Fernando Torres was conspicuous by his absence the last time Liverpool visited Madrid, in October. It had become a subject of personal torment for the Spain striker that he was unable to play in either of Liverpool’s Champions League group G matches against Atlético Madrid, his former club, because of injury, but it was the denial of an eagerly awaited “homecoming” to the Spanish capital that proved particularly demoralising.
In Torres’s enforced absence, Liverpool and Atlético supporters stayed behind for at least half an hour after the 1-1 draw at the Vicente Calderón Stadium to serenade each other with songs about their hero, a remarkable sight in modern-day football.
Four months on, Torres will finally get a homecoming of sorts, only the cheers are likely to give way to a cacophony of jeers as Liverpool prepare to face Atlético’s sworn cross-city rivals, Real Madrid, in the first leg of their first knockout round tie at the Bernabéu this evening.
With Rafael Benítez likely to delay his decision on whether to start with Steven Gerrard, who has missed the past two matches with a hamstring injury, until the last possible moment, the Merseyside club’s hopes of a positive result against a team who have been reborn under Juande Ramos, the former Tottenham Hotspur head coach, could rest heavily on Torres.
The 24-year-old might have scored the only goal in Spain’s European Championship final win over Germany last summer, but Real fans have never forgiven Torres, his Atlético allegiances aside, for his persistent claims that he would never play for them. The antipathy, though, is mutual. In six years with Atlético, Torres scored only once against Real and never won at the Bernabéu, but he is confident that Liverpool will progress.
“It will be a close game, but it is good that we play the second leg at Anfield,” Torres said. “We will have a better atmosphere. Liverpool fans will be impressed with the Bernabéu because it is a great stadium, but the atmosphere won’t be anything like Anfield. On the face of things Real Madrid are a huge team, but over the last few years in Europe we have proved to be a tough ask for any rival.”
Real’s league form is in stark contrast with that of Liverpool. While Ramos’s team have won their past nine matches in La Liga, Liverpool have drawn eight of their past 13 games in the Barclays Premier League. Real’s confidence is such that Vicente Boluda, the club president, claimed that the Spanish champions would progress 5-1 on aggregate.
However, Benítez, whose side trail Manchester United by seven points, dismissed suggestions that his future could be shaped by the Real tie, even though the Champions League again represents his most realistic chance of silverware. “If you have to decide a manager’s future on the basis of one or two games, that is not the best decision,” the Liverpool manager said.
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