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(Whistle)

(WOMAN) Run, son!

(LAUGHS) -What a shame!

Oh, man!

(Shouting)

-Well done, Ferni!

Come on, Fernando!

-So what is it? If they win,

are they already in the final?

-They have to fight against more teams.

And, with Fernando there, history changed.

-Come on, son, this is yours! (CHILD) Oh!

(WOMAN) Goal!

(OTHER WOMAN) Good!

(Traffic noise)

ON 22 JUNE 2019, FERNANDO TORRES ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT

FROM PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL AFTER 18 YEARS

FUKUOKA (JAPAN) AUGUST 2019

FIVE DAYS BEFORE RETIREMENT

"Then say when someone announces they're leaving somewhere

they've already left

and in a way, that's how I feel."

"Honestly, I never thought about the end,

or how the end would be.

You dream...

about playing and think about your debut,

your first goal, if you'll be chosen for your country, if you'll win

a championship, if you'll achieve your goals,

but you never think:

'How will it end?'"

FERNANDO TORRES THE LAST SYMBOL

(Children's voices)

(BOY) Mum, mum, mum! -With her.

(TORRES) "I was very shy as a kid,

too shy. I missed out on a lot.

I was always very conformist,"

one of the things my mother always berated me for when I was young.

I told him: "They're going to throw you all in the same boat.

It can't be like that. If someone says: 'One plus one is four',

you say: 'No, one plus one is two'

and keep them straight". But he...

"he was always a very introvert child, shy."

(WOMAN) Goodbye, children.

(CHILDREN) Goodbye, teacher.

Football has no doubt helped me break a lot of boundaries.

"I managed to lose that shyness because of a ball,

go up to some guys I didn't know and say:

'Can I play?' 'Yes, go on that team.'"

(Murmuring voices)

OK!

(Murmuring voices)

"And my brother, like all older brothers,

was what I wanted to be.

I wanted to be a goalkeeper because my brother was.

I wanted to play football because my brother taught me

what playing football was,

being with friends and competing on those concrete pitches,"

and as it goes, one day I came home

with my two front teeth in my hand.

(FLORI) "'Damned football, I've had enough',

and everything else... We had to give him false teeth,"

he came with no teeth, his front ones were missing.

He had no teeth.

There was a bit of drama at home

that ended up with my mum completely forbidding me

from playing in goal again.

So I have to thank my mother for changing position.

(WOMAN) Come on, Fernando!

It'll be his chicken legs, Fernando doesn't have human legs.

(OTHER WOMAN LAUGHS)

-look what he has to put up with. Don't make a fool of him!

(Children's voices)

(FERNANDO) "When I was around five or six,

I was playing in my first team and from day one

they put me up front." -Blondie!

-"The following year, I became a starter for the league team

until I got the season when we changed from indoor football

to 11-a-side."

♪ (ALL SINGING) Champions, champions!

♪ Oh-eh, oh-eh, oh-eh! ♪

-Let's get in the pool! -To the pool!

(SHOUTING)

And I played football every day.

During one of the trips to my mum's village,

where my grandparents lived,

my grandfather had an Atlético Madrid plate.

A plate with the crest of Atlético Madrid

and I saw: "Eulalio Sanz", my dad's name.

And my dad had a thing... Nobody could ever touch his plate!

I didn't know what Atleti was not even that it was about football.

And one day he asked his grandfather, because he always saw that plate:

"Grandad, what is that? What is it?"

He said: "It's the Atlético Madrid crest,

the best team in the world."

(FERNANDO) "I think that if my grandfather had

a plate from a different team, he wouldn't have been able"

to tell me with the same passion

what another club meant to him.

He could only have done it with Atlético Madrid.

(Children's voices)

Fernando!

(FERNANDO) "The most important prize that Rayo 13 gave us

was the three best players of the season.

They could go for a trial

to join the Atlético Madrid academy."

In the end, on a big table in the Calderón stadium

there were huge lists.

"'No, no, no, no, no... and no'. Then one appeared

called Fernando Torres

and yes, straight away. Then I realised,

I said: 'He's got something.'"

1995. ATLÉTICO MADRID SIGNS FERNANDO TORRES

"First I called my grandad:

'Grandad, I'm going to play for Atleti'."

And I don't think he believed it.

When he told him they had signed him...

"I've seen what I needed to see

and my dreams have come true."

"He always ranted to him about Atleti:

'Atleti is the people's team', This, and that...

Atleti is life."

(Soft music)

"Ball to Torres, he's onside.

-Oh! -What a goal! How amazing!"

(Whistle)

"What great work from the lad!

He passed the 13-metre line. -Yes, yes..."

(FERNANDO) "I never set myself goals, I didn't even think

I could play seriously.

I played because it was fun.

Maybe it helped me that my family wasn't a footballing family

and on the weekends, the ritual was being in front of the TV

watching your team and not talking about anything else.

If they lost, no dinner."

I played because I enjoyed it.

(FLORI) "I just wanted happiness for my kid

and for him to enjoy himself."

Many days I would tell him: "Fernando,

if you get tired of it, we won't come. Don't worry.

Or if you don't like it..."

He'd say to me: "Mum, I'm not tired of it.

Are you?' I said: "No. I'm not tired of it.

If you don't, I won't."

The goalkeeper came at me

and went dived one way too soon,

so I didn't shoot because if I had, he would have got it.

FUKUOKA (JAPAN)

FOUR DAYS BEFORE RETIREMENT

"I chose to retire because I wasn't enjoying it anymore.

A footballer plays football

because it's what they love. I've been doing since I was 10."

The day came when I realised that week after week,

I wouldn't say I was suffering, but I wasn't enjoying it.

"In the end, my secret to life

is to try to be happy in what you do.

I've always looked at my career backwards.

I love my past in the academy

with Atlético, before that with Rayo 13, and before that with Mario's Holanda,

on concrete pitches

to pitches full of mud and stones and puddles...

with Mikasa balls, that weighted 10 kilos for a kid"

who almost weighed less than the ball. All of that hardened me.

(WOMAN) Come on, Fernando!

Goal!

(CROWD) Goal!

-Another!

-"I saw the little blonde kid, wearing number nine,"

with baggy sleeves flapping everywhere,

score seven goals that day

and I said: "Wow, this kid...

He is good". I said to him:

"If you believe in yourself, you'll be professional.

You have skills."

-"The Atlético Madrid youngster won the Nike Cup in Italy,

a bit like the Euros for clubs.

They're 14-year-old lads..."

-"Atlético Madrid wrote him"

a contract, made it ironclad. They put a huge clause

because the big teams in Europe wanted to sign him

"and that was when Petón got him with Bahía Internacional."

-"Bahía had an idea that was inflexible

until inflexibility made way for excellence. And that was"

the only reason that Bahía broke their rules

of not representing players under 16.

2001 EUROPEAN UNDER-16 CHAMPIONSHIP, ENGLAND

Run, Fernando!

-Fernan, Fernando!

-Pressure! -"What's your name?"

-Fernando. -Fernando what?

-Torres. -Have we seen the best Fernando Torres

or is there more to come?

-Hey, you never know... It depends on the circumstances,

but, well, you always want to push a bit further and...

For now, I'm happy with what I'm doing,

but I know I can improve.

(COMMENTATOR) "The top scorer against the unbeaten goalkeeper.

To be or not to be, he shoots, he scores!

Goal for Spain! Goal for Fernando Torres!"

♪ (ALL SINGING) Champions, champions!

♪ Oh-eh, oh-eh, oh-eh! ♪

I would love to make my debut for the first team

but everything in good time.

With Atleti or Real Madrid?

With Atleti.

-"The first time I saw Fernando

was in that European Under-16 Championship in England and...

And I was really surprised."

He was incredible. I remember how he arrived,

very shy, Fernando, a child...

"I remember what I told him:

'You know why you're here?'. And he said: 'No, no, no'."

"You're starting to train with the first team tomorrow.

Are you ready?" And he said: "Yes."

The shock must have been brutal, he could've been scared, he could have.

But no, he showed his character from day one.

Shy, humble, but... (LAUGHS)

"A real determination since he was a kid."

(Soft music)

(FERNANDO) "I was on cloud nine. It was just training,

but it was the start. I arrived when they told me to,

I sat on my bench, in the corner, without saying anything..."

I had no clothes. I asked the kit man,

who shouted: "Take what you can from there!"

-"I went in, I saw him sitting in a corner, mouth shut, shy,"

in silence...

I said: "What's up, man? This is Atlético!"

And that was the first time we met.

"His eyes shined with hunger. He was what he's always been:

a guy with an amazing healthy ambition."

