Chelsea.
School of life.

In his first 14 matches at Chelsea Torres did not score a single goal. It was unprecedented for him. In his entire career before, he had never had a drought like that. The British press began writing headlines: 50 million for the transfer of the year (in quotes), the worst purchase in Abramovich history. Torres said in Marca after match seven without a goal: I would have scored if the goalkeeper had not been there. But I see already that something has changed. Either me, or how we play.

His first Chelsea goal came in match 15, April 23, 2011 against West Bromwich. Torres came on, went one-on-one, dinked the keeper and finished into an empty net. At the press conference he did not look happy, he looked exhausted. In the whole season 2010/2011 (half-season at Chelsea) he scored one Premier League goal. An absolute anti-record for a forward of his level.

Season 2011/2012 was his first full Chelsea season. 8 Premier League goals in 32 matches. A little better but still catastrophically below his former level. He changed partners up front three times, working with Anelka, with Drogba, with Sturridge. With each the chemistry was mediocre, with Drogba worst (they both pulled the blanket to themselves). The main managerial chaos made things worse: Carlo Ancelotti (left summer 2011), Andre Villas-Boas (left March 2012), Roberto Di Matteo (came as interim, won the Champions League).

Despite the catastrophic Premier League (Torres scored only 8 in the 2011/2012 season), Chelsea unexpectedly reached the Champions League final. The main episode: the semifinal against Barcelona. At Stamford Bridge Chelsea won 1-0 through Drogba. At Nou Camp, in the return, Barcelona led 2-1, Terry was sent off in the 37th, Iniesta and Fabregas were playing so that Chelsea seemed not to reach half-time. In the 92nd minute, when Chelsea was preparing to lose, Frank Lampard delivered a pass toward Torres who was in his own box. Torres took the ball, carried it through half the pitch, beat three Barcelona players and finished into an empty net. 2-2. Chelsea in the final.

This goal is called The Goal of an Era in Chelsea history. Torres said after the match: I was running and I felt that nobody would catch me. I never had this feeling, that the whole world had stopped. This moment effectively returned Torres to the European football elite. The Champions League final on May 19, 2012, Chelsea beat Bayern in Munich on their own stadium. Torres came on in the 84th, helped hold the ball in midfield. Within one and a half hours he had lifted the European Cup, the most important club trophy of his career.

Season 2012/2013 was the best at Chelsea. Main coach: Rafael Benitez, with whom Torres had worked at Liverpool. Benitez knew how to use him. He put him central forward, built the attack around him, rebuilt the links. Result: 22 goals in all competitions, 8 in the Europa League (Torres top scorer of the tournament). The final: against Benfica in Amsterdam, May 15, 2013. Torres opened the scoring in the 60th. He took the ball from Juan Mata, carried it through half the pitch, beat Luisao and finished from outside the box past Artur. Classic El Nino goal. Ivanovic headed the winner on 92. 2-1. Chelsea won the Europa League.

This was the last year Torres played at full load. Spring 2013: he was 29, had just won Euro 2012 and the tournament Golden Boot, scored at Camp Nou in the semi, scored in the Europa League final. It could have been the start of a new peak. Instead came the decline.

In summer 2013 Jose Mourinho returned to Chelsea for a second spell. Mourinho is a coach who prefers physically dominant strikers. Torres did not fit his second-shape concept. He played less, 23 Premier League matches in 2013/2014, 5 goals. He was a backup for Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba. At the press conference in October 2013 Mourinho openly said: We have three strikers who train the same. Pick who plays.

After the Spain World Cup disaster in 2014 (Spain eliminated from the group), Torres decided to change scene. At the end of August 2014 he agreed a loan to Milan. The Stamford Bridge farewell was quiet. Torres recorded a short interview for club TV, thanked the team, flew to the airport. Chelsea fans remain divided to this day: some remember the Nou Camp goal and consider Torres earned a place in club history. Others remember 50 million and 45 goals in three years.

Three and a half years at Chelsea is the main reflection period in the Torres biography. Trophies: yes. Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup. European cups: yes. Both possible European trophies he won precisely at Chelsea. Statistics: below average by his standards. 45 goals in 172 matches, twice as poor as Liverpool. Emotional memories: hard. In his 2015 book he called the Chelsea period the school of life precisely because that is where he learned to accept his limitations.

Frank Lampard, who worked with Torres for three seasons, said on Sky Sports in 2020: Fernando never played at his usual level at Chelsea. But he played in a club that preserved him between trophies. And he scored in the most important matches. That matters. Jurgen Klopp, who was in Germany when Torres won Euro 2008 and 2012, added later: Without the Chelsea period Fernando would have more chance of being underrated. That transfer, that press, that drama, all of it made him more than a forward.