Seasons watched: 2002–03 to 2005–06 (Age 18–21 seasons according to FBRef)
It’s been nearly ten years since Atlético Madrid hired Diego Simeone in December 2011, and in the time since they have ascended to become one of the most successful clubs in European football. With their shocking La Liga triumph in 2014, they became the first Spanish club to break up Barcelona and Real Madrid’s domestic stranglehold since Valencia in 2004, and look set to once again capture the title in 2021. Although the Champions League has illuded them, two trips to the final in 2014 and 2016 is nothing to sneeze at, and their constant presence in the knockout stages has allowed them to consolidate their standing as one of the ten strongest clubs in Europe.
For as good as the 2010’s were for Atlético, the 2000’s were almost equally bad in magnitude. They had to claw their way back to the first division after relegation in 2000, and outside of a couple of 4th place finishes in 2008 and 2009, sporting success was scarce throughout the decade. That was primarily the result of them being mired in massive debt, stemming from horrid financial dealings. Between those two things, there was very little to get excited about for the fan base, besides the emergence of Fernando Torres. He burst onto the scene in Spanish football in his debut La Liga campaign, made captain at age 19, and in many ways became the club’s lone bright spot during the mid 2000’s. Not only were there no hard feelings once he departed for Liverpool, but rather there existed an acceptance and appreciation that Torres had to leave to challenge himself at the highest level possible.
Compared to other young attackers from this era, Torres’ individual and team success lagged behind by a fair distance. This was in no small part due to the mishmash supporting cast at the time, as Atlético didn’t have the means to build a coherent squad which could truly accentuate his gifts. Despite this, he became a mainstay with the Spanish national team as a teenager, and was consistently one of the most hyped prospects in football. The reality was that Atlético’s circumstances at the time pushed Torres into the role of being the focal point of the attack at a very young age, which he performed admirably but it didn’t necessarily suit his strengths.
Scouting Report
If one was to describe Fernando Torres as a young striker, it would be that in addition to possessing high levels of acceleration, he was also resourceful at maneuvering himself into open space. Within the box, he was solid at weaving himself in and out of the defender’s blindside before sprinting towards his intended spot at the last second. Against a high line, he could drop slightly deep to lull his marker into a false sense of security before quickly sprinting in behind for potential passes behind the back-line. When shifted to a wider position, he had enough quickness to execute diagonal runs towards the danger zone. Regarding forward movement, Torres didn’t have the same motor as other young forwards from this series so far so he would remain idle at times and tended to be more judicious with his off-ball action.
On the ball, Torres didn’t have the same level of gravity when attempting to create separation off the dribble. He could quickly shift the ball with the outside of his foot to change pace and carry inwards, but he didn’t pose nearly the same threat in attacking the bylines to get into the wide zones of the box. That predictability on the wings gave defenders a better chance at successfully defending him in 1v1s, which was amplified by Torres not quite having unstoppable pace. In comparison, he had decent strength so it made him more adept at withstanding contact to turn from his marker when receiving in the interior.
Perhaps the biggest weakness in Torres’ skill-set was with his passing. He had a tendency to hold onto possession for a split second too long and not get the ball in a quick manner, so potential playmaking openings would go by the wayside. As well, his weight on different pass types wasn’t consistent so he didn’t carry much value as someone who could survey and punish the opposition. With his back to goal, he had some success attempting headed flick-ons, although when trying to hold up play for others, he could be late to recognizing open teammates parallel to him via quick layoffs, and that indecision gave centerbacks enough time to apply pressure and force Torres to retreat backwards just enough with a heavy touch. Although his passing overall improved by 2006, it wasn’t by a significant amount compared to previous seasons.
As a shooter, Torres had a varied approach which was largely beneficial given the lack of attacking talent that surrounding him. His off-ball movement and jumping ability allowed him to be a threat in the box, both with his feet and for headed attempts. To some extent, he could create shots off the dribble after cutting inwards because of his strength and balance, even while defenders were trying to be physical against him. Although he didn’t shy away from attempting low value shots, I don’t dock him too much because it wasn’t as if he took away a lot of potentially fruitful possessions by settling for opportunities that would net an expected goal per shot value of ~5–7%.
