Fernando Torres’ blond hair has been lost to more understated style trends, but, as his second chapter with Atletico Madrid concludes, the similarities between him and Goldilocks remain strong.
His story began with an Atletico Madrid very different to the third estate of La Liga that we know today. He joined at the age of 11 and made his first-team debut at 17, while Atletico were in the second division. After his first full season, they won promotion and, at 19 years old, he became the youngest captain in club history. Several seasons of bouncing around the middle of the table later, Atletico began to seem too small for their increasingly blond-haired top scorer. He had bigger chairs and warmer bowls of porridge to try. So, with 91 goals in 244 appearances to his credit and only a Segunda Division title to show for it, Torres moved to Liverpool.
Advertisement
Liverpool was two years removed from winning the Champions League and one from winning the FA Cup. They had Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, and a strong Spanish presence with Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa, Pepe Reina, and manager Rafa Benitez. Torres was joining, in his words, “one of the best, if not the best, club in Europe.” It would prove to be neither too big nor too hot for him (too rainy, perhaps, but that’s besides the point). Only Cristiano Ronaldo outscored him in his first Premier League season. But as he won the first of two Euro titles and the World Cup with Spain, trophies began to elude him at the club level. Once again, feeling cramped and put off his gazpacho, he moved to then-reigning Premier League champions Chelsea midway through his fourth season in England.
At this point it becomes clear that Goldilocks has wandered into Hansel and Gretel’s tale, following a breadcrumb trail of trophies into his own personal gingerbread house of horrors on an increasingly desperate pursuit of club achievements. The move to Chelsea was the most expensive ever completed by a Spanish player. And this time, he got what he was after. But the cosmic retribution for leaving two clubs where he was beloved on his search for glory can only be described as a curse.
Torres won trophies during his time at Chelsea—the FA Cup, the Champions League, and the Europa League league, each once—but he paid for this dreamy haul with his precious ability to score goals. In Chelsea blue, even the simplest chances vexed Torres like a box step would a baby deer, stripping him of his identity and turning him into an object of global ridicule. Not only was he failing to meet the lofty expectations of his historic price tag, but he went five months without scoring during the 2011-12 season. Somehow, in the midst of this, he still managed to be the top scorer at Euro 2012 and the 2013 Confederations Cup, further proving that his Chelsea form was the result of a supernatural punishment. Surrounded by candies and cakes at Stamford Bridge, he sat trapped in a cage of his own ineffectiveness.
What eventually softened the ridicule was the genuine innocence of the man nicknamed El Niño, who only started playing football because of a cartoon. Though many Liverpool supporters in particular harbored intense feelings about him, for most it was more of an anger that someone they had loved so deeply would wander off in search of what their club couldn’t provide rather than a true hatred of Torres as a person. In the internet age, as in 19th century storybooks, the backlash against a perceived wrongdoing can be excessively harsh. This was the case for Fernando Torres.
Advertisement
Following a brief stint in Milan, Torres returned to Atletico Madrid on loan in 2015, welcomed back by supporters who never stopped loving him. And, as though on cue, the trophies dried up once again.
While Torres was in England, Atletico won the Europa League twice—their first ever continental titles. The season before he returned, Atletico had won La Liga for the first time since Torres was 12 years old. With him back in the squad and scoring in line with measured expectations, Atletico endured three seasons without a trophy, including a cruel loss to rivals Real Madrid in the Champions League final for the second time in three years. Now in his mid-30s and with his contract reaching its end, the 2017-18 season became his last chance to win something more befitting his mark on the club than a lone second division title.
Last Wednesday, Atletico won the Europa League and Torres, who played the closing minutes of the match, was summoned by captain Gabi to lift the trophy with him.
On Friday, Torres was finally able to celebrate a major title at Madrid’s Fountain of Neptune—Atletico’s customary celebration spot. “It’s been a long time and throughout my whole career I’ve won a lot of things, but this is definitely the best,” he told the gathered crowd.
On Sunday, Torres started and once again wore the captain’s armband in his final match with the club. He scored both of his team’s goals in a 2-2 draw to end the season.
Had he not gone off on his treacherous journey into the unknown, these events arguably wouldn’t have been as satisfying. Now, regardless of whether he retires or tacks on an epilogue in MLS or the Chinese Super League, his story has a happy ending. He finally found a situation that was just right.
(Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)