.
Torres made his first-team debut at Atletico and was also their captain at 19 years of age. He stayed there till 2006/07 season and then joined Liverpool. At Liverpool, he made a name for himself and also came third in the 2008 Balon D'or behind Ronaldo and Messi. He handed in a transfer request and was sold to Chelsea in January 2011. His form took a massive dip at Chelsea and returned back to Atletico in 2015. He joined Japanese League side Sagan Tosu in July last year.
There have been quite a lot of memorable occasions in Torres’ career, but we bring you five for which he will be always remembered.
5. Debut and first goal with Atletico Madrid
Torres started his career at Atletico Madrid and progressed through their youth system to their first team. He made his first-team debut with Atletico in May 2001 against Leganes at Vicente Calderon. A week later he scored his first goal with Atletico against Albacete. Torres was so good that Atletico Madrid gave him his senior debut at the age of 17 years, earning him the nickname "El Nino".
4. Torres' brace against Real Madrid in Copa Del Rey
Having already scored a brace against Real Madrid when he was at Liverpool, this time Torres helped his childhood club Atletico Madrid get past Real Madrid in Copa Del Rey Round of 16. Torres scored in the first minute of each half. It was his first goals for Atletico since coming back to Spain. The win extended Atleti's unbeaten run of games against Real Madrid to five. After the game, Simeone said, “When Fernando came out of our academy he was very young for everything that happened to him but he responded very well. He left and grew up and now he is a man. I’m very happy for him. The fans are happy, his arrival is doing us good, even though some doubted him.”
3. UEFA Euro 2008 final goal against Germany
Not a single list of Torres' memorable moments would be complete without mentioning his goal that won Spain their first silverware in over 40 years. Torres goal was the stepping stone to their dominance that spanned from 2008 to 2012. He will always be remembered for the only goal in the final, when he scored past Lehmann. His goal and Spain’s subsequent win changed Spain's mentality and the way they were viewed. Despite slowing down, he was still an integral part of Spain's squad that won the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euros.
2. The goal that knocked Barcelona out of 2011/12 Champions League
Chelsea went to the Camp Nou one goal up and things weren't looking good after goals from Busquets and Iniesta put the Catalans ahead. Ramires lobbed Victor Valdes and put Di Matteo's men back in the box seat on away goals. Messi missed a crucial penalty for Barcelona at the start of the second half. Fernando Torres put the final nail in the coffin as he scored Chelsea's second of the game (a third of the tie) to seal the tie. He burst clear, rounded Valdes and slotted home to help Chelsea reach the final.
1. Torres destroys Vidic in Liverpool's 4-1 win at Old Trafford
One can't talk about Torres and Liverpool without thinking back to their game against Manchester United in 2009. United were unbeaten for a while back then and were favourites to win the fixture at Old Trafford. Vidic was one of the best defenders in the Premier League back then. Torres took him on and even stole the ball from him to score Liverpool's first goal of the game. The Serb just had to clear the ball and only Torres was running at him. But he panicked in front of Torres and the ball bounced back in his own half. He tried to deal with it but El Nino got there first and dinked the ball past Edwin van der Sar. Vidic couldn't handle Torres in the first half and eventually got sent off in the second.
