Keane: Torres is perfect partner

Robbie Keane today stated that he is relishing the prospect of teaming up with Fernando Torres after completing his £20.3million move from Tottenham to Liverpool.
Keane, the 28-year-old Republic of Ireland captain, has agreed a four-year deal at Anfield and is now determined to establish a mouth-watering partnership in attack with Spain striker Torres.
"He has been a revelation since he came to the Premier League. He was absolutely outstanding last year and also in the Euros with Spain," said Keane this morning.
"It is hard to leave Tottenham with some of the players they had - like Dimitar Berbatov, who I had a great relationship with - but Torres is probably the best striker in the world
right now. Hopefully we can play a lot of games together and do well."
Keane, who will wear Liverpool’s famous number seven shirt, should play just off Torres in the Liverpool formation, and hopes to bridge the gap between midfield and Torres.
He said: "I see myself as a second striker. I can play off the shoulder, link things up and play in the hole.
“You are always judged on scoring goals as a striker and I have always scored a lot of goals. Hopefully I can continue that here at Liverpool."
The new Reds frontman turned down Liverpool as a 14-year-old in favour of joining Wolves, and is relieved the opportunity to join the club he supports came up again.
"The last four years have been great for me and I believe I am at my peak," he said.

Keane will love wearing the number seven shirt, famously worn by Anfield legends including Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez revealed: "We were talking about the number, and the big names that have had this number, so it will be inspirational for him to have it too."
Benitez added: “We were looking for a player with game intelligence and good movement who could play alongside Torres.”
Keane is all set to make his Liverpool debut at Villarreal in a pre-season friendly tomorrow night.

Torres targets trophies

Torres scored the only goal of this summer's European Championship final to hand Spain victory over Germany in June and he is now eager for more success.
Liverpool have not lifted a trophy in two years and Torres - who joined the Reds last summer in a record-breaking move from Atletico Madrid - is hopeful he can help end that wait.
The 24-year-old netted 33 goals in his debut campaign in England and he is eager to repeat that form this term in order to repay the Anfield faithful for supporting Spain last month.

"Euro 2008 was my first major title, but I don't want it to end here," Torres, who returned to pre-season training with his club on Friday, said in the Daily Mirror.
"I want it to be the first of many titles because I want to win trophies with Liverpool. I know how much that would mean to the club and the fans.
"They gave me terrific support during Euro 2008 and I know they were cheering for Spain, which is something I will never forget."

Torres has also admitted his gratitude to Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez for aiding his development into one of Europe's most feared frontmen."The goals I scored for Liverpool last season gave me the confidence I need to take into the finals," added Torres.
"I have to thank Rafa and the staff for the help they have given me. I improved as a player because of them.
"Rafa is obsessed with details and he even had a (training) programme worked out for me before I got here last summer.
"He makes crazy demands on us. At the end of training when we're all tired he can still make us repeat routines 20 or 30 times."

Fernando Torres Wallpapers

Torres is clever on the ball

FOOTBALL star Fernando Torres has been showing off his ball juggling skills in the sun.
The Spanish striker, who scored the winner against Germany in the Euro 2008 final, has been celebrating with a break in the Bahamas.
And the adopted Scouser showed his true “Brit abroad” status by wearing a knotted hanky and snapping away at lovely girlfriend Olalla.
A fellow hotel guest said: “They’ve been a lovely couple, making sure they’re well creamed up with sunblock and spending lazy days by the beach taking pictures of each other.
“He is a lucky lad, she is gorgeous.”
The 24-year-old, bought for £20million last year from Atlético Madrid, will meet up with Liverpool teammates later this month to begin pre-season training ahead of the new season on August 16.

