El Niño still looks back fondly on his days at Anfield
Fernando Torres holds an unusual position as a footballer in that he is a club legend in two different countries. The Spanish striker was a legend during his first tenure at Atletico Madrid, before moving onto Liverpool in 2007 and quickly establishing himself as a fan favourite there.
He spent four years at Anfield before departing for his now infamous spell at Chelsea, scoring 81 goals during 142 appearances at the club, and remains a popular figure at the club.
Seven years on from his sale, Torres has now opened up about his early time at the club at a time when Rafa Benitez’ was moulding his side around a core of Spanish internationals.
In an interview with Spanish football newspaper Marca this week Torres has revealed exactly what he said to teammate Pepe Reina after his debut with the club.
“I remember the first game at Anfield against Chelsea, I did not hear anything, the atmosphere was spectacular, Pepe Reina came and said: ‘Look, this is what I was talking about, it’s what you deserve, so enjoy’. In the second game I said: ‘Pepe, I think that in this field I will score in every game, everything is perfect’.”
Much is made about the atmosphere at Anfield and fans of rival teams often like to deride it as being little more than a fiction of fans’ imaginations.
Torres’ and Reina’s comments however suggest that it actually does affect players in an extremely positive way, and it’ll likely be music to Liverpool fans’ ears.
