Fresh haircut—check.
Dapper suit—check.
Throngs of supporters lining up outside the club shop awaiting a glimpse of their new hero—check.
And with that, Fernando Torres arrived triumphantly at Milan from Chelsea on a two-year loan deal, done by the club to save face after the sale of Mario Balotelli to Liverpool. The Spaniard’s number nine shirt has instantly generated plenty of merchandising revenue, and following a surprising 3-1 home victory on opening day against Lazio two weeks ago, the Rossoneri faithful are a buzz in anticipation for Torres’ debut at Parma’s Estadio Ennio Tardini on Sunday.
Soccer Central podcast: SPORTSNET.CA’s Soccer Central podcast, hosted by John Molinaro and James Sharman, takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues. To listen and subscribe to the podcast, CLICK HERE.
Torres’ recent struggles are well documented. After smashing the British transfer record with his £50 million move to Stamford Bridge via Anfield over three years ago, he scored a paltry 20 goals in 111 Premiership matches with Chelsea, as opposed to 65 in 102 league appearances for the Reds.
However, the once menacing Spanish goal-machine known as El Nino may have found the perfect league to resurrect his tarnished name. Serie A pales in comparison to the speed of the English Premiership, which could theoretically benefit Milan’s new number nine. It’s fairly obvious Torres has lost his primary weapon of quick acceleration and blistering pace that caused defenders nightmares in his early England days—knee surgery at the tail end of the 2010 season on Merseyside was the beginning of his downward spiral.
Italian football has also suffered within the same time frame. Serie A has now become the destination for aging veterans looking for one last payday—Ashley Cole, Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic being the primary examples of the increasing pandemic.
Here’s an interesting fact: newly promoted Premier League side Hull City has spent more during the summer transfer window than Italy’s top-four last season combined. The money simply isn’t there anymore to pay the astronomical transfer fees needed to lure the world’s best players in their prime years, let alone pay their wages.
To give you a better glimpse into Serie A’s demise, Samuel’ Eto’o was the league’s highest earner five years ago, collecting £160,000 per week at Inter Milan. Currently, Roma’s Daniele de Rossi tops the list—pulling in £100,000 per-week. As a whole, Serie A has spent £500 million less on wages compared with three seasons ago.
With no agenda to promote, former Italian prime minister and AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has invested very little of his vast fortune into the club in recent years. Milan has gone from domestic and European heavyweights to a mismanaged laughing stock of the highest order.
Last season the Rossoneri hit an all-time low (57 points), finishing eighth and outside of Europe—15 points and five places inferior to their standing in 2013—having won the scudetto three years prior on 82 points. Not much is expected from the current campaign, but surely it can end worse than last season.
Torres was a bust at Chelsea, buckling under the pressure. Liverpool cashed in their chips at the right time, with Roman Abramovich paying just over a million pounds for each of the Spanish striker’s goals (44 in 175 total appearances). When you factor in his monthly pay-packet of £700,000—Torres made over £30 million in wages during his London stay—the return on investment was dreadfully poor.
For a limited time get Sportsnet Magazine’s digital edition free for 60 days. Visit Appstore/RogersMagazines to see what you’re missing out on.
The decision to join Milan for the next two years was based solely on football rather than finances—earning less than half (£60,000) of his previous wages—and winning trophies. The Rossoneri won’t be contending for the Serie A title this term. Torres collected three winners medals during his time at Stamford Bridge (2012 FA Cup, 2012 Champions League and 2013 Europa League), though, for the most part he was merely a bit player.
The big-money move for Diego Costa and the return of club icon Didier Drogba sealed Torres’ fate at the Bridge. Even though Jose Mourinho continued to claim the Spaniard still had a future with Chelsea, the depth chart proved otherwise.
Having surpassed the century mark in caps and 35 goals for Spain—none bigger than the match-winner over Germany at Euro 2008 which clinched La Furia Roja’s first of three straight international trophies—Torres has equally fallen way down the pecking order for his country in recent years. Despite securing a seat on the plane to Brazil over the summer, he scored one goal in his only World Cup start in the meaningless match versus Australia (3-0), having come on as a substitute in the losses to the Netherlands and Chile.
Granted, his best days are behind him but his departure from the Premier League will be a much needed breath of fresh air. At 30 years of age, Torres possesses the necessary skill-set to once again become a menacing goal-threat—especially in Italy where the game itself runs at a far lesser pace than in England.
Don’t count out Torres just yet.