Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz (Spanish pronunciation: [feɾˈnando ˈtores]; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, Torres came to be nicknamed El Niño ('The Kid'), which stuck with him throughout his career. In his prime, he was praised for his pace, accurate finishing, and proficiency in heading, and was named in the FIFA World XI twice.
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Torres with Atlético Madrid in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Fernando José Torres Sanz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 20 March 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Fuenlabrada, Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Atlético Madrid U19 (manager) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1991 | Parque 84 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1994 | Mario's Holanda | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Rayo 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2001 | Atlético Madrid | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2007 | Atlético Madrid | 214 | (82) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2011 | Liverpool | 102 | (65) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | Chelsea | 110 | (20) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | → AC Milan (loan) | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | AC Milan | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | → Atlético Madrid (loan) | 49 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Atlético Madrid | 58 | (13) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Sagan Tosu | 35 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 578 | (200) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Spain U15 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Spain U16 | 9 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Spain U17 | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Spain U18 | 1 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Spain U19 | 5 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Spain U21 | 10 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2014 | Spain | 110 | (38) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Atlético Madrid U19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth system to the first-team squad. He made his first-team debut in 2001 and finished his time at the club with 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances. Torres joined Premier League club Liverpool in 2007, after signing for a club record transfer fee. The most prolific goalscoring spell of his career, he became the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals and was often regarded as one of the best strikers in the world. In 2008, he finished third for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year.
Striving to compete for trophies, Torres left Liverpool in January 2011 to join Chelsea for a British record transfer fee of £50 million, which made him the most expensive Spanish player in history. At Chelsea, Torres won the FA Cup, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, though his goalscoring rate and performances drastically declined. Torres joined Serie A club AC Milan on a two-year loan prior to the 2013–14 season, and signed permanently in January 2015. In the same month, he agreed to rejoin Atlético Madrid on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season, before signing permamently for the club in July 2016. Torres won the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League before he signed for Japanese club Sagan Tosu in July 2018, retiring from football after the 2018-19 season.
Torres is a Spanish international and made his debut against Portugal in 2003. He has been capped over 100 times and is his country's third-highest goalscorer of all-time. With Spain, he has participated in six major tournaments: UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012, and the 2014 World Cup. Spain won the three tournaments from 2008 to 2012, with Torres scoring in the finals of both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. He scored the winning goal in the 2008 European Championship, and won the Golden Boot for highest goalscorer in 2012.