10 Players Who Probably Regret Joining Chelsea
2. Fernando Torres
Four years ago, Fernando Torres was arguably the greatest centre-forward in world football. With one click of his heels, the Torres of old was away, bearing down on goal, twisting and turning petrified defenders, before calmly stroking the ball past the hapless goalkeeper. El Nino in is his pomp was one of the most frightening prospects for any defender in the football, as Nemanja Vidic can certainly testify.
At Liverpool, Torres had it all. He was a revered icon, worshipped by some of the most passionate fans on the planet. He had just become a world champion, to add to his international achievements. All that was missing was the domestic success. Burdened by his inner turmoil at the lack of Champions League football at the club, when the interest from Chelsea was made public, Torres clearly saw an opportunity. Backing his own prolific scoring record, he felt that he could score the goals that would fire Chelsea to the Champions League glory they had craved for so long. Well, he was half right.
Its hard to believe that Fernando Torres is only 30 years old, as seeing him toil on the Stamford Bridge pitch is like watching a player a couple of years short of retirement. The Spanish assassin who scored 81 goals in four seasons for Liverpool, and the one who has mustered 20 league goals in 110 appearances for the Londoners, are seemingly too different people.
Gone is the blistering pace that terrorized defenders the length and breadth of the country. Gone is the immaculate and composed finishing that accompanied Torres to every ground that he visited. It seems incredulous that over the last four seasons, he has failed to hit double figures in the league for the Russian-fuelled Londoners.
His reputation is in tatters. Torres is a shadow of the player he once was, paling in comparison to the player who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2008 final. While he fights it out with Romelu Lukaku for the role as super-sub this season, he might look back on his career and think where did it all go wrong?