"We bought the lad from sunny Spain, he gets the ball and scores again."
The Kop has a new idol by the name of Fernando Torres - and no one makes the famous stand bounce like Liverpool's No.9.
Signed for a club record fee of approximately £20 million in July 2007, El Nino was handed the shirt vacated by Anfield legend Robbie Fowler.
Undaunted, he soon became the first Red since Fowler in 1996-97 to break the 30-goal barrier and is already on his way to achieving Godlike status.
Before joining the Premier League aged 23, Torres spent 12 years with hometown club Atletico Madrid.
Such was his prodigious talent he was named the best U14 player in Europe following his performances in the 1998 Nike Cup.
Torres became the youngest player in Atletico history upon making his debut in May 2001. He went on to bag 21 goals in 2003-04 after being named Vicente Calderon's youngest ever skipper at the age of 19.
Having already top-scored in European U16 and U19 Championships, El Nino earned a first senior cap in September 2003 against Portugal. Seven months later he chalked up a first international goal against Italy. The forward would go on to net three times in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Clubs around Europe, including Manchester United and Arsenal, were understandably circling. However, in May 2007 it became clear Torres had his heart set on Merseyside when he revealed the phrase 'We'll Never Walk Alone' on the inside of his captain's armband during a match between Atletico and Real Sociedad.
Two months of speculation and paper talk ensued before the striker was finally unveiled at Melwood.
Torres made his competitive debut for Liverpool at Villa Park on August 11, 2007. A week later he smashed in his first official goal (he'd already scored in a pre-season friendly versus Shanghai Shenhua) when a trademark burst of pace against Chelsea sent Anfield wild.
Successive home hat-tricks to see off Middlesbrough and West Ham helped the hitman total 33 in 2007-08, including 24 in the league to overtake Ruud van Nistelrooy and become the most prolific foreigner ever in a debut season in England.
His crucial strike in the Stade Velodrome against Marseille won Goal of the Season on Liverpoolfc.tv, and it came as no surprise when fans also voted him their Player of the Year.
As if all this wasn't enough, Torres then topped off an incredible season by helping Spain to Euro 2008 glory in Austria and Switzerland. It was he who scored the winner in the final against Germany - one of two throughout the tournament. Remarkably, it was Spain's first major honour since 1964 - and our No.9 was the hero.
A series of hamstring injuries disrupted 2008-09, though a haul of 17 goals from 38 appearances aided Liverpool's best title charge since 1990.
Torres spent a large part of the summer that followed in South Africa, where an awesome 11-minute hat-trick against New Zealand helped Spain reach the Confederations Cup semi-finals.
-tamrin
Envenomed and posted @ 10:54 am