When you go onto the pitch, you don't worry

about the league you're in, just about winning,

you get involved in the game and only think about that.

But, today I have to play in the second team,

and it will be good for me.

(CROWD) Torres, Torres!

MAY 27, 2001. FERNANDO TORRES DEBUTS WITH ATLÉTICO DE MADRID FIRST TEAM

(Cheering and whistling)

"There was something about my debut.

I noticed it, going on the pitch

and getting an ovation without doing anything."

(Cheering)

"I remember the heat,

the feeling of dryness in my mouth but mainly the noise."

The sound of the Calderón from inside.

(Crowd cheering)

"It creates a different connection, a special one.

It starts to sound different every time I get the ball."

(Crowd chants and cheers)

"When do crowds get so excited

about a kid they've never seen playing before?"

♪ (CROWD) Fernando Torres, # ee-oh, ee-oh, ee-oh!

♪ Fernando Torres, # ee-oh, ee-oh, ee-oh! ♪

"Two things came together at that time: the need for a new hero

who brings hope

and I think they've always seen me as one of them."

Because ultimately, it was what it was.

A kid who was in the stands

"I had the chance to go out onto the pitch

and run and fight like any fan would,

but they do it with their voice. I could do it on the field."

(Cheering)

Between Fernando and Raúl?

-For me, Fernando. What can I say?

And he's going to show it.

(COMMENTATOR) "An opening for Iván Amaya...

A cross from the ex-Rayo man...

Goal...

for Atlético Madrid! Fernando Torres, with his head!

A goal from the 17-year-old!

Fernando Torres scores!

And celebrating on the bench is the man

who he was substituted for, Kiko Narváez!

In the 35th minute, Fernando Torres has scored!"

(Children's voices and shouting)

"He made his debut,

and created a huge expectation in his first match,

but a week later he scored and that's what set off the madness."

-I'm reminded of a classic image in human history,

of the hero who appears

when he is needed most.

Atleti were in the second division

"and they fell in love. They fell in love

immediately because Atlético had something to hold on to.

I think all the kids at the time

joined Atleti,

despite the temptation of joining Real Madrid,

because of Torres. They all had Torres' shirt...

For me, he was the saviour of a generation."

-OK. -Cool.

-Can you sign it?

It's for my sister and a friend.

-For Jaime...

-Torres...

and Aguilera. -From Aguilera to me!

(FUTRE) "When at 16, they put a pen in your hand

and say: 'Can I have your autograph?',

you can believe you're the best in the world."

Your mind can change completely.

-"I call him because Futre tells me he'll look after him,

that he's on top of it,"

kind of protect him from the media. That was my first job.

We knew where Fernando was,

who he was with, who he ate and slept with...

"And Fernando never changed."

(FLORI) "We gradually accepted him and said: 'Well...

that's what he's like'. It's like, sure,"

we could only see him as we see him now. He's my son.

(CHILD) Torres, can you sign this, please?

"The craziness of autographs, I don't know. Whoever comes..."

whoever waits...

He signed everything for the kids... Like it was a God-given order.

(CHILD) Torres!

And the excitement appears as a cherub

"with freckles, an exceptional footballer,

and he's got a childlike face, freckled, very good-looking,

which is ideal for sports marketing."

So you put him on front covers, it works...

The Niño, the Niño, the Niño Torres, the Niño Torres,

and his rise is exponential.

THE NIÑO

THE NIÑO STARTS IN GETAFE

(FERNANDO) "The reason behind 'Niño'. I think

it's because all kids who come through the academy are 'niños'

because people don't know their name."

"Niño, niño, niño." Because I stayed, so did the nickname.

(CHILD) ¡Fernando Torres!

Fernando Torres, hey! -Fernando Torres!

(CHILD) Look, it's Fernando! Fernando Torres!

-Fernando Torres is here!

(FERNANDO) "Many kids thought they would see a kid."

"But he's a man, mum!", they would say.

So in a way,

the nickname stayed with me for my whole career

and even nowadays, in Japan.

FUKUOKA (JAPAN) 2019

FOUR DAYS TO RETIREMENT

So...

-Same as usual? -Yes.

Like last time.

-Great. -Cool.

It's so hot.

-Yes.

-I can't believe how humid it is.

-(LAUGHS) Yes, I know!

(FERNANDO) "My teenage years didn't pass me by"

without me doing things I needed to do later;

it was just my teenage years.

I started when I had just turned 17

and it was...

I think I felt it was the time to do things

that a kid does at that age.

You have to accept

the criticism you get from that and the opinion

of people who don't know you,

and you learn to control only what you can control,

which is the kind of person you are.

What changes most in your hair.

-I've always liked changing it.

Not for any real reason, just because.

-The mohican... Did someone recommend it?

Is there someone who tells you: "Here, it's good"?

Once I did say to him:

"Fer, man, what are you doing with that mop?"

He said: "Don't you like it?" I said: "No way!

Get rid of it."

Of course, it wasn't due to that,

but four days later, he shaved it.

If it wasn't going well, he cut his hair.

He had a scissor superstition, that's true.

A lot of habits and obsessions that I have.

He would change until...

he scored a goal with the right boots,

the right haircut, with whatever else,

keeping things the same to stay in form.

Nice. -Yeah?

-Beautiful. Thank you very much. -Great.

-As always.

In a few months, Fernando became

the commercial and media driving force of Atlético Madrid.

In a few months; I mean, it was unbelievable.

(Music)

Have a cool "Pesi"!

-Cut!, Pepsi.

-Have a fresh "Pesi"! -Cut!

-Have a fresh "Pesi"! -Cut!

-"Pesi." -Cut!

-"Pesi." -Pepsi!

-In Fuenla, where I'm from, we say it like that.

-"We were quite pioneering in that,"

in the construction of the image,

in a footballing career like his.

A message from Torres for the Atleti fans...

It was always Kiko.

That year, we'll win it all.

With the pen of solidarity, you create smiles.

-When sponsorship possibilities started coming,

Antonio Sanz always emphasised:

"Values, values.

Fernando has to be identified with the values

that he has always fought for."

So we could accept them,

but only when they were in line with his values.

-The camera and the people loved him,

everybody loved him; I mean,

so we only had to do the steering,

the motor, clearly,

was going like a Ferrari.

The highest-paid Spanish player

was at Atlético,

"in the second division, and he was 17. There's a moment

when you have to choose."

"Do I want to be like Beckham?"

Fernando decided that he wanted to be Fernando Torres.

"He was very picky so he could dedicate

the majority of his effort,

and without slip ups, all of his energy,

to football and not advertising."

(Rock music)

ITOSHIMA (JAPAN) AUGUST 2019

"My childhood

and my career until I was professional

has had moments where I learned

from people close to me: my family, my parents

and my brother and sister constantly.

And in summer...

School ended and when my dad could take holidays...

we got in the car, and in those days, nine hours to Galicia."

"It had a big impact on my life

because that's where I met my wife.

When we met,

I would have been 10 or 11.

For me, my wife as a little girl,"

two years younger. I mean, at that age,

"very young."

-"It was our siblings who were friends, not us."

I was a tiny little girl

and I was with my parents and cousins,

"and he was part of the beach group."

"In the summer, there were tournaments and we were in the stands"

of the pavilion, waiting for the match to start,

and she appeared.

And when I looked back...

I saw her... I had been with her for two hours before on the beach,

but it was like in a film,

going down the stairs and saying:

"Man! I have to tell her something today."

"The image I have in my head

is exactly how it was, and I'm sure she doesn't even know it."

I don't go out much now.

Since I've been in the first team, I don't go out much.

There's not enough time.

-There is preseason, weekends... -Any girlfriends?

Plural or singular?

That's it.

"He made his debut in May, this is in July.

And I saw he was nervous. He said: 'You've got to do me a favour'.

I said: 'What?' He said: 'Take me to the airport'.

I said: 'Where are you going?'

He said: 'I'm going to Galicia'. I said: 'What for?'"

He just stayed quiet.

He looked at me, he couldn't say it.

"Until he says:

'Look, I'm going to ask Olalla out.'

I said: 'That's news!'"

"We have to celebrate!" He said: "When she says yes."

"When he came back, I said: 'So, how did it go?'

And his smile answered for him."

(JOURNALIST) "Atlético will spend a second season

in the second division if it ends like this.

It's over. Getafe, nil; Atlético Madrid, one."

We didn't go up.

So, there was a strange silence... in the stadium.

"I've rarely seen him cry, but that night

because they didn't get promoted."

It was a huge responsibility

for how young he was. He was so young.

(Fans chanting)

(CHILD) Stay at Atleti!

