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Re: Torres article in El Mundo
This one is even better. Some bloke from RAWK had stole it from the 442 magazine. Enjoy:
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So playing for Liverpool is a relief?
Yes, and a pleasure. It's a relief because in any game you feel like any number of your team-mates can step forward and win the match for you. Benayoun, Babel, Voronin... you don't feel that it has to be you or everything is going to collapse. You know that if you're having a bad day. the team can still win - something I didn't always feel at Atleti. You travel to games thinking you're going to win and that was something I needed: I needed to get into the habit of feeling I was part of a big team, with ambition, that people respected.
Why Liverpool?
Liverpool have always been a club with a mentality, an identity, that I like. They are a club trabajador [humble, hard-working, people's club]. They are a team that maybe doesn't have as many stars as other clubs but it has traditionally been as successful, or more so, because of the attitude, the values, the mentality. Liverpool are a huge club but with a humility about them that attracted me. Liverpool haven't won the Premier Leagu for a long time, but they've had success and still have a real ambition. That was the perfect combination for me: a successful, big club but one that still had real hunger. That's not easy to find...
How important was the presence of other Spaniards?
I know Reina, Alonso and Arbeloa and I knew adapting would be easier because of that. I'd always talked to Reina about England - Cesc, too. I asked them about the way they play, the atmosphere, life here, the way the fans treat you. Life in Liverpool is great. It's very relaxed, people are very respectful. I like the football too: it's fast, there's lots of contact, and I've settled well.
Does your style suit the Premier League more so than La Liga even?
Because the football here is fast and powerful, because you can't switch off for a minute, it suits me. Every time you get the ball, there's a chance of scoring. In Spain it's slower, there are more touches, the game stops more. I used to watch English football and I always thought I could fit in. Now I'm here I'm enjoying it enormously. It's been even better than I expected.
Have you had to change your game at all?
The biggest change is the fact that I play further up front, more as a No.9. In England, I don't have to drop deep as much to help build the moves. In England the ball drops in and around the penalty area more; you have to be alert to that rather than worrying so much about playing a part in the move. The game is more direct here and I like that: I'm always a few metres further forward, which means you get more chances to score, even if you feel like you're not as involved in the game. I feel more comfortable here as a proper No.9 trying to get in behind defences, looking to be on the shoulder of the last defender, getting chances, running through.
Liverpool haven't won the league for a long time. Many fans see you as the player to take them that extra step and at £24 million (sic) it seems the club do too. Does that add to the pressure?
Rather than pressure, that's something that makes me feel grateful. To have arrived here and found that they've taken to me so quickly is fantastic. I felt I had a lot to prove but they give me confidence. The fans, my team-mates, the club - everyone has made things easy. Besides, Liverpool have had teams that could have won the league before - it's not that I'm the missing piece. OK, so they haven't won the league but they have won the Champions League and got to the final last year. This year there's a clear sense that the league is our target.
(3 questions about rotation with bog standard answers that I can't be bothered to type up)
Do you sit on the bench or in the stands watching team-mates miss chances and think 'I could have scored that'?
No! When you watch games on TV or in the stands you really suffer. But when you see a team-mate miss a chance, you suffer for him. I've discovered a team spirit here at Liverpool that I'd never seen beofre.
Do you think that's an English thing? Or is it specifically about Liverpool?
In Spain, you do get team spirit but when you go to a really big club like Liverpool, with big-name players, the truth is that you don't expect to see such unity or to discover an atmosphere as good as there is here. Even the players who are really big names, heores to the fans, are just part of the group. Stevie and Carragher are the first people to sacrifice themselves to help build a team spirit, to get everyone together - and that's contagious. That's been a surprise.
Winning them over must have been made easier by the goal against Chelsea?
Yes, of course. Your first goal is always really important: it gives you confidence, allows you to settle, helps people believe in you... and if it's against a team like Chelsea, then so much the better.
John Terry seemed to be give you (sic) the 'Welcome to England' treatment, but it looked like you were quite enjoying it...
Yeah, that's part of football and it's a part I enjoy. There are lots of things that go on that no one really sees. You get veterans who try to intimidate their opponents and make sure the new boys aren't on their game. They try to make them feel scared or break their concentration. Terry is a great player with lots of experience who does what it takes to win, just as he did that day. But it was a huge game for me and I wasn't going to allow him to break my focus. You have to stand up for yourself and you have all your team-mates behind you who will stand up for you too.
Presumably, you couldn't understand what Terry said to you anyway...
Yeah, that first month, whatever he said to me, however hard he tried, I wasn't going to have a clue what he was going on about.
We've spoken about the pressure of your price tag and the pressure of winning the title. Then there's the pressure that goes with taking on the shirt worn by Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler - the man the fans called 'God'. Did anyone tell you about them?
The day I arrived here, I was given videos and DVDs, books about the history of the club. People told me about the great players, what Liverpool is all about, all about the No.9 shirt. I accepted it after they offer it to me, fully aware of what it means to the fans. That's an extra incentive for me. It's not like any other number.
You really watched videos of Liverpool?
Of course. This is the first time I've been anywhere other than Atletico, remember. Whenever a new player came to Atletico I explained to them what the club was all about, its identity. So I think it's natural to do the same here. The first thing I did was try to understand what Liverpool is and I've discovered a club that is even bigger than I realised. I wanted to know about the players who've been here, the history, the current squad: that helps you to adapt as quickly as possible.
Is it easier with Spanish players here?
Of course. Reina lives next door and we spend a lot of time together. He's really helped me, as have all the Spanish speakers at the club. I'm getting better now in English but to start with it is very important to have that support. You need to know where to go, where to eat, where to buy things...
But in the dressing room, you have to speak in English?
Yes, it's obligatory. If he catches us speaking Spanish, Rafa has a real go at us!
What about the team talks? Surely you don't understand...
The team talk is in English, always. If there is somthing specific the manager needs to say to me, he might take me aside and say so in Spanish or I will have to ask the Spanish players. But the language is English in the dressing room, which is good: it helps me pick it up quickly. The first few days I spent hours doing classes, studying at home, practicing, especially football speak. I had to make sure I understood the team talks as soon as possible. If I needed something I would ask Rafa, but just me and him.
'Football speak'? What kind of phrases?
MAN ON! TIME! Those are the first words you learn; the things you really need to play football right from the start. During the first few training sessions I didn't have a clue so I studied and studied to make sure I could be fully part of it as soon as possible...
How is your English?
I speak Spanish at home, so it's slow, but I'm progressing bit bu bit. My objective is to speak English to the press by December. I'm nearly ready to give it a go. It's important to be able to express myself accurately, to be sure that I'm saying what I'm thinking. Lots of people read interviews or see you on TV and you want to make sure there are no misunderstandings.
Speaking of which, how hard is it to understand Jamie Carragher?
Carragher speaks very fast but I understand him better every day because most people in Liverpool speak like he does, with a strong accent, and I'm getting used to it. At first it was hard but now Jamie's way of speaking is normal. I'm notjust learning how to understand English; I'm learning how to understand people from Liverpool too.
What's been the most difficult thing about moving to Liverpool?
I miss my friends and family. It used to be that in five minutes I could be round their houses, now I haven't got them there. But apart from that there's been no down side to life. I don't miss Spanish football, I don't miss the climate, I don't miss anything.
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