FIFA 2010 World Cup Special Report: Fernando Torres and his troubles
For those who have not seen a great club lose all its glory, fame and dignity in one year they would have now, after Liverpool proved that such a task is even possible. After a troubled and jeopardized campaign of 2009-2010 season by both internal and external factors one thing can be stated for sure; the club certainly had pissed off lady luck.
However the clouds over Anfield are drifting away with the signing of Roy Hodgson, the manager from Fulham who took the English club to new heights despite being extremely under budgeted and a lack of world class players in his team.
He managed to take up the club which at one time was on the brink of relegation to the 12th position in EPL but that was not why his fame exploded this season. His campaign in the Europa Cup was what took him to new heights. The club overthrew the best clubs in the world with style and got themselves in a historic run that they had not made in decades when they reached the finals of the tournament.
They faced Atletico Madrid there and after a tough encounter Fulham lost 2-1. Hodgson however was hailed the hero because of his deep insight and clever planning helped achieve this feet.
With the evident departure of Rafael Benitez who came at Liverpool in 2004. He indeed led the club to many achievements but the last two seasons had brought quite a different picture. Many players were now against Benitez and threatened to quit the club and demanded transfers if the coach stayed.
Benitez who had been assured that he would get a reasonable amount by the club’s chairman Martin Broughton and owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett was met by contradiction when they told him that the Italian coach had just 5 million pounds as the club was heavily under debt. The current debts of the club are estimated to be around 350 million pounds. So eventually Benitez went to replace Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.
The ace Liverpool striker Fernando Torres who for a major part of the season was injured had been expressing throughout the season that the Reds are in desperate need of some world class players. He also told that if the players were not signing that could mean his end at the club. His example was followed by other players and now some players have already left the club.
The Liverpool striker just recently gave two very controversial statements that he was happy with the appointment of Roy Hodgson meaning that he could stay at Liverpool but the player is also sought by the Spanish Giants Barcelona and it is hoped that the player will be signed by Barcelona at the end. Torres has said so himself, that he would like to play in the Spanish League after all the player is Spanish. To clear out his current contradictory position he has stated that he will like to meet the officials from Liverpool to discuss his future.
The 26 year old Spanish player who is currently in South Africa participating in the FIFA 2010 World Cup has told that for now he will concentrate on the tournament he is present in. Torres though gave a disappointing performance in the beginning of the tournament but has steadily been improving. While his performance in the last two matches was quite outstanding he still has to find a goal in the tournament.
It seems that his club Liverpool back in England might not be the only thing that is bothering him. He has revealed that he entered South Africa still healing from his groin and ankle injury but now has recovered from it and will prove his worth to the team. In the match against Paraguay he was replaced by the Arsenal captain, Cesc Fabregas, who gave a good performance.
He might be having a bad experience in present times but his stats do tell a different story. He has scored 56 goals in 79 English Premier League caps while for Spain he has produced 24 goals in 78 appearances. After he announced that he will be making a transfer Chelsea too has made a bid in the star. He came to Anfield in 2007 and Chelsea has made a bid of 50 million pounds on him.
Still the Liverpool board and manager is very unwilling to lay their hands off the world class striker that produced the winner for Spain in the Euro Cup of 2008 making Spain the Champions in the process. Liverpool finished at the 7th position last season and Torres’ departure will be a major blow for the club.
However the star player has told about his future, “I suppose that when the World Cup finishes I will speak to the people at Liverpool and they will explain to me the real situation of how things are at present, the future of the club. And I will talk to the new coach”.
He added, “There’s time for that (Liverpool), but I want to finish the World Cup, go on holiday, as I haven't had a holiday for three years, rest and then there will be time to talk about all of that - the situation isn't going to change whether we talk soon or later”.
He further added upon the current situation of the teams saying, “Honestly, teams won't be able to do anything until the World Cup has finished. The players here prefer to wait - there is time”.
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