-Don't go, stay with us!

-No!

(FERNANDO) "I think those years were when the Atlético spirit,

which is hard to describe, was at its strongest."

Dad... -Yes, son.

-Why do we support Atleti?

(FERNANDO) "For me, being an Atlético fan is...

insisting, fighting,

getting up every time you fall,

and we chose our team

because of what we're like,

because this football club represents those values.

It's a way of dealing with life,

through effort, sacrifice and by getting up when we fall.

We don't go to the stadium when we win titles, we always go.

If we have to support the team in the second division,

we'll go. So our goal is to be in the first division?

Well, we have to go through this tunnel.

If we're together, we'll get through it quicker."

FUKUOKA (JAPAN)

THREE DAYS TO RETIREMENT

(Sound of a lift)

"I think you can evolve, but you have to keep your essence.

If we don't, we'll reach a point

where the fans will be supporting

a team that doesn't represent them.

Where you want to go

is not as important as where you're from.

What you want to achieve must be

through what has brought you here,

and that's roots."

The actual club in Japan was offering me

one of the reasons I wanted to leave Europe,

that is enjoying being with my family.

Peace, privacy...

To show my children a culture

which is crucial and will be very important later.

But on a footballing level, I soon realised

"that I wasn't going to be there for too long,

because here they see football as entertainment,

not as a competition.

It will take years for them to understand

that in football, the best are the ones who compete.

It's that simple."

"After the season we weren't promoted,

they hired Luis Aragonés and I saw what he was."

Top class.

Still in the second division.

This here!

Give it to the other side and goal!

Don't be drawn out!

From that position inwards!

-Inwards, inwards, Pepe!

-Now, at the level, at the level of the ball!

Now support, we can go for goal!

Support the cross! -(SHOUTS)

(FERNANDO) "It was a year of suffering for me

and a real test.

You want to play football with the best? This is football.

The Atlético we want won't wait for you. You're with us or you're not."

Luis made him work really hard individually.

And that's the formula to progression.

"The Niño got nothing for free.

He earned it all through effort.

Maybe Aragonés' personality would have shocked him,

because he was demanding, obviously."

Step by step, breaking through! Don't move!

You have to push there! Come on, man!

(Crowd chants)

"I think he held me in high regard,

for some reason.

He tried to prepare me...

for what was coming.

Luis' phrases...

from day to day?

'Get angry with yourself if you don't play',

'You know nothing about anything...'

'You'll soon get what I mean',

'Don't read the press, don't pay attention to what they say,

they don't know anything',"

"They're creating a pedestal so when you're on top of the world,

they can smack you down and...

falling from so high will hurt

and you won't get back up",

"Pay attention to me"...

Football has no past or future.

It is present and it's

win, win, and win, and win, and win again,

and win, and win, and win, and win again,

and win, and win, and win.

Want me to go on for half an hour? That's it!

I think he was one of the first coaches

"that prepared me to face

the media.

With time, I understood what he said."

(Soft music)

"He's a coach

you have to admire what he was.

I really enjoyed training with him

and that year was one of a lot of discipline and respect."

-Do you aim to stay at Atlético Madrid in the first division?

-Yes, that's the aim of this season:

win promotion and play in the first division

next season.

In life, almost everything is complicated.

But you can achieve almost anything.

(Crowd chanting)

ATLÉTICO PLAY FOR PROMOTION AFTER TWO SEASONS IN THE SECOND DIVISION

(COMMENTATOR) "He retraces his steps. Correa drives on.

Tries to link up with Diego Alonso.

Look out, Correa fights on.

Look out Uruguayans, Correa shoots... Goal!

Goal... -Now!

-for Atlético Madrid!

Correa scores!

-It's taken

80 games and 24 hours to be able to say

that the red and whites are returning to the first division."

This is Atleti, soak up that spirit!

♪ Goodbye division two,

♪ goodbye! Goodbye! ♪

(Cheering)

(FERNANDO) "Promotion was the thing

that let us forget everything before.

I think that's when I felt like a fan again.

With goals to achieve

and a lot of risks to take on,

but with real excitement."

It was turning into a responsibility again.

(COMMENTATOR) "Barcelona-Atlético Madrid,

a classic match of the first division. Atlético Madrid has come back

from two years in hell, the backwaters of the second division A.

And there's no better place to do it..."

-"Making my debut in the Camp Nou against Barcelona made me see"

the difficulty and the beauty

"of playing against the best players

in the best stadiums

every weekend. It was something else."

(Chants)

(CROWD) Goal!

"There is a two-year period of time,

from 17 to 19,

I went from being just one of the first team

to being one of the leaders

and I no longer had looks from others

as if I was a kid, but...

You have to pull the team along.

In that period of years

the offers started coming in. You don't think about it.

-We got a lot of calls

to sign Fernando Torres.

From Tottenham, Milan, Inter, Manchester United..."

and he always stayed firm. He didn't want to hear the offers.

The biggest brand...

that Fernando Torres and his team rejected

"is Real Madrid,

who tried to sign him on three occasions."

-"I've never spoken to Real Madrid.

Ever."

It's a question of principle.

"I think it would be a betrayal

of a way of seeing things and of understanding football."

FUKUOKA (JAPAN)

THREE DAYS TO RETIREMENT

"I think I never wanted

to sit by myself and analyse the situation

because I knew, if I did it,

what the response would be.

I had to sacrifice my dreams for the good of the club.

It had nothing to do with a better contract

or a better team.

I had had offers in previous years."

-"He can look to Eto'o.

Eto'o in the area, Eto'o gives it back, Messi...

Amazing goal by Barcelona! -No! What a goal!

-The ball goes out. Oh, no, Pichu has made a great mistake!

Pichu is off his line.

A mistake by Pichu, Samuel Eto'o scores!

Gives the ball to Eto'o.

Eto'o, Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho!

A great goal by Barcelona! -Wow!

Beautifully worked! -A great goal by Barcelona!

Messi, Pichu...! Goal for Barcelona!

They were gifted the goal... Iniesta...

Iniesta... Number six!

Gifted by Eto'o...

-Barcelona are relishing in this victory...

in a, by the way... stadium..."

-"But that wasn't the day I decided...

I was going to leave. It was the day I confirmed

that all the things I knew instinctively but didn't want to accept

were real."

It starts generating a feeling

day to day

of the fans with me

that started to worry me long before I decided to leave,

"that even the Atlético players told me:

'Get out of here, they don't deserve you!'

There's a problem beginning.

It wasn't doing the club any good.

And the only ones who understood it were the fans

who also felt liberated.

Now they didn't suffer for me,

now they could suffer for Atleti again. And I left,

but they kept supporting me."

Then there is the football part of thinking:

"Maybe it's good for me too.

How far can I go?

But will it be worth it going somewhere else?"

And that was the big question I asked myself for a long time.

Nobody liked that decision, of course the fans,

possibly even Fernando didn't,

because he would have loved spending his whole life here, but he understood

that at the time, the club needed more from many

"who could bring more to make the team more competitive

rather than placing all the responsibility on one person.

-And ultimately, time has shown

that they were both right: that Fernando grew"

to maybe unexpected limits

and Atlético are where they are,

probably because of the first cog that was selling Fernando.

Next Tuesday, after the Administration Council...

-"Atlético needed,"

to live and to survive, the cash from Fernando.

"That money was very, very important."

-"He knew he would return.

I'm sure, whether you are 16, 17, 18..."

Why? Because he's part of the club, the club is in his genes.

He said it in a great quote. He said:

"Everyone is an Atleti fan,

they just don't know it."

I hope this is a "see you soon."

I'll always have a return in my mind. I hope to return one day,

when the club is at the level it deserves

and those who come manage to do that.

"When I see myself in that car, I realise that it's true,

that there is no way back.

In a few hours you go through a deep sadness,

of crying,

to the feeling of wanting to start something."

(Rock music)

Here!

EL NIÑO'S TRANSFER TO LIVERPOOL, CLOSER THAN EVER.

TORRES, SUN-KISSED REDHEAD

LIVERPOOL SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES RECORD TRANSFER FOR TORRES

TORRES, THE MOST EXPENSIVE SPANIARD IN THE WORLD

BENÍTEZ, DELIGHTED WITH THE SIGNING OF FERNANDO TORRES

"I WANT TO BE A WORKING-CLASS HERO"

It's one of the best clubs in Europe, a winning club.

Their history and present demonstrates that,

and I couldn't let this chance escape me.

"When I arrived in Liverpool, I had nothing to lose.

I had no fear,

I was ready for anything.

When I asked to be number nine,

they first asked me if I knew what the nine is at Liverpool.

