Torres: "I didn't care about Chelsea winning or losing"

ernando Torres has admitted he became exactly the kind of player he had always despised when he reached a point where he did not care if Chelsea won or lost. The Spain striker says he has refound himself since the dark days of last season and has learned to become a different player in order to serve the team above himself. He has also insisted that he has no regrets about joining Liverpool but admits that the way he left Anfield was "not the best".

"Halfway through last season, I distanced myself from the values I had grown up with," Torres told El País. Catharsis and confession come together in a remarkable interview with the paper's reporter Lu Martín, which reveals the Spaniard's self-awareness and hints at the emotional journey that Torres has undertaken.

"I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing," Torres said. "I never wanted to be like that. [But] one day I discovered that I was like them, that it didn't matter it we won or lost if I was not playing. I wasn't part of the group. I discovered that I was not happy because I had stopped being what I had always wanted to be. In the dressing room, you can never lose that group concept."

"But I learned to look at myself and to realise that the only person that can change is you. The only person who can say: 'You're making mistakes, you've got to do something' is you."

Torres added that he found that his game changed under André Villas-Boas and that contributed to his frustration but that with time he found satisfaction in a more selfless role.

"I became a different player because I was serving the team," he said. "It was to my personal detriment but it was the only way to play. At times I thought: 'I'm going to run in behind the defender, I'm going to offer myself and go into the space.' And I could go 70 minutes without touching the ball. If I played in my [natural] position, I wasn't involved in the game. What do I do? It was so different to what I was used to with [Rafa] Benítez that I was not happy and you could tell."

"When we changed coach [and Roberto Di Matteo took over] it was a bit more similar [to Benítez's style]. That had a good side to it, which was that I learned: I became a better player.

"I can now do things that I was not able to before. You can be the player that your coach wants but you're not the player that people expect you to be. I spoke to Steve Holland, the [Chelsea] assistant, a lot and we worked hard on it."

Torres continued: "I became more mature, I came to know myself better and became conscious of the fact that it depends on me. I learnt to be more self-critical, to understand everyone better and to accept the situation.

"I learnt that if we won it didn't matter that I hadn't played. I had to keep working. You can settle into a comfort zone or you can accept your role and [Paulo Ferreira] taught me to say to myself: 'This is the situation now.' He always trains as hard as anyone, he always has a smile, he is always close to the young players. He has taught me a lot.

"When I retire the only thing that concerns me is that no one can say that I was a bad team-mate or disrespectful or self-important."

Asked if he would go to England again if he could turn back the clock, Torres replied: "Definitely. Not just because of the professional experience but the personal one too. You start to see things in a different way, your perspective gets opened up."

"I owe Liverpool a huge amount," he said. "To the people, to the men in charge, to Benítez and his staff, to the city. Liverpool is a fundamental part of my life. They don't remember me that way, but time will change that.

"I could not have chosen a better place to go when I left Atlético. The other day when the news broke about Hillsborough, I felt emotional. I have experienced that, I know what the people have been through, I have seen them cry. I've lived that, I made it mine. This has arrived too late but it's another step [in the right direction]. And it is things like that that playing for Liverpool gives you: it's a feeling.

"I decided to leave because I had to take a step forwards. It wasn't the best way to have gone but nor were things exactly as they were sold [to people]. One day the truth will come out. In a sporting sense, nothing was happening; a new project was needed. We talked about that – about growth. My son is a Liverpool fan and he was already kicking a ball before he was one. He was born in the football city; he had no choice."


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Wondering what the truth he's talking about is

Schweini wrote:"I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing,"

Terry
Lampard

Swanhends wrote:

Schweini wrote:"I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing,"

Terry
Lampard

Sid Lowe ‏@sidlowe
When Torres says he has had team mates who don't care if they won or lost, I'm not sure that he is necessarily talking about Chelsea btw

ooooooooooh

Well Torres was only ostracised at Chelsea.

Torres on form.

best striker ever

Swanhends wrote:

Schweini wrote:"I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing,"

Terry
Lampard

Terry was hardly dropped by AVB. Dunno why you lot keep bringing up his name. Cahill was completely ostracized under AVB

Liverpool fan trying to feel good about Liverpool

Maybe he means Mouluda??

Barrettinator wrote:

Swanhends wrote:

Schweini wrote:"I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing,"

Terry
Lampard

Terry was hardly dropped by AVB. Dunno why you lot keep bringing up his name. Cahill was completely ostracized under AVB

Cahill started 6 of 9 games

Complete Ostracision

Swanhends wrote:

Barrettinator wrote:

Swanhends wrote:

Schweini wrote:"I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing,"

Terry
Lampard

Terry was hardly dropped by AVB. Dunno why you lot keep bringing up his name. Cahill was completely ostracized under AVB

Cahill started 6 of 9 games

Complete Ostracision

What 9 games? lol

WTF are you saying? Still remember complaining about AVB not using Cahill for a while after he signed. His first match for us was Vs United at the Bridge.

