Fernando Torres has been listed as favourite for the 2008 ‘Ballon d’Or’. The 24-year-old striker, who had an excellent debut season for Liverpool, scoring 33 goals in all competitions, was also decisive for Spain at the recent European Championships. The forward scored the winner in the 1-0 final win over Germany in Vienna.

French magazine ‘L'Equipe’ praised the Spanish forward following a superb season for both club and country, calling Fernando the ‘L'Enfant-Roi’, the ‘Boy King’. ‘L'Equipe’ went on to describe the striker’s past year, before concluding that the forward is close to ‘finding’ gold.

“The ‘Kid’ has become the best of forwards. Torres was decisive in the European Championship Final, finishing a brilliant piece of skill with a clinical finish to earn Spain the title. The trophy is his first in professional football and comes on the back of a perfect year at Liverpool with 33 goals to his name, and a Championship League semifinal. The most expensive Spanish footballer ever, deserves gold.”

The next name down on the list after Fernando Torres is Cristiano Ronaldo, followed by Fernando’s Spanish team-mate Iker Casillas, then Andrei Arhsavin, and finally Lionel Messi.

According to ‘L’Equipe’ Torres is favourite to lift the trophy, and if successful, the striker would become the first Spaniard since former Inter and Barcelona legend Luis Suarez in 1960. Suarez also collected two second placed awards (1961 and 1964) and a Bronze award in 1965. Following Spain’s 44 year wait for a major international trophy, this year may also see Spain end a 48 year wait for the ‘Ballon d’Or’.