Here's Rush.

He's scored!

Liverpool threaten... Robbie Fowler! They've scored again!"

"And I realised,"

looking at the history of the club, what the nine is

and the responsibility that goes with it.

(Song: "You'll never walk alone")

"It was a legendary club,

a club that hid a story

in every sign and detail.

Why are the hangers so high in the dressing room?

It's the legend of saying:

'It makes the players look bigger'.

Traditions are kept. And I love that.

So he arrives at Anfield.

When you get to the stadium,

don't forget to touch the poster."

(Song: "You'll never walk alone")

When we were in the tunnel, before going out,

"You'll never walk alone" begins to play.

And it's a beautiful sound.

(Song: "You'll never walk alone")

(Crowd singing "You'll never walk alone")

(SINGING "YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE")

"(Crowd singing 'You'll never walk alone')"

"At that moment, Pepe came up and said: 'This is Anfield'."

"I want you to enjoy it, have a good time and just be you.

It's time to have fun,

it's your turn."

He couldn't have started better.

And I heard a different sound,

different to Spanish stadiums...

Totally different. New feelings, but impressive.

They make you feel like something will happen.

19 AUGUST 2007

"Liverpool break... Torres".

That's how the game went

until minute 15, which was when I scored my first goal

in that goal.

I remember the day very clearly.

It was a huge game and everyone was waiting to see...

"Is Fernando going to be good enough for Liverpool?" Blah-blah-blah...

But I think immediately in that first game against Chelsea,

when he hit the ground running, people realised what a talent he was.

(GERRARD) "The game started and I played a simple pass."

It wasn't fantastic, just normal.

And I didn't expect him to place the ball so well.

"That's when I saw what playing with Gerrard is like."

-"It was Fernando's classic dribble,

he goes inside then outside..."

I tried to close the space

"but he took the shot quite early."

And he put it across Cech

"with his inner foot."

(COMMENTATOR) "And scores!"

"His first Liverpool goal on his Anfield debut...

in superb style! Liverpool, one, Chelsea nil."

My first reaction is to go to the corner

to celebrate with my fans, because in Spain, the away fans

are high and far away.

And when I go there,

I see the Chelsea fans.

I said: "Maybe let's go somewhere else."

"That's when you start to realise

that everything is different.

I remember saying to Pepe at the time:"

"I think I'm going to score in every game on this pitch."

It's perfect.

It was an indicator of what Fernando could be: the speed,

"that explosivity. -The Liverpool fans fell in love."

He's one of us. He was made for Liverpool.

And from then...

he just got better.

"To understand the success of Fernando Torres at Liverpool,

you've got to understand Liverpool and its roots,"

its connection with the community. It's not a football club, it's a family.

"It's not simply a building, Anfield; it is a church,

it is a shrine. When there are problems in the city

let alone the club, everyone congregates there,

and I get the same impression with Atlético Madrid.

I think maybe one of the reasons he settled

is because he was going from one home to another.

-I played for Liverpool for..."

17 years as a professional

but Fernando made me feel different.

Every time I go onto the pitch,

I felt as if I could assist a goal or score a goal,

"and I always felt like the team was going to win

because he could win football matches alone."

My best years were when Fernando arrived.

It was my favourite partnership.

-"With Gerrard I was spoiled,

I could play with one of the best players in the world"

at the peak of his career.

All the conditions came together

for me to shine.

Fernando didn't fear anyone in a Liverpool shirt.

I think he felt invincible.

He's big, he's powerful,

he's good-looking. He's quick, he's skilful. He has everything.

(COMMENTATOR) "A beautiful ball for Torres and an absolutely...

Oh, fantastic!

Fernando Torres!

-Ferdinand has to stay strong and can't... and Torres scores!

Torres, more trouble for Newcastle...

-Another goal! -Fernando Torres strikes for Liverpool!

-Goal! -I'll make a note of that.

He decided not to head it and Torres could punish

that error of judgement.

And has done. It's one-one.

-I had all the conditions

I needed to know that the connection

between player and fan, that I've always needed, was there."

They made me feel like I'd almost been born there.

♪ (IN SPANISH) His band shows he is red, # Torres, Torres.

♪ "You'll never walk alone", # says Torres, Torres.

♪ We bought the guy in Spain.

♪ On the ball, he'll score again

♪ Fernando Torres... ♪

(CROWD CHANTING TORRES' SONG)

♪ "Fernando Torres, # Liverpool's number nine.

♪ He gets the ball # he scores again." ♪

"My first year at Liverpool...

I couldn't have written it better.

The highest-scoring new signing

in the history of the Premier League tied with Van Nistelrooy,

the first Liverpool player to get more than 20 goals in a season

since Michael Owen...

It is going well, but I need more.

I start getting very ambitious."

LIVERPOOL'S TOP-SCORING DEBUT SEASON IN THE 21ST CENTURY

FASTEST LIVERPOOL PLAYER TO REACH 50 GOALS

FIRST PLAYER IN LIVERPOOL HISTORY TO SCORE IN 8 CONSECUTIVE GAMES

BEST SCORING RATE FOR A FIRST SEASON AT LIVERPOOL...

FIRST PLAYER OVER 30 GOALS SINCE FOWLER, 1995-1996

"And I'm missing titles

that slipped between our fingers,

especially the Champions League."

But the best is yet to come.

(ARAGONÉS) Nobody remembers the runners-up.

We've come to win the Euros

and we'll go into it with a positive attitude.

We'll have a party if we win

and, as we're the best, we will win.

"'You're the runner-up of...' Bah! Understood?"

But we have much more, we can do much more!

Torres... can do more, I go more!

He's physically good!

(ALL) Come on!

-Come on, come on! -Yeah!

One, two and three!

Win, win and win!

Last 15 minutes of the first half.

FINAL OF THE EUROS...

Marchena...

SPAIN-GERMANY

"...between the lines, where Xavi will receive it...

There. -He can do damage

Torres... Tries to go...

Goal...

by Niño Torres, who has just put...

Spain ahead

in the final of the Euros!

With speed,

It had to be with speed!

When he scored that goal,"

I couldn't... No, it's indescribable.

"I remember saying to my son the day before:

'You haven't dedicated any goals to Hugo.'

We only have one grandson, Hugo."

He was one month!

And he said, in these words:

"Of course not, I'll dedicate the goal from the final."

(Epic music)

(TORRES) "For as long as I've known Luis, I think he has tried

to be...

my teaching, my sporting father.

Before going out for the final,

he pulled me aside, made the sign of the cross on my forehead,"

kissed me on my forehead and said: "Kid...,

go out there, score two goals

and make us champions. It has to be you."

I felt that he wanted it to be me.

Luckily, it happened.

Yes, it was a loving gesture to him.

I mean, Luis really loved the Niño.

I was convinced he would score two goals,

but one felt like five.

"Torres deserved that goal.

You could say that with that goal, football was fair to him.

-We're champions! -Spain are champions of Europe!

44 years later,

they're champions! -We're champions of Europe.

This group, this team managed to become champions of Europe

when nobody believed in us.

And we rewrote history."

♪ (ALL) Champions!

♪ Oh-eh, oh-eh, oh-eh!

♪ Champions, champions!

♪ Oh-eh, oh-eh, oh-eh! ♪

-A dream? -Uf!

-(LAUGHS) -We still can't believe it.

Before we get to Spain, we won't know what it is.

(Horns)

Come on lads, come on!

(Cheering)

"From Argentina, Lionel Messi!

From Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo!

And from Spain, Fernando Torres!

Never in my life

would I have imagined being the third best player in the world."

It was just unthinkable.

I was floating on air.

Hey, Niño, you've done it!

I was super proud

I mean, Jesus, this lad from Fuenlabrada...

look where he is!

"He was at the peak of the world of football.

-In football, we talk about Ronaldo"

and Messi, and I think they're from another planet.

So, for me, if I was Fernando and finished third,

in my mind, I would be first.

-"...who scored the deciding...

goal against Germany in Vienna,

Fernando Torres!

More than the great season at Liverpool,

what put me in that place was the Euros

with the goal in the final."

I need titles and I'm not getting them.

Goals are important to me...

big games, trophies are important to me.

"There's a moment of contradiction

in the club's discourse that we're going to improve,"

bring in players to complete the squad to take that last little step

to get to the final, to compete with United...

Xabi Alonso leaves.

"That summer, another pillar leaves,

Mascherano, then the exit

of Rafa Benítez later."

Now we're really far away,

very far from what I was looking for when I left home.

I left home to come here.

(Crowd chanting)

I remember that season very well because it was a World Cup season.

