Once again this summer, the Official Chelsea Website is asking players two important questions. Their favourite game played and the best match they've ever watched. Fernando Torres lists the world's biggest football final in his top games played, as well as Europe's biggest national match, and as you'll read, it's no surprise why…


- Favourite game played:

Before arriving at Chelsea, Fernando Torres had already played in one of football's biggest games before plying his trade in the greatest match of all, the World Cup Final.

The Spaniard came on as a substitute in South Africa in 2010 but before that he had already netted the winning goal in another of international football's biggest fixtures.

“The European Championship Final, when I scored the only goal and we won against Germany in the final, and obviously the World Cup Final are my favourite games played,” he revealed.

Torres was part of the European Championship-winning side of 2008, and it was his early strike in the final against Germany that sealed the win for Spain. It was their first title in 44 years.

It took Torres 33 minutes to find the net when he expertly lifted a Xavi pass over Germany's Jens Lehmann.
“It was an early goal, so I didn't think it would be the only goal of the game,' explains Torres. 'If that had been in the World Cup Final in extra-time, or in the final minutes, the celebrations would have been much different but when you see the ball going in, you just can't believe it”.

“It was the kind of game I never expected to play, especially with the national team because Spain never won anything before and we were making history. It was an amazing feeling”.

“The other game is the World Cup Final because you are very far away from home and you realise what this means for the fans. But it's also about you. It's the kind of game you have been waiting for and when you are there it is like a challenge you cannot miss. Maybe you'll only have one chance to win the European Cup or the World Cup, so you have to do it. You approach the game as the most important day of your life.”


- Favourite game watched:

Many footballers would choose the following game as one of the most memorable matches to watch.

When Liverpool travelled to Istanbul in 2005 for the Champions League Final, after securing their place due to the fabled phantom goal against Chelsea, no one expected the dramatic game that followed.

The English side succumbed to a powerful first-half performance. It took only a minute for AC Milan to take the lead, courtesy of Paulo Maldini. Then a Hernan Crespo brace before the break seemingly put the game beyond reach for the Liverpool outfit.

But the side pulled off one of football's most memorable comebacks, with Steven Gerrard rallying the side with a goal in the 54th minute. The strike started a seven-minute comeback which saw Vladimir Smicer find the net before Xabi Alonso equalised from the penalty spot in the 59th minute.

The nail-biting encounter then remained goalless and it went to a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner, which the club he would later join won 3-2.

“The Champions League Final, seven years ago, Liverpool against AC Milan, is what football is all about,” says Torres.

“All that passion and it showed how one team can come back from 3-0 down at half-time and win the game. It's was a very important match, not just for the teams involved but for the fans also. That game is a good highlight of what football means,” adds the Spaniard.