= Fernando Torres =
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Fernando José Torres Sanz ( Spanish pronunciation ; born 20 March 1984 ) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Atlético Madrid .
Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid , progressing through their youth system to the first team squad . He made his first team debut in 2001 and finished his time at the club having scored 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances . Prior to his La Liga debut , Torres played two seasons in the Segunda División for Atlético Madrid , making 40 appearances and scoring seven goals .
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= = Early career = =
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Born in , Community of Madrid , Torres became interested in football as a child and joined his first team , Parque 84 , at the age of five . His father José Torres worked during Torres ' childhood , and his mother Flori Sanz travelled daily with him to training sessions . His grandfather was not a passionate football fan , but took pride in being an Atlético Madrid supporter , and Torres inherited his love for the club .
Torres started playing football as a goalkeeper , the position his brother played in . When he was seven years old , however , he started playing regularly as a striker in an indoor league for the neighbourhood club , Mario 's Holland , using the characters from the anime Captain Tsubasa as inspiration . Three years later , aged 10 , he progressed to an 11 @-@ side team , Rayo 13 . He scored 55 goals in a season and was one of three Rayo 13 players to earn a trial with Atlético . He impressed the scouts and joined the club 's youth system at the age of 11 in 1995 .
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= = = Chelsea = = =
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On 27 January 2011 , Torres was the subject of a £ 40 million bid from Chelsea , which was rejected by Liverpool . He subsequently handed in an official transfer request to Liverpool the next day , which was rejected . Torres completed his move to Chelsea on a five @-@ and @-@ a @-@ half @-@ year contract on 31 January 2011 for an undisclosed fee reported to be £ 50 million , which set a new record for a British transfer and made him the sixth most expensive footballer in history . He made his Chelsea debut on 6 February 2011 in a 1 – 0 home defeat to former club Liverpool . On 23 April 2011 , Torres scored his first goal for Chelsea against West Ham United in a 3 – 0 victory , which ended a run of 903 minutes of football without a goal . This was his only goal for Chelsea in the 2010 – 11 season , having made 18 appearances for his new club .
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= = = = 2011 – 12 season = = = =
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Torres got the 2011 – 12 season underway in Chelsea 's 0 – 0 draw away against Stoke City on 14 August 2011 , in which his " link @-@ up play was sharp , plus he was willing to make intelligent runs into space to receive the ball " . He scored his second goal at Chelsea , and his first of the season , on 18 September 2011 , during an away game against Manchester United , which was the side 's only goal in a 3 – 1 defeat . He scored his second goal of the season at home to Swansea City in a 4 – 1 victory . However , 10 minutes after his goal , a two @-@ footed challenge on Mark Gower resulted in his first red card in English football and a three @-@ match domestic suspension . On 19 October 2011 , Torres scored two goals in a 5 – 0 victory against Genk in the Champions League , his first in Europe since the quarter @-@ final of the 2008 – 09 Champions League with his old club Liverpool , against Chelsea . His next Chelsea goals came after scoring twice and also assisting two others against Championship side Leicester City in an FA Cup quarter @-@ final on 18 March 2012 , ending a goal drought that stretched 24 games . On 31 March 2012 , Torres scored his first Premier League goal since 24 September 2011 , against Aston Villa in a 4 – 2 away win .
Torres came on as a substitute for Didier Drogba on 24 April 2012 to score a last @-@ minute goal against FC Barcelona in the Champions League semi @-@ final , which gave Chelsea a 2 – 2 draw , and also eliminated Barcelona from the tournament , as Chelsea won 3 – 2 on aggregate . He scored the first hat @-@ trick of his Chelsea career in a 6 – 1 win against Queens Park Rangers at Stamford Bridge on 29 April 2012 . Torres came on in the second half of the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final on 19 May 2012 , directly after Bayern Munich 's opening goal , and following a 1 – 1 draw after extra time Chelsea won the penalty shoot @-@ out 4 – 3 . His first full season at Chelsea finished with 11 goals in 49 games .
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