"It would be a brutal year

and finally winning titles with Liverpool

and scoring high. On the pitch, I felt better than ever.

The World Cup comes closer and I feel better.

But then I get a torn meniscus."

8 APRIL 2010

I jump for a glancing header

and I lost balance in the air

and... I landed on my right leg and I felt something.

-"He jumps, lands, and stays still."

It wasn't normal behaviour for him. Over the next few minutes I saw

"he was flexing his knee and something wasn't right."

I felt a little crack, like something wasn't in place

but I could keep playing.

"I score two goals, we won and qualified

for the semifinals, and half an hour"

after the match, my knee was like a balloon.

"In the tests, we couldn't see what was wrong and Doctor Cugat said

he couldn't see clearly either. So I made the decision"

"I'm going to Barcelona."

(JOURNALIST) "The volcano in Iceland

has once again caused air travel restrictions.

The explosive activity has increases in the past hours

and there are dangerous levels of ash for airplanes in some areas."

You can't fly.

I couldn't believe it: "Is there no way I can fly to Spain?"

"We have no choice." Get in the car.

He says: "I'm going." I said: "What do you mean?

I'm not staying here." He says: "How can you come

when pregnant and with a little girl?"

I said: "I'm not staying. What will I do alone in Liverpool?"

So we got in the car and went... to Barcelona.

"I get to Barcelona,

we do the same test and Doctor Cugat says

if we did surgery, I would be out for so long"

that I would miss the World Cup.

If we have to remove the meniscus, remove it.

I don't care about the price, I've got to be in the World Cup

because I knew Spain could win it.

We did an intensive physio program

without taking risks, obviously, but knowing that we had

some milestones to hit if we want Fernando to make the date.

-"I still joke with him: 'If they'd seen what we did in your physiotherapy,"

they'd take my license away.'

We operated at dawn and got to work at 08:00

"doing strength.

-He's just had an operation. Torres..."

he had to be operated on,

but we're hoping it's not serious

and it also seems that he was...

as far as we know, he was very happy with how it went.

We were in the hands of the doctors and physios.

We knew the determination he had in terms of recovery

and how much he wanted

to join the national team, but it was an uncertain moment

"and we held on until the last moment.

-Del Bosque asked if he could use Torres or not,"

and that is a situation when a doctor has to be clear.

Seeing Fernando work, I said he'd be OK.

(DEL BOSQUE)" As forwards,

David Silva,

Mata,

Llorente,

Navas,

Pedro..."

Fernando Torres.

(FERNANDO) "Before the first match in South Africa,"

he came to speak to me and explained the situation:

"Prepare everything for the last 16."

"And it seemed like a great idea.

It hurt to miss three World Cup matches,

but my goal then was to be OK

and I know it's most important at the end."

What happens?

We lost to Switzerland.

And everything changed.

"I ended up starting in the next match,

I had to be there. We lost the first match,"

it's an unimaginable situation and we have to react.

Yes, because...

after losing against Switzerland,

we had two games we had to win

and we looked for a bit... we looked for a bit of depth.

(Cheering)

They're here...

-"I played against Honduras, all good;

against Chile it was good, too,

albeit a little pain at the end,

and the next day I woke up with my knee...

full of liquid, swollen... I couldn't believe it."

Football was telling me: "Not this time."

"And so started the race against time to get to the next match

with as little pain as possible.

It's a World Cup final and it will maybe never happen again."

(COMMENTATOR) Cesc to Navas. He's on the other side.

Iniesta. Torres...

Almost 11, a cross from Torres...

Ball to Cesc. Cesc, to Iniesta...

Goal!

-And when the ball went in, it's just unbelievable.

"You can't believe it... I ran. I don't know

if I was the first there or if Pepe, who was on the bench, overtook me.

But we had the feeling that the Cup was over."

(Epic music)

"His injury in the final was a mental injury. Fernando is"

a winner, a champion,

a guy who gives it his all when he's out on the pitch

and when he saw he couldn't give it all,

he was so overwhelmed he felt the pain.

He got injured in what they call the feeling muscle.

Imagine that!

He went down because he thought more

about "I've had another injury"

than "I'm going to be a world champion."

"That feeling makes him start to cry.

-I remember being on the stretcher, covering my eyes

and when we got to the dressing room, they said"

the match had finished and we were champions.

(SINGING)

"I said: 'Let's go outside, you have to forget this.'"

I was saying compulsively: "You're a world champion"

"and we went out onto the pitch where he celebrated and he stopped

the agony of thinking about injuries.

-But it obviously wasn't the image

I had of myself being a champion of the world."

Yes, you're a champion

and you've achieved your goal,

this wasn't the script.

I remember it as if it was yesterday. On the plane I said:

"Before the World Cup, wouldn't you have said yes to injuring yourself

and being a world champion?"

He said: "Of course!"

-"He was screwed beyond belief, but..."

he was really important

in the games he played in

and also in the build up to the goal.

(TORRES) "At that time, it was

one of the first times I wondered whether...

work is the only path

and if it's worth sacrificing everything for one moment,

if it's better

thinking with your brain or your heart,

as I'd done until then.

I clearly hadn't been thinking with my head.

"Was it really worth being a world champion

for everything I... risked...

Would it be better

if I hadn't gone and worked on my career,

that seemed to have no limit

at the time? How far would I have gone?

Did it affect it or not?"

Now, looking at it in perspective,

maybe it wasn't an intelligent decision.

"Torres' romance with Liverpool has lasted four years.

This week, Torres put in

an official transfer request at Liverpool.

The economic

and sporting crisis at the Reds was the spark.

-With 72 goals to his name,

Torres still hadn't won any silverware as a Red.

The most expensive signing in PL history,

the fifth in the history of football and the top-paid Spanish footballer:

as of today, Fernando Torres is all of those things."

(SIGHS)

It's still hard to understand why he left.

"There would have been reasons, he would have been frustrated,

maybe he just wanted... you know, a change.

But the brutal reality for the Liverpool fans is

he's not one of their own, he's not Steven Gerrard.

You're a king, but you could become a true legend.

It's like turning your back on your family."

(SHOUTING)

(FERNANDO) "I will always regret

not having tried to stop the team falling apart,

demanding that they sign players.

But I don't regret having left because they didn't fulfil

the promises and expectations that the club had offered me.

What happened during that period

was that nobody was bothered about Liverpool or their fans.

On a director's level, the club doesn't exist."

At the time, there were people in charge as they sold the club

who didn't care a bit about Liverpool

or any of the players personally.

The club was in ruin... internally.

And it needed years to recover. I didn't have that kind of time.

"When we explained the situation,

first to the Director of Football,

who was Damien Comolli at the time,

I never saw"

any evidence that they cared about me leaving,

rather it started to become

"How much will we earn...

and when will we do it?"

I don't know where they came from, but they stabbed me in the back

and betrayed me,

because minutes later, it was in the press

meaning that somehow, they had to find the guilty party.

"LET ME GO! TORRES TELLS KENNY HE WANTS TO GO TO CHELSEA"

FERNANDO TORRES ASKS TO ABANDON LIVERPOOL

"I'M LEAVING! TORRES REQUESTS TRANSFER

BUT LIVERPOOL SURPRISE THE SPANISH STRIKER"

If I'd listened to what the press said,

I would have hated that player they were writing about too.

I haven't see anybody held to account.

And it could have... (exhales)

Good Lord, what it could have done!

Because a lot of people lost respect for him

being the player he is.

I mean journalists,

I mean fans...

I mean people who are part of the footballing world.

"It must have felt like a dagger to Liverpool fans' hearts."

When a transfer request goes in,

that's not simply agents and journalists talking

and headlines. That is very real,

that is a player saying: "I want to leave,

I am turning my back on you, it's divorce."

Not many people can play with my heart, only my family,

but, Fernando Torres,

when he came to me and we spoke face-to-face,

I knew he wanted to go to Chelsea,

so it was a difficult position for me to be in

because I wanted to keep him at Liverpool and I wanted to stay close

"and be his partner for a long, time. At the same time,

as a friend, I didn't want to stop him."

I remember the day, and...

it was one of the worst days of my football career, for sure.

(FERNANDO) "I left friends, I left memories

I achieved some personal goals, others were left unfulfilled...

All footballers need to feel they've fulfilled their potential

and now I'm going to look for it at Chelsea.

So, it's a big step for me, and I only hope"

it lives up to expectations.

-Did you want more titles?

-Yes, we all want that. -(Sighs)

I mean... yeah...

Fernando Torres leaving...

I mean, yeah...

I'm still in shock now.

Fernando Torres leaving...

