England, April 29, 2001. Spain face Italy for a place in the semifinals of the Under 16s European Championships. A tall, somewhat thin looking striker causes the Italian defenders all sorts of problems, his hard-work and determination finally pay-off as he scores Spain’s only goal. The Azzurri nightmare had a name: Fernando Torres.

The year 2001 was to be a special one for Torres. The year though did not start well as a knee injury kept the striker on the sidelines. Fernando missed out on the qualifying stages for the European Championships, but an almost miraculous recovery saw the young Spanish forward reach full fitness in time to make the squad. The striker went on to shine at the tournament, leading Paulo Futre, who at the time was Atletico Madrid’s Sporting Director, to promote the young forward to Atletico’s first team squad.

Back now to Sunday April 29, 2001, and Italy manage to force extra-time, but Spain hold their nerve to qualify for the semis with the help of a penalty shoot-out. The Spanish national team did not look back, and went on to become European champions; though it should come as no surprise that the only goal in the final versus France was scored by yes, the tall, somewhat thin looking striker.

Fernando Torres added an Under 19s European Championship to his Under 16s title as the striker’s meteoric rise saw the young Atletico Madrid forward break into the Spanish national team squad in record time; scoring his first goal against Italy in an international friendly in April, 2004.

Since his full team debut for Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon Stadium in May 2001, Fernando has led both his club’s and country’s attack. His record breaking season in the Premier League and performances at Euro 2008 prove that the Spanish and Liverpool number ‘9’ continues to star, both at club, and international level.