Torres: I'll be an Anfield hero

2007-07-05 08:13

Liverpool - Fernando Torres believes he can do what fellow countryman Fernando Morientes failed to do and establish himself as an Anfield goalscoring hero after being unveiled as Liverpool's most-expensive ever signing.

Morientes, who joined the Merseyside club from Real Madrid in January 2005, lasted just 16 months before returning to Spain with Valencia after a disappointing return of eight goals in 41 league outings in England.

He struggled to adapt to the physical demands of the Premiership yet Torres, who has been handed the famous No 9 shirt after signing a six-year 90 000-pound-a-week contract, insisted he could cope with the bruising side of the English game after costing Liverpool 22 million pounds from Atletico Madrid.

"I don't think adapting to the physical side will be a problem," Torres, scorer of 91 goals in 243 Atletico appearances, said.

"I've seen Premiership games on television and I know it's harder to get a free-kick in England than it is in Spain."

Torres said he could cope with the pressure of scoring the goals to help his new club sustain a serious title challenge. Despite winning the Champions League in 2005 and reaching the final in May, Liverpool have not been crowned league champions since the 1989-90 season.

"I don't have any fear of the responsibilities that lie in front of me at Liverpool," added the 23-year-old Spanish international. "It's not something that worries me.

"I'm totally aware that the expectations here are extremely high and that people will want me to score lots of goals. I'm confident I can do that."

Torres, who has previously been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea, admitted he thought long and hard about leaving Atletico, the club he supported as a boy, before committing the best years of his career to Liverpool.

He spoke to Jose Reina, the Liverpool goalkeeper and Luis Garcia, who left Anfield earlier this week to join Atletico, before making up his mind.

"I have had offers from other clubs in the past, but when I learned of Liverpool's interest I asked Atletico Madrid to listen to the offer," Torres said.

"I'm 23 years old and it's a great age to be making a move like this. I felt I had gone as far as I could at Atletico. I want to set myself new targets and goals, and play in the Champions League.

"To be really considered a truly great player you have to play for one of the great clubs. Liverpool are a great club."

Torres has finished top scorer for Atletico in each of the last five seasons, but Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, who has now taken his spending to 121 million pounds since 2004, believes the player's goals record can get even better.

"If you analyse the figures," Benitez said, "he was a footballer playing first team football at 17-years-old and it is very difficult to score goals consistently at that age.

"Then Atletico Madrid were not a top four team and Torres was playing up front on his own.

"But if you read the comments of the Madrid supporters they say he couldn't have worked any harder for the team.

"To score the goals he has at his age, every season, shows he has great potential and he has the capacity to improve. I hope that at a big club surrounded by good players he will get even better."

- AFP