For some on Merseyside, for Liverpool fans,

it did feel like a betrayal, particularly going to Chelsea,

particularly with everything Chelsea represented:

New money, Russian money.

So...

it must have felt like a double snub to them.

"Huge loser, traitor.

We plan on lighting this bitch on fire.

See how this works.

All right.

Liverpool's number nine is gone. Bye bye, Torres.

You'll never walk alone..."

(Chuckling)

"Ciao, Torres.

Yeah, it's fucking poison, man."

"I understand...

people's reaction

and the anger and disappointment.

I didn't consider the other elements, the rivalry.

I didn't care about the city or the glamour...

I chose the place I thought

would get me closer to what I didn't have,

the reason I left home, which was titles."

(Rock music)

"At 6 in the evening"

they gave us the green light to prepare his exit.

To prepare his exit because Chelsea said

they would pay 50 million pounds

"laid out in the document.

Fernando passed his medical, we signed,

we were happy at the time"

until we saw the calendar

and the first match... Chelsea-Liverpool.

(COMMENTATOR) "Weak ball for Torres...

I couldn't score."

I couldn't score in the first match, then the second. Then a lot of matches.

When you have in your head all sorts of different ideas

like "Oh, I have to score!", "When is the ball coming?",

"'I need that goal', it obviously affects your game

because you forget about the calm process of going

to places where you were scoring goals.

-And it was like he had forgotten how to play,"

or how to score, it was like he was learning a new language.

It was almost Shakespearean to watch, it was almost a tragedy.

Fernando goes to Chelsea with a 50-million pound price tag,

which brings a lot of pressure, a lot of expectation,

so I just think it was a completely different...

"set of circumstances at Chelsea. At Liverpool,"

Fernando's confidence was very high.

His body was fine,

and the whole team was about Fernando.

I think when you go to Chelsea, it's a different feeling.

They have...

"maybe five different superstars

and the team is about five different people.

-I couldn't earn that place"

or they didn't give me it.

And this left me partly, it didn't allow me to be...

completely happy.

Maybe that's one of the reasons, because I wasn't on the pitch, either.

-"Everyone did their own thing

and maybe Fernando needed

a bit more help.

Fernando isn't a robot"

who arrives, gets his boots on, gets his trousers on,

gets his training shirt on...

Fernando needs warmth by his side,

he needs to grow with the group.

-"And in the hardest game,

the ball was slowed by the rain,

like the brakes had been put on,

but that's what helped me as everyone overshot

and then with my left foot, almost with my back to the goal,

I got my first goal."

(Crowd cheering)

"It was an emancipation and that's often what you need

to change the dynamic.

I hoped that would be what happened, but unfortunately, it wasn't.

Looking for Torres through the middle. Great chance...

Torres... No, what a miss!

Oh, that's extraordinary!

One of the greatest misses

of all time in the Premier League!

Fifty million pounds

and he misses an open goal!"

In that game, I scored what was maybe one of my best goals with Chelsea.

"Anelka... and Torres... scores!"

You can score 100 times and miss once

and they'll remember the miss.

THE EXCUSES START TO WEAR THIN WITH TORRES' LACK OF GOALS

TORRES ASSURES CHELSEA FANS HE HASN'T FORGOTTEN HOW TO SCORE GOALS

HOW DID YOU MISS THAT, FERNANDO?

TERRY SENT OFF. MESSI MISSES PENALTY. CHELSEA IN THE FINAL.

BUT MOST SHOCKINGLY: TORRES SCORES!

"Fears and doubts appeared.

Feelings I'd never had."

(COMMENTATOR) "Oh, it's extraordinary!

One of the greatest misses

of all time in the Premier League!

In front of the Stretford End.

50 millions pounds

and he misses an open goal!

That set up the most difficult decision in my whole career.

I started to fight against the Torres Liverpool."

The shadow of the first months

is what makes many people question

whether it was a success or not

or whatever happened in my time at Chelsea.

I think my most honest summary

is that I didn't live up to the expectations

on a personal level,

but I did on a collective level.

I was in the most important moments

of all those trophies, in the key moments.

(Crowd shouting)

(COMMENTATOR) -"Shout for a handball... -Is it? Is it?

Fernando Torres!

This could be

the most dramatic story of the season!

It's Torres to give Chelsea

a place in the Champions League final!

The headline has been written!

Fifty million pounds has just been repaid

by Fernando Torres!"

That's why football is so amazing.

Because those minutes gave me the chance

to be the total

"and unquestioned hero,

and people remember that goal almost as well"

as the one in the final,

for Chelsea and for everyone. It's a milestone in my career.

CHELSEA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WINNERS 2012

"I was winning titles

but not in the way I would have written in the script.

I wanted to be the hero.

The first cup I won as a professional was Euro 2008.

And experiencing it..."

as a winner and hero

is a feeling you want to repeat.

And it's almost like if you're missing one,

it's not enough.

It's the first time I think seriously:

"It won't happen here."

"We all know about his ability,

his quality and everything,"

and what a great person he is,

so he'll start scoring again soon.

"Silva to Torres!

Torres has it one on one! Niño!"

(COMMENTATORS) "Goal!

-Come on! -Incredible!

You were born a great footballer!

How do they doubt you?

Amazing, Niño! Spain!

-'I'm sure that all of those

who have played so many games,'"

two World Cups, two Euros, and two Confederation Cups,

"have been our heroes and he has been one of our heroes.

-At that time, Fernando was fighting

to be the top scorer in the tournament. Well, Fernando,"

instead of scoring his goal to stay:

"Yeah, number four! Golden Boot for me!", no, no.

"Here, Mata, put it in."

That is Fernando Torres.

1 JULY 2012

FINAL OF EURO 2012 SPAIN-ITALY

(Crowd cheering)

SPAIN, EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS 2012

"I always played well with Spain

including those times.

I scored in the final and got the golden boot,

I went to the Confederations Cup in Brazil"

and got the Golden Boot again and... the national team helped me

by compensating what I didn't achieve with my club at the time.

"For me, the national team

was a life saver.

At the time, it was...

like a release, to be able to enjoy

football with my friends and teammates,

as we rewrote history.

I don't feel vindicated because it was the Euros,

simply because I could be with my teammates again.

It was a group that four years earlier had hardly any kids

and we had seen the kids grow

and meet up at cups

and make friends off the pitch,

and feel

that I was part of the family that was the national team."

FUKUOKA (JAPAN)

TWO DAYS TO RETIREMENT

"It's not hard to be part

of a footballer's family. There are many things

you can't do, but it opens"

many other doors

that otherwise, you couldn't experience.

"He has been and still is an exemplary father.

His kids have always been his priority

and when he got back from football

that was it: it's now family time.

-At home, we've always tried

to separate"

my profession from our family life.

It's not a house with a museum full

"of shirts, or a place where...

the trophies are kept,

you won't see photos of football.

-At home, we never talked about football."

When Fernando got home from training, he was a father here.

We didn't...

We didn't even watch football or anything.

"For the kids, football was always a bit of a drag, honestly,

because it was when dad wasn't here, when..."

They didn't have school

and we couldn't do anything as a family.

Let's see what mood they're in.

How long left? Two days of school then holidays?

And then let's go.

This week, let's put a bet on.

Everything on 15.

-"I think I have more patience than him."

He's quite strict

There are rules and he wants them to be obeyed.

"I'm sure

he projects the discipline he has had throughout his life

into daily life."

(Soft music)

I would like my children...

to find something that makes them truly happy.

"Something they can develop.

If it's football, perfect;

if it's something else, great."

(Rock music)

"The summer is over, the season is back,"

starting from zero again... Then Benítez arrives.

Rafa!

-"For me, Benítez

is like a breath of fresh air."

Fernando improved, started playing well and scoring goals. The team

"did him well. He got his confidence back,

that good atmosphere and good playing style."

I was the first striker,

the team's top scorer scored in the final...

Things started going well.

(COMMENTATOR) "Fernando Torres!

It's one-nil to Chelsea!"

(Crowd cheering)

"Benfica denied at one end

and immediately at the other..."

CHELSEA EUROPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 2013

"But over the summer, Rafa left the team,"

Mourinho came and the situation changed.

(Photographers talking)

"Again, my first months, everything that was written

and the perception"

of my place in the team, meant he didn't see me as first-choice striker.

Whether he wasn't such a happy guy

at Chelsea

or whether it was just his personality, he didn't fit

in the Chelsea dynamic.

Does he have a future? Yes he does.

He has a contract, he is a good professional.

Obviously, we want him to score more goals.

He did his job.

He wasn't...

He wasn't a flop.

People often like to say:

"This guy or the other is a flop."

He's not a flop.

