1ST TEAM SQUAD PROFILES-FERNANDO TORRES

		FERNANDO TORRES
		Position: Striker
		Date of Birth: 20/03/1984
		Height: 6'1
		Weight: 12st 4
		1st team games: 46
		1st team goals: 32
		International caps: 45
		International goals: 15
		Former clubs: Atletico Madrid
		Birth Place: Madrid, Spain

"We bought the lad from sunny Spain, he gets the ball and scores again." The Kop has a new idol by the name of Fernando Torres - and no one makes the famous stand bounce like Liverpool's number nine. Signed for a club record fee of approximately £20 million in July 2007, El Nino was handed the shirt vacated by Anfield legend Robbie Fowler. Undaunted, he soon became the first Red since Fowler in 1996-97 to break the 30-goal barrier and is already on his way to achieving Godlike status. Before joining the Premier League aged 23, Torres spent 12 years with hometown club Atletico Madrid. Such was his prodigious talent he was named the best under-14 player in Europe following his performances in the 1998 Nike Cup. Torres became the youngest player in Atletico history upon making his debut in May 2001. He went on to bag 21 goals in 2003-04 after being named Vicente Calderon's youngest ever skipper at the age of 19. Having already top-scored in European Under-16 and Under-19 Championships, El Nino earned a first senior cap in September 2003 against Portugal. Seven months later he chalked up a first international goal against Italy. The forward would go on to net three times in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Clubs around Europe, including Manchester United and Arsenal, were understandably circling. However, in May 2007 it became clear Torres had his heart set on Merseyside when he revealed the phrase 'We'll Never Walk Alone' on the inside of his captain's armband during a match between Atletico and Real Sociedad. Two months of speculation and paper talk ensued before the striker was finally unveiled at Melwood. Torres made his competitive debut for Liverpool at Villa Park on August 11, 2007. A week later he smashed in his first official goal (he'd already scored in a pre-season friendly versus Shanghai Shenhua) when a trademark burst of pace against Chelsea sent Anfield wild. Successive home hat-tricks to see off Middlesbrough and West Ham helped the hitman total 32 (and counting) in what was arguably the finest debut season ever for a foreign import to English football.