Barrettinator wrote:

Swanhends wrote:

Barrettinator wrote:

Swanhends wrote:

Schweini wrote:"I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing,"

Terry
Lampard

Terry was hardly dropped by AVB. Dunno why you lot keep bringing up his name. Cahill was completely ostracized under AVB

Cahill started 6 of 9 games

Complete Ostracision

What 9 games? lol

WTF are you saying? Still remember complaining about AVB not using Cahill for a while after he signed. His first match for us was Vs United at the Bridge.

My mistake.........I meant 5 out of 9 games

Swanhends wrote:

Schweini wrote:"I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing,"

Terry
Lampard

Don't be silly now.

Malouda, I kind of want to say Drogba but am not so sure The whole Malouda/Drogba/Anelka friendship thing etc.

I'm sure he wishes he never left us, but what he's talking about is bogus. Truth my ass, the only truth is that he knew we were going into mediocrity for the next half-decade and he didn't have the balls to spend his prime years with a team in decline. I have no respect for players that take the easy way out (a la Owen, Torres etc). Take a look at Totti, Del Pierro, Raul, Puyol, Buffon, Zanetti, Iker, Gerrard, etc. The legends that stuck with their beloved clubs through thick and thin, they didn't jump ship once the sailing became difficult, they put the weight of the team on their shoulders and carried them. That's what separates legends from players like Torres and Owen.

It's one thing when the team wants you out (a la Alonso), but it's completely another when you pussy out when the challenge gets tougher.

Messiah "Aggerswagger" wrote:I'm sure he wishes he never left us, but what he's talking about is bogus. Truth my ass, the only truth is that he knew we were going into mediocrity for the next half-decade and he didn't have the balls to spend his prime years with a team in decline. I have no respect for players that take the easy way out (a la Owen, Torres etc). Take a look at Totti, Del Pierro, Raul, Puyol, Buffon, Zanetti, Iker, Gerrard, etc. The legends that stuck with their beloved clubs through thick and thin, they didn't jump ship once the sailing became difficult, they put the weight of the team on their shoulders and carried them. That's what separates legends from players like Torres and Owen.

It's one thing when the team wants you out (a la Alonso), but it's completely another when you pussy out when the challenge gets tougher.

Then you must have no respect for any player that signs for Liverpool under such conditions as well. Amirite?

Face it. He's got no ties with Liverpool. Got no ties with any club in England. The only club his loyalty should be with logically is Athletico Madrid. But you probably loved it when he moved from Athletico to Liverpool didn't you?

Atletico weren't a big club. I'm talking about moving from one big club to another.

Why isn't Atletico a big club?

Its great to troll on LFC but who here honestly believes Atletico Madrid is a bigger club than Liverpool? Liverpool are in the worst position they have been for x amount of years, but they will come back to compete for trophies. Everyone is anticipating this (regardless of how long it will take). Should A Madrid slip towards midtable black hole, is the recovery towards top table a certainty?

The expectations for LFC is much greater than Atleico Madrid.


Finally, there is no telling if Torres is lying or not. Just because you have not grown up supporting a club, does not mean you wont develop emotional attachment towards that certain club. Take Henry for example. Brought up in Paris (probably grew up supporting , idolizing non PL players like Van Basten), now is a die hard Arsenal supporter.

Similarly I can kinda see Torres having a soft spot for LFC because its where he became the "world recognized" striker that he is. He was adored by the fans and the media during his time with the reds. I think the LFC Torres shirt is one of the most successfull jerseys in PL history if I am not mistaken. When you think of the brand that is Fernando Torres, you are going to associate that with Liverpool and not Chelsea, and Atletico (with all due respect).

However with all that said, the Interview does seem like a bit of public relation fixup.

Blue wrote:

Swanhends wrote:

Schweini wrote:"I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing,"

Terry
Lampard

Sid Lowe ‏@sidlowe
When Torres says he has had team mates who don't care if they won or lost, I'm not sure that he is necessarily talking about Chelsea btw

"Halfway through last season, I distanced myself from the values I had grown up with," Torres told El País. Catharsis and confession come together in a remarkable interview with the paper's reporter Lu Martín, which reveals the Spaniard's self-awareness and hints at the emotional journey that Torres has undertaken.

"I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing," Torres said. "I never wanted to be like that. [But] one day I discovered that I was like them, that it didn't matter it we won or lost if I was not playing. I wasn't part of the group. I discovered that I was not happy because I had stopped being what I had always wanted to be. In the dressing room, you can never lose that group concept."

"But I learned to look at myself and to realise that the only person that can change is you. The only person who can say: 'You're making mistakes, you've got to do something' is you."

Seems to imply he's talking about his Chelsea days there. Unless it's edited or intentionally meant to be vague, the line of comments tends to suggest he's referring to the same time period there.

Torres blaming his poor form on AVB

Nice to hear about Paulo.. one of the best players I have ever seen. Accepts the situation and has a big heart. I'm pretty sure that if he takes on the role of a manager I would support him.

And the players Torres is talking about is mainly Drogba, Malouda, Bosingwa and to a certain extent Lampard. Terry has given everything to this club and is still giving everything. He might be one of the most controversial figures in the club but he is still one of those who loves the club more than anything.

plz Paulo accepts his role because he gets paid ~80k/wk to maintain his fitness

So did Malouda, Bosingwa, Kalou, Ballack, and etc etc...