Fernando
Torres.
The boy
who burnt Europe.

The national team came in parallel. Euro 2008 was won on a Torres finish in the final, four years after Spain had collapsed in Portugal. That was the national team's first trophy in 44 years. Two years later came the World Cup in South Africa. Torres was not at peak form going into the Netherlands final but he was in the squad, Spain won, the Cup went to Madrid. Euro 2012 he won by scoring in the final against Italy and taking the tournament Golden Boot. One goal and two minutes played were enough to edge competitors on secondary tiebreakers. The only footballer in history to score in two consecutive Euro finals.

The transfer to Chelsea in January 2011 for 50 million pounds became one of the loudest deals in English football history. Torres delivered the Champions League (2012), the Europa League (2013), the FA Cup (2012). Personal statistics dropped threefold. It was the hardest part of the career, which he later called four years of life school. After Chelsea came a short Milan loan, a return to Atletico, and two years in Japan with Sagan Tosu in J1, where he formally retired in summer 2019 in a farewell match against Vissel Kobe of Andres Iniesta.

Today Torres is a coach. He has completed UEFA Pro, coaches the Atletico Madrid reserves (Atletico B), works within the academy structure, and appears more and more often on shortlist roundups as a candidate for the first team. He also plays bass guitar in a semi-private rock project with childhood friends, raises three children with his school sweetheart Olalla Dominguez, and systematically posts footage from the weight room where at forty two he looks sharper than players who are twenty two.