Torres Speaks To German Newspaper

Fernando Torres has spoken for the first time to respected German daily newspaper Wunter Under Meijer about how he didn't think his Liverpool career would be as happy as it has turned out.Torres explains that he quickly became disillusioned by post-match remarks by Rafa Benitez that he found ''bizarre''.''It was a bit strange alright. After the Chelsea game at Anfield, Rafa was praising my goal. It all sounded nice until he seemed to imply that I was using stimulants to enhance my game. The journalist asked Rafa if he thought I would cut it in the Premiership and Rafa said 'For sure, Fernando brings a lot to the team because he has Koala Tea and if we play with high tempo, the right mentality and create chances he will score goals, for sure'. I wasn't happy with his implications that I would take any stimulants or steal from a Koala bear but I bit my tongue.''But the perceived accusations from Benitez kept coming though, and Torres was getting more and more uncomfortable with it. ''I'd score another hat-trick and straight away Rafa would be in the media, saying things like I score because of my Koala Tea. Eventually though, I asked Xabi Alonso about it, and he told me that when Rafa says you have Koala Tea he doesn't mean it as an insult but as a compliment. I still to this day don't know what Koala Tea has to do with football, but Rafa sure does talk about it a lot.''

Torres credits coach

Fernando Torres said that Liverpool Coach Rafael Benítez was the inspiration behind his goal-scoring splurge, which helped Spain win Euro 2008.
Torres scored 33 goals in his first season at Liverpool, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record for goals scored by a foreigner in a debut Premier League season.
Torres, 24, said that Benítez’s relentless demands for improvement since he went to England from Atlético Madrid had been a catalyst in his career.
“There are days when you think, ‘My God, this guy doesn’t let you breathe,’ ” Torres told the club’s Web site on Saturday.
“At a club like Liverpool, you can’t sit back after scoring 20-odd goals and say, ‘Well, that’s it.’ After you score 20, Benítez is at you during the next training session and stays on top of you all day, all week.”
Torres was instrumental in helping Spain win its first major championship in 44 years, scoring the winning goal in last Sunday’s final against Germany. (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE)

The Euro trophy still warm, Torres back in Liverpool

Life's no beach for the modern sporting professional. One week after the Euro 2008 final in Vienna, half a week after being feted in Madrid as the scorer of the goal that won Spain's first major soccer trophy in 44 years, Fernando Torres is focused again on improving himself in England.
It will be hard to top his first season at Liverpool, where he scored 33 times, a record for a foreign player entering the most physically demanding league of them all. Yet there is a manager waiting for him - as it happens, he is a Spaniard, Rafael Benitez - and Torres on Saturday told the club's Web site: "There are days when you think, my God, this guy doesn't let you breathe. After you score 20, Benitez is at it during the next training sessions, and stays on top of you all day, all week."
He added: "He tells you to go off and do new exercises. I want progress in life, not to relax, not be complacent, and sometimes you need someone telling you to keep at it. You don't always fancy someone that close but in the long term everybody will thank him for it."
So, the Spanish fiesta was as short as it was sweet. Luis Aragonés, the coach who orchestrated it, has flown, at 70 years of age, to start a fresh challenge in charge of Fenerbahce in Istanbul. The Barcelona trio of Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Carles Puyol, their brief summer of unification with the Madrid players done and dusted, are headed back to a new setup, a new coach, a different, post-Ronaldinho approach to winning and not just entertaining.
Whither Ronaldinho? Nobody knows. He's 28, there are a few clubs who want, or can afford, to see if they might give him the fresh challenge, the hunger to display his talents. But the team he really wants to play for, AC Milan, is wary of his party image and seeks a loan deal, effectively a trial period before paying the millions Barça demands.

Fernando Torres Profile

Fernando Torres Profile

Full name:Fernando José Torres Sanz
Date of birth:20 March 1984 (1984-03-20) (age 24)
Place of birth :Madrid, Spain
Height:1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position:Striker

Current club:Liverpool
Number:9

Honours

Atlético Madrid

Winner
Segunda División: 2002

Spain
Winner
Algarve Tournament: 2001
UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship: 2001
UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship: 2002
UEFA European Football Championship: 2008

Individual

Winner
Nike Cup top scorer: 1999
Best Young European Player: 1999
Algarve Tournament player of the tournament: 2001
Algarve Tournament top scorer: 2001
UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship player of the tournament: 2001
UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship top scorer: 2001
UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship player of the tournament: 2003
UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship top scorer: 2003
Premier League Player of the Month: February 2008
PFA Team of the Year: 2008
Liverpool Player of the Season: 2008
UEFA European Football Championship team of the tournament: 2008