Analysis
The best way to analyze this version of Fernando Torres was that he provided the majority of his value off the ball, and when on the ball, he would’ve been best utilized in a role that was low-usage. At an early age, he already had a strong repertoire of runs that he could rely on to attack space in the box, in addition to having sub-elite pace and being able to withstand some form of contact. He was solid at dribbling towards the central areas to create shots for himself, but otherwise he was closer to ordinary as a ball carrier. Torres’ passing is what truly hindered him, as he had issues both when bringing teammates into play, alongside the moments where he was tasked with facing the opposition head-on and having to be a playmaker. Even with the slight positive jump in 2006, in my eyes he was a below average passer and he’s one of those players where the low assists numbers he produced does accurately reflect his lack of playmaking equity.
As mentioned earlier, Torres’ individual production didn’t reach the same heights as some of his contemporaries. In terms of non-penalty goals and assists per 90 minutes among the big five European leagues, he was outside the top 100 in all four seasons from 2003–06, stemming from him not being a viable chance creator. Among qualified players from that time period, his goal scoring rate in 2003 and 2004 was at 0.42 NPG per 90, a good goal return but not necessarily great (For reference, Adriano scored at 0.65 NPG per 90 during his age 20 season in 2003). When comparing Torres to other under-21 players from this stretch, a similar pattern arises of him being a couple of rungs below the elite in total attacking output.
In the mid 2000’s, Atlético were your prototypical mid-table side, with their best finish in La Liga being 7th in 2004. Their expected points tally from those four seasons didn’t differentiate too drastically, as it pegged them at best as the 7th strongest Spanish side in both 2005 and 2006, which makes some sense given where their squad ranked at the time in terms of their talent. Thanks to Football-Data, we have access to both shots and shots on target for/against data from the 2005–06 season in Spain. Atlético were fourth in shots for, seventh in shots on target for, tied for 11th in goals for, and 14th in percentage of shots on target for. The lack of goals could partly be the result of variance, but ranking 14th in SoTF% also illustrated how the attack was structured to compensate through volume rather than efficiency, which made Torres’ diverse shooting all the more valuable. Elo Ratings had Atletico in the top 40 in each of the four seasons, and as a top 20 side in 2006, which might’ve been a bit generous but likely not by much.
The biggest defense that can be put forth on Torres’ behalf concerns the lack of a supporting cast that surrounded him. You would be hard pressed to name the high-end attacking talent whom he had the chance to play with in those seasons. Some of the best teammates he played with include Luis García, Maxi Rodríguez, and Mateja Kežman; good players in their own right but they wouldn’t have been seen as elite. It‘s not surprising that Torres, whose strengths off the ball gave him at least some capacity of scaling onto better teams, reached his apex during his mid 20’s at Liverpool alongside a versatile playmaker in Steven Gerrard. Torres and Gerrard as a partnership showed how beneficial complementary skill-sets in attack could be, as both saw their individual numbers take a huge leap and helped vault Liverpool towards genuine title contention in 2009.
At the end of Javier Saviola’s profile, I mentioned how I still found it difficult to evaluate him. With Torres, I had less concerns, particularly after measuring him against the first three forwards analyzed in the Golden Boys of Yesteryear series. Despite similarities with their cleverness, he couldn’t match Michael Owen’s freakish pace and the overall chaos he could create on and off the ball. Both Thierry Henry (what we saw from him in 2000) and Patrick Kluivert were substantially better as playmakers, the former through constantly delivering short distanced passes into the box, and the latter with his quick hitting passing and hold-up play. This isn’t to say that Torres wasn’t good, because he definitely was and deserved some credit for spearheading decent team attacks through his movement and flexible shooting, bearing in mind the relatively limited talent around him. I just think that his passing wasn’t advanced enough and that chips away at his portability. To get the best out of him and the team, he had to play alongside good-great creators, which ended up being the case at Liverpool. At the end of the day, I would rate Fernando Torres from 2003–06 as a borderline very good attacking prospect.
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Previous Profiles
#1: Patrick Kluivert #2: Thierry Henry #3: Michael Owen #4: Javier Saviola