A flop doesn't win titles, a flop doesn't score goals.

I see him as a big game player.

(Crowd cheering)

On a personal level,

I think there are many moments and periods.

It's true they aren't regular,

but periods at Chelsea when I maybe played

"the best football I've ever played.

But they are short periods. What I never achieved

at Chelsea was consistency.

And that's unforgivable at a big club."

I thought Fernando would give us...

a bit more.

You come from averaging 15 or 20 goals

and average seven or eight.

It's reality and you have to accept it.

But I don't doubt myself, I doubt that I can do it

in that place, because maybe it's not my place.

"I accept and understand that it's best to put an end to it.

That's the first time...

the possibility of going to Atlético appears.

At least I start listening.

But I had a feeling

that they wouldn't let me go to Atlético from Chelsea."

2014. FERNANDO TORRES SIGNS FOR AC MILAN

"EL NIÑO" LEAVES STAMFORD BRIDGE AFTER WINNING

A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, A EUROPA LEAGUE AND AN FA CUP

(ANTONIO SANZ) "Milan was almost an escape.

He wanted the return to Atleti,

but the path wasn't direct. The path"

had to go via somewhere else,

and that took us to Milan.

Why not try Italy?

-"I started in a home game against Juventus, we lost,

but I felt good.

The next day, I scored my first goal, it looks like it's going

how it should be, but from there, it all goes downhill.

The manager subs me off in every match

and I start to see that it's not all as real

as I had thought.

As he had said, in fact.

I knew it wouldn't last long.

There have been times,

especially in my final years,

when I was tired of football."

I was lacking something to motivate me,

difficult circumstances to overcome.

That's why, when I had the option of returning to Atlético, it was clear.

And for me, again,

it was like a life jacket in the middle of the ocean.

(Epic music)

4 JANUARY 2015 "EL NIÑO" RETURNS HOME

I'm here.

-Have you seen the stands?

-I've seen photos,

"but I don't know whether to believe them."

When you get to the centre, daddy will turn

and you have to run as fast as you can,

like a bullet, to where mummy is.

(MEGAPHONE) Fernando!

(CROWD) Torres!

(FERNANDO) "The Atlético my grandad told me about,

the one I fell in love with without having seen a match,

was an Atlético of symbols, of moments,

of special names

for some reasons or others in the club...

The kids that were younger than 10...

would never have seen me play."

-Fernando!

-"And for me, that situation means that their parents,

grandparents, aunts, uncles

or older siblings will have talked about me

at some point.

And that makes me feel

incredibly proud

because, for me, that's what Atlético is about."

(Cheering)

Amazing, amazing... Emotional...

He was born in Atlético Madrid,

he has been one of the most important pillars

of Atlético Madrid in the last...

"I don't know how many years. It puts him

in a different place, but because he has a gift.

-It wasn't a presentation, it was getting back together."

We could have waited 40 years,

but when the time came,

nobody could miss it. That's why it filled the stadium.

I didn't expect so many people to be there,

the stadium was full and... I got really emotional.

He arrived, filled the stadium...

"scored...

two goals in the Bernabéu,

eliminated Real Madrid from the cup,

scored again against Barcelona,

in another cup elimination match...

He was so motivated,

so hungry and so excited

to have come back to Atleti.

He started like a shot."

Unfortunately,

later the manager saw it differently.

We've always tried to think

about doing what we believe is best for the team.

We always told him we weren't bringing the idol of the team

or of the people, we were bringing the footballer

"the team needed

and, obviously, I always acted

in relation to how I felt. What I believed

the team needed."

(CHILD) Torres! -Torres, legend!

-OK. -A kiss?

A kiss!

-"I've always thought that Simeone didn't end up accepting him

and that created a bit of jealousy because ultimately, Simeone

was and had become again..."

king of the castle there.

And he deserved it.

He was the only alpha male there.

And suddenly he saw that there was

a new element for him,

"that was Torres, who of course,

he knew in a way,

he had to treat in such a way."

(FERNANDO) "I know him well and I knew"

he expected a lot of me,

he was going to test me, I wouldn't get anything for free,

but he liked me as a footballer.

(Crowd cheering)

"The final of the Champions League in Milan came around,

which was the most important match of my career at the time."

(COMMENTATOR) "...It will be... Look, look!"

Goal by Ramos!

(FERNANDO) "For my whole life, I've avoided the idea"

that many Atlético players have,

which is always blaming the referee for acting

in favour of Real Madrid.

I've always avoided that, I think it is...

something that holds back the club.

But I lost a Champions League final

against that opponent from an offside goal.

"We have to keep going and not think that it was because of external forces."

We didn't lose in Milan because of the referee.

We had time to make a comeback, and we didn't do it.

We could have done a bit more, we were better.

"But it wasn't enough to win.

Juanfran...

Goal, goal, goal, goal, goal!

It's over, it's over!

It will be decided on penalties!"

(Dramatic music)

"Here comes Cristiano. -Cristiano to win

the cup against Oblak. Like for a free kick,

open legs, breathing...

Cristiano shoots... Goal, goal, goal! -Goal!

-I was chosen to take

the fifth penalty,

that was never taken."

The... walk from the centre of the pitch

to the penalty spot is very long, I can tell you.

In the final in Milan I didn't have to experience that walk.

It would have been very different

if it was to win or if it was to not lose.

"Maybe, if we had won, it would have been my last match.

That's what I felt about it. Winning the Champions League with Atleti,"

something nobody has done,

is something you think about. What better final than that?

"They were different tears than those I'd had before.

At the time, all I knew,"

all I could feel

is that the only place I wanted to be was with Atlético.

And it was in defeat...

where I felt that in the strongest way.

"That's why this club is different".

-"I asked him:"

"Why don't we go now?

I don't want to see you suffer more."

And he said: "No way I'm leaving here now."

We had a deal with the club owners

for a contract,

the coach changed it,

"with the consent of the owners,

and Fernando ate it up.

And he stayed."

(TORRES) "The biggest thing was being where I...

felt I had to be."

The conditions weren't important,

I had that responsibility to the people.

Fernando was a substitute again, when he had been the starting nine

during the last part of the season

and after he had earned it and scored goals.

His reward was the bench.

-"I never asked

Simeone for an explanation because I know him well.

I don't know if it was personal

or professional or a bit of both."

I understand the complexities there are

for a coach to manage...

an arrival like mine.

(SIMEONE) "The club idol obviously creates a lot of...

expectations, a lot of..."

attention in the media,

but as coaches, we have to always think

"about what the club needs.

-There was a moment when everything spilled over.

It spilled over and I think in his mind, I was never the starting forward."

You can accept the reality that maybe you can't start

all 40 games of the season,

but I could never accept

that I wasn't even called upon.

-"Like all strikers, Vietto isn't scoring, he says nothing"

and they criticise him. Gameiro scores few goals and they criticise him.

Fernando scores few goals, but he's the club hero.

So people work on feelings,

that's clear, and that's why you manage.

He thinks...

what he's doing is best for the club.

And the only way to answer is by working.

"If you don't play, work harder

and without frowning. Smiling,

being positive for the group

from wherever I am. It could be on the bench,

it could be in training,

wherever I have to be."

It was the last year in the Calderón and I couldn't let them down.

I had to be there, whatever that meant.

21 MAY 2017 LAST MATCH IN THE VICENTE CALDERÓN STADIUM

"For Fernando Torres"

it would be a perfect epilogue

at the Vicente Calderón stadium

to play the last match there.

If there was a was a player

who had to tie up 50 years of history

with a brace in that game

"that player is Fernando Torres Sanz,

a one-team player, who played for many clubs,

but one team."

(Cheering)

-"The last game in the Calderón is on the level

of the great games and the great finals I have played,

because the Calderón had been

the theatre I dreamed of acting on,

where I went...

to so many games as a fan,

where I made my debut, fulfilling a dream,

and I knew it was the last.

It was going to end and there would be no more."

(Chanting)

"If we live off the symbols"

and the emotions and the feelings,

there they went...

all the feelings of the last 50 years.

(Cheering)

(Epic music)

(Crowd shouting)

(RF) 2 March 2017

(Whistle)

(Shouting)

Get back, please!

Come on, this is bad!

Now we're down to ten!

-God dammit!

-It was clear something was wrong by the reaction

of the people around him.

I immediately thought about his family.

-"I got chills..."

A minute went by, then another

and he wasn't responding... I said: "My God!

Don't say that now, playing football,

you have a tragedy."

I haven't been able to watch it. And I won't.

But it was bad.

And like I say, I didn't see him unconscious!

I haven't seen it... We have it, but I don't watch it.

