Fernando Torres must fear for his national team place (Part 2)
Torres’ replacement at the world cup for most matches was Fernando Llorente. The Athletic Bilbao forward was always an improvement over a dismal Torres. It hardly came as a surprise when Vicente Del Bosque included Llorente in the Spanish squad for the most recent Euro qualifiers. Llorente had only featured sparingly during the opening two matches of the qualifying section as Torres was given the nod ahead of him. With Torres out nursing his never ending injuries, Llorente finally had the chance of proving his worth to the Span coach Del Bosque.
Llorente took the chance with both hands. Against a weak Lithuania outfit, Spain was expected to dominate their far inferior opposition but La Furia was given stern resistance by their opponents. Just when everyone thought Spain would be humiliated, that man Llorente popped with two sublime headed goals to justify his selection. It was the same story four days later as Spain was struggling to break down a resilient Scottish defence. In stepped the Bilbao forward with the goods yet again. The striker saved the day scoring a dramatic winner barely three minutes into his substitution. Three crucial goals in his last two appearances have proved Llorente has the cutting edge required to succeed at the international level.
Detractors of Fernando Llorente would bring the Bilbao forward’s rather modest goal scoring record as an argument. The forward has scored a decent 83 goals in 254 appearances in all club appearances so far in his career. One must agree that for a forward gunning to become the number 9 for the national team, such a goal record will not impress the managers.
However Torres’ pre Liverpool statistics come to Llorent’s rescue. Before his move to Anfield in 2007, Torres scored had scored 91 goals in 249 appearances, statistics that are very similar to those of Llorente at Los Leones. Following Torres’ transfer to Liverpool, he has scored a stunning 57 goals in just 86 appearances. With the likes of Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso assisting him, Torres was able to show his true potential. Llorente’s case is very similar.
Since making his national team debut in 2008, Llorente has scored 7 goals in just 12 appearances. The likes of Xavi and Iniesta and are on a different planet technically when compared to the players Llorente plays with at his club. With teammates far superior to his club mates, Llorente is making a strong case for a starting berth. Also the player is just 25 years of age and has his best years ahead of him.
On the Domestic front, the player has scored 3 goals in 4 appearances so far and such form is likely to earn him a move to a bigger club sooner or later. It’s no surprise the player is being linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona. The player is really coming of age this season and will definitely improve further as the season progresses. Llorente has all the attributes that will make him a complete centre forward. Pace, finishing, aerial ability and innate striking intelligence, you name it and the Bilbao forward has it all in abundance. Until Fernando Torres sorts out his fitness issues and recovers the form that made him such a live wire, Llorente will be picked ahead of the Liverpool man and justifiably so.
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