When Fernando Torres slammed in an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net past a hapless Shay Given for his first goal in Spain’s 4-0 win over the Republic of Ireland, it was clear that the striker had come out with an intent to prove his critics wrong and that he meant business.
In the second half, Torres chased down on David Silva’s through ball, fended off a sliding Richard Dunne tackle and put the ball into the net for Spain’s third goal, old memories came flooding back. The old Torres seemed to be back. And no one misses David Villa any more — at least for now.
But the real question still stands. Has the old Fernando Torres returned with his lethal finishing or will he again go into a slump and lose his touch like he has been doing since his move to Chelsea over a year ago?
Re-gaining his goal scoring touch?
When he had opened his scoring for the Blues against West Ham back in April last year, many believed he had settled in. But he did not. A goal against Manchester United in the next season in September followed by the miss of the season did nothing good to his confidence. A goal against Swansea followed by a stupid red card dashed all hopes of returning to form.
October saw a clash against Genk in Champions League where Torres scored a brace. On a perfect day he would have got his hat trick, despite facing a weak defence. Thereafter the dry spell in front of the goal once again continued.
In 2012 though, Torres looked fresh. Things looked on the up for ‘El Nino’. A double against Leicester City in the quarters of FA Cup and finally an elusive hat-trick against QPR seemed to give enough evidence that he was indeed coming back to life.
Each time he scored, though that wasn't very often, there was a hope that the bad days were behind him and that he has finally settled at Stamford Bridge. Stats would show that most of his goals have come against weaker teams and becomes static, at times lost and it looks like he has not touched the ball in years when called upon from bench to make an impression.
A happy Torres is a happy Spain
He did manage to equalise for Chelsea at Camp Nou in the Champions League but wasn't part of the starting XI against Bayern Munich in the final - which he later described as one of the "worst" days in his career. In case you missed it, it was Torres who won the corner from which Didier Drogba scored which took the game to extra-time and thereafter penalties.
He was surprisingly included in the squad for Euro 2012 by Del Bosque and did score in the friendlies ahead of the mega tournament. Del Bosque choosing the false nine tactics instead of having a striker in the team saw Torres being absent from the first team. However he did manage to impress during his stay on the pitch against Italy in spite missing a couple of decent chances. He managed to get behind the Italian backline and created spaces for himself. Just the final goal scoring touch was eluding him.
Given that Republic of Ireland had one of the weakest defences in the competition, Del Bosque saw this as an opportunity to allow Torres to regain his confidence in front of goal and boy, he didn't disappoint.
He was surprisingly included in the squad for Euro 2012 by Del Bosque and did score in the friendlies ahead of the mega tournament. Del Bosque choosing the false nine tactics instead of having a striker in the team saw Torres being absent from the first team. However he did manage to impress during his stay on the pitch against Italy in spite missing a couple of decent chances. He managed to get behind the Italian backline and created spaces for himself. Just the final goal scoring touch was eluding him.
Given that Republic of Ireland had one of the weakest defences in the competition, Del Bosque saw this as an opportunity to allow Torres to regain his confidence in front of goal and boy, he didn't disappoint.
Torres is raring to run at defenders, raring to pounce on loose balls and impatient in his quest for some praise after a dreadful one and a half years, which saw him goalless after 903 minutes of football.
Del Bosque is sure to have selection problems ahead of his team’s tie against Croatia about whether to start both Torres and Fabregas together or leave one out.
Torres may have scored against a weak and hapless Irish defence, but Spain will not complain about having a "happy Torres" score for them. There is little doubt that a happy Torres is a happy Spain.
The real test will come for him when his team face tougher tests as the competition progresses. For now, it is safe to say that Torres does look in his top form and for the sake of Spanish supporters, one hopes that this is not a FALSE DAWN..!!
Time will tell..
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