Fernando Torres and Rafa Benitez are certainly no strangers
to attracting the wrong kind of attaention of for that matter to each other.
After all it is the latter who signed El
Nino at Liverpool and made him an overnight Kop favourite. Having
engineered an exceptional understanding and rapport over their well spent time together
at Anfield, it probably came as no surprise when Torres was caught singing the
praises of his former manager who possibly had turned around the fortunes of
the striker one more time.
In what has been a highly controversial yet successful reign
at Stamford Bridge, Rafa Benitez before signing for new club Napoli, received
the perfect tribute from striker Fernando Torres, who claimed that the Spanish
coach had vastly improved Chelsea as a team during his time there. Now it’s
hard to see who wouldn’t succeed after inheriting a side so packed with riches
and talent, but yet one cannot take away from the Spanish tactician or his
methods that secured the Europa League title and a third place finish in the
Premier League in what has been a very grueling season for the Blues.
Asked to take charge in November, the ex-Liverpool boss
wasn’t a popular choice among the fans and was practically booed all the way practically
till the end of the season. His signing was justified by a few saying that he
probably was the only man who could get the then European Champions firing with
Torres leading the attack. And after nearly 70 games played and a season that
looked like it was going to implode, the one thing that certainly stands out as
one of Rafa’s major achievement, is the fact that Torres has found his scoring
boots.
Fernando Torres landed on English shores in 2007 with a
reputation that certainly packed a punch and that’s more or less what he did.
Hustling and bustling the Spaniard scored goal after goal as as he took to the
English game like fish to water. Lethal and reliable, he was the hero of
Anfield and was certainly coveted by many. He did go through a slump in his
last season at Liverpool, but many attributed it to injury and stress and all
expected him to be back fitter and even deadlier. Then in the transfer window of January 2011,
Chelsea made the audacious bid of about £50 million to land Fernando Torres and that’s
precisely about when the goals seemed to dry up for the talented Spaniard.
Having played under Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas Boas and Robbie Di Matteo,
Torres found it hard to find inspiration and even harder to find the back of
the net. Low on confidence, lacking on passion and uncomfortable and threatened
to be playing second fiddle to other strikers, he drew a forlorn figure unsure
of where he was headed. The once lethal striker that made defenders quake in
their boots was now being out run and muscled off the ball like he didn’t
exist. He tried as hard as he could and though the effort was there for all to
see, he was simply not scoring which became a common ground for frustration for
Chelsea supporters and management alike. Quite annoyed and worried as to what
Chelsea had bought themselves into, despair was just around the corner. That
was until the hierarchy decided to bring in change in the shape of the highly
controversial hire of Rafa Benitez.
And the change is there for all to see. After scoring a disappointingly
meager total of 12 goals in his first one and a half seasons, Torres finished last
season as top scorer for Chelsea notching up a welcome 23 goals in all
competitions. He may have not set the Premier League on fire with his eight
goals, but he certainly contributed to their run in the FA Cup, Capital One Cup
and the title winning Europa League campaign. All of a sudden gone were the
deflected and miscued shots that somehow found the back of the net, but instead
fans were treated to sublime sure finishes. His probable goal of the season
came in the Europa League final where Torres rolled back the years to score the
opener against Benfica in the final of the Europa League. Breaking away on a
counter after half time, the ball landed at Torres feet in the Benfica half.
After having outpaced the opposing captain Luisao with ease he entered the
penalty box with only goalkeeper Artur to beat. Seeming to have all the time in
the world, he rounded the keeper with ease, to finally stab the ball home from
an acute angle. And as he ran to the corner flag to celebrate and salute the
fans, he probably knew that he was back.
There is no doubt that under Benitez, Torres was awarded
more patience and greater playing minutes to help him find his mojo. He was
protected more than others, with a lot of flak deflected off the somewhat
fragile striker. His work ethic was praised and so was his defending. Mata,
Oscar, Hazard and the rest of the Chelsea team did their best and played their
part to integrate the club’s most expensive signing. And it does seem like all
of this has worked to bring out not necessarily the best but at least a kind of
efficiency and dependency that was missing in Torres.
The pall of gloom may have disappeared and it may be all
smiles for Torres as he celebrates what has been a reasonably good season for
him by earning a call back into the Spanish national team. There is without a
shadow of a doubt who is responsible for this excellent turnaround and don’t be
too perturbed if you find Torres singing into the night, “Gracias Señor Rafa.”
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