Fernando Torres may be struggling for form since his move to Chelsea, but he remains one of the great players to have played for Atletico Madrid in recent decades. It is not surprising to see Torres captain the Spanish club at a very early age. He has also been an inspiration to several youngsters from the youth academy. Midfielder Koke, who has developed into a fine player from the youth team, says that Torres has been an inspiration to all of the Atletico Madrid youngsters.
Koke has been in fine form for Atletico this campaign and it has been a major reason towards their title. There are currently level on points with Barcelona, while also having a couple of points advantage over archrivals Real Madrid. Torres became a professional with Atletico in the 2001 season. He stayed with the club for six years before moving to Liverpool in a £ 27 million deal in 2007. During this period, he had racked up 214 appearances and scored 82 goals for the Spanish club. He has always stated that he would one day like to return to Atletico Madrid, a club that he supported as a boy.
Koke is currently linked with a move to the Premier league like his boyhood hero.
“Torres is a great example for everyone. Everything he’s gone on to achieve fills young players at Atlético with pride. We use him as an example so we can try to achieve our own dreams, both with Atlético and with the national side. I’m doing everything that I can to keep the technical staff happy, and obviously to try and go to Brazil with the national side next summer. I only played three minutes in the final [of the Europa League], but I was really excited to have helped my team win a title,” said Koke about Torres.