(IVÁN) "I ran to the dressing room, I got the phone and straight away...

I spoke to Olalla.

I don't think I can talk about it.

(Soft music)

It was a tremendous scare...

The only thing that entered my mind...

was to see him...

to see him... breathe,

because it was really scary.

I was talking to Olalla

and I was saying: "It's going to be OK...

It's over, he's fine."

MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR KIND WORDS

IT WAS JUST A SCARE. I HOPE TO COME BACK VERY SOON! 3 MARCH 2017

(TORRES) "All good.

-Are you excited to train again?

-Of course, I want to get there now

and see my teammates... and start training.

"They are moments of personal growth,

to feel cared for and respected in your profession"

and at the same time,

feeling that...

that in life there are priorities

and football certainly isn't the most important thing

(Soft music)

-"Atlético's current competitive level,

having such a demanding coach,

Fernando's charisma: all of that made it

a very awkward situation for everybody,

having someone as charismatic as Fernando

who wasn't constantly playing in the team.

That could end up harming the relationship between Diego and him

that's why I got them together in my house and in that meeting

we agreed that it was best

for the three parties to separate again for a while."

Well, that meeting wasn't exactly like that.

That meeting didn't come about

"because the club thought it wouldn't be good to have me on the bench.

It's for me to decide

if it's a good situation for me, if I am OK

with being a player or hero who ends

his last years on the bench playing less and less,

being left out

and fading away, but it's not the club"

who tried to soften it and help with that transition,

not at all. That meeting

came about because of an unfortunate press conference with Simeone,

"where, for the first time, he gave a bad response

and caused an awkward situation for the fans."

I would like to know if you are willing

to try and keep Fernando Torres for one more season.

-No.

That's why the meeting happened.

It was a meeting I went to listen

because I thought I was going to get an apology or an explanation,

but it wasn't that.

We shared our opinions with the club owner,

with Miguel Ángel, each expressed our point of view.

There isn't one right opinion and one wrong one.

It was a very serious chat.

And when there are serious chats...

We could leave together and hug each other.

"Because he was honest with what he thought about me

and I was honest about what I thought about him.

So I think from that situation,

it brings us to where we are now

able to talk and look at each other because we held nothing back"

and, obviously, we were always as direct

as we needed to be.

Simeone was my teammate. First he was my hero...

Forza atleti!

(CHILDREN) Ole, ole, ole. Cholo Simeone!

-"...then my teammate and coach,

and I understand how uncomfortable that relationship is

from his point of view." -"I think..."

Fernando was the most generous

because he understood that if he continued,

"it could possibly become

a tense situation.

-Fernando didn't want to be a problem for Atlético"

and that's why he decided to leave.

(Soft music)

"I think it is...

The best moment.

There is never a good moment to say goodbye, but...

accepting the reality of my situation, you've seen how much

I'm playing, which is very little,

and maybe it's time to give way...

to others, right?

I'm motivated and I feel I can play,

and that I can do it well, I can bring a lot

and I want to keep playing,

but maybe now with Atlético I'm not producing

and maybe it's for the best."

ONE DAY TO RETIREMENT

(Shouting and clapping)

FINAL TRAINING SESSION

"I think what has allowed me to spend so many years at an elite level

is my way of competing.

I was never the best or the fastest

or the strongest, or the best technically

or the best shooter, but ultimately,

football is competition."

(Shouting and whistles)

"And once I arrived in Japan, I realised

that was what wasn't allowing me to change my mindset.

I've never been prepared to not compete.

And you realise that when you experience it.

I was looking for precisely what I didn't need.

And for me, that is competing.

Wanting to compete with people who are better than you.

That pushes you

to the full potential you have inside and that you often don't know."

(Shouting in Japanese)

(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)

-Score a goal.

Fernando's aim is to score a goal.

(Shouting in Japanese)

(Crowd shouting)

(COMMENTATOR) "Atlético Madrid are once again

champions of the UEFA Europa League, Ricardo!

-17 years after

his debut with the Atlético Madrid first team,

Fernando Torres,

Leaving for England,

playing in Italy, being a European champion,

winning this very competition... Once again, 17 years

after bursting onto the stage with the shirt

of his beloved club,

Torres lifts the cup with Atlético Madrid!

Congratulations, colchoneros, yes!

Yet again, that makes three,

you are champions of the UEFA Europa League!

-It's a story with a happy ending.

Torres wanted to leave Atlético Madrid with a cup,

now he's got it. It's going with him.

A legend who will whole the respect of the colchoneros

for the rest of his life and another episode..."

(FERNANDO) Twenty-two years ago, I think, I was over there...

I was an 11-year-old kid,

and I came to see the Atleti of 96,

who won the double,

and I saw them lift the cup...

Just like Kiko!

(VOICE BREAKING) And I dreamed about being here one day...

(Applause)

To all of the children who have dreams,

anything is possible, especially if you support Atlético. "Forsa Atleti!"

(Cheering and applause)

FOUR DAYS LATER, THE NIÑO SAYS GOODBYE TO THE ATLÉTICO FANS

(Crowd shouting)

(CROWD) Goal!

(Chanting)

(CROWD) Goal!

(FERNANDO) I'd like to start...

with all of those in the third tier...

(Applause)

Especially

to two people: Luis Aragonés,

who we all owe so much...

for showing us the way...

(Applause)

I'd also like to mention...

(SOBS) my grandad...,

(Applause)

who gave me the best gift you can give a grandson: Making them an Atleti fan.

I don't know what I've done to make you love me so much,

but you've made me the happiest man in the world

(Applause)

(Distant chanting)

(Soft music)

(Spectators chanting)

TOSU (JAPAN) 23 AUGUST 2019

RETIREMENT DAY

(Fans chanting in Japanese)

(CROWD SINGING IN JAPANESE)

(Distant chanting)

♪ (CROWD) Fernando Torres!

♪ Na, na, na, na, na, na!

♪ Fernando Torres!

♪ Na, na, na, na, na, na!

♪ Fernando Torres!

♪ Na, na, na, na, na, na!

♪ Fernando Torres!

♪ Na, na, na, na, na, na!

♪ Fernando Torres!

♪ Na, na, na, na, na, na!

♪ Fernando Torres!

♪ Na, na, na, na, na, na!

♪ Fernando Torres!

♪ Na, na, na, na, na, na!

♪ Fernando Torres!

♪ Na, na, na, na, na, na!

♪ Fernando Torres!

♪ Na, na, na, na, na, na!

♪ Fernando Torres! ♪

(Epic music)

"There have been a few moments when it has been difficult not to cry,

But today I don't feel sad. I feel happy

and proud of everything I did.

Maybe in the next few days, I'll realise that it's over"

and it'll be time to miss everything around football,

but right now, I feel happy.

BROTHER, AN ENTIRE SPORTING LIFE IN PARALLEL,

UNIQUE AND UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS, BUT ABOVE ALL, YOU AS A PERSON.

(TORRES) "Sometimes, football players only focus on trophies,

I did in the past, I wanted to lift as many trophies as possible

and play in the biggest games.

And now that the end is coming,

I look back, and the best thing I achieved is the respect of everybody.

I feel really proud

of maybe giving something back to football,

especially to Spanish football.

This is my biggest trophy.

I am the person I am today thanks to football.

For my whole career, I've thought...,

when I leave football and the years go by,

I would look back and have the trophies.

I've realised that I was wrong.

Trophies aren't the most important.

The most important moments are the ones that make you feel

and you remember them at the level of a World Cup or a Champions League."

(WOMAN) Come on, Fernando, go!

"Because I had my people.

My family and those who supported me were there

when I went to the Calderón as a child,

the ones who comforted me in the most difficult moments,

the ones who gave me

the Atlético Madrid scarf

as I toured the streets of Madrid with the national team

and those who saw me as an Atlético regardless of where I played

and the position both the club and I found ourselves."

NOVEMBER 2019 VICENTE CALDERÓN STADIUM

"I was a hero in the dark times.

I had the responsibility and the luck to carry the flag,

because I could be on the pitch, but I felt everybody's support.

As I wasn't a hero in the winning times,

I didn't have to show anyone I was a true Atlético."

(Epic music)

"I would like people to remember me as an Atlético fan

who had a dream, chased it, achieved it

and had a happy ending.

I will always be linked to Atlético,

and I'll always be a fan.

I'll have my place in the stadium

and I'll come to watch.

I did what any of them would do.

One day it was my turn...

to go from the stands to the pitch

and I gave what I used to ask players to give

when I was in the stands, what any

of the 55,000 fans who go every Sunday to see their team would give.

I was lucky that it was me."

(Slow orchestral music)