TR: Did Fernando Torres really play so badly against Real Madrid?
JL: Who says so?

TR: Me, among others. A forward’s job is to take the chances he gets. And Torres, up against Casillas, scored a big, fat zero.

JS: I totally disagree. Torres played an almost perfect game against Madrid. So he missed a couple of chances? OK, but lets not forget that he tore apart the flanks with his agility, he lost his marker explosively on various occasions, he broke the Madrid defence five times, he went through their central defence like a knife through butter and made his team-mates' job easier, putting pressure on when the opposition tried to play the ball out.

TR: Enough, enough, Julio. You’re not his agent.

JS: No, it’s just a question of being fair. If Torres was called Torrenaldo I’m sure nobody would be saying he was a forward with a dodgy aim, or an over-rated player. You don’t need to tell me about it.

TR: Are you refering to the famous chance you missed against Italy at USA ’94?

JS: Yeah. I almost got lynched for not scoring that goal, but what people forget is that I was up against the Italian national goalkeeper. Wouldn’t you call Casillas a hero for his saves at the Calderon? I remember, on the plane back to Spain Txiki Begiristain said to me "Julito, take it easy, people seem to forget that you had a monster like Pagliuca in front of you".

TR: But why is Torres’ finishing letting him down? It could hurt his career.

JS: That’s not true. Against Madrid the fact that the press had been reminding him all week that he’d never won against them, never scored against them, could have affected his performance. That kind of pressure makes you feel anxiety, which works against you. But Torres is a born goalscorer, as he’s been demonstrating for years. What’s more…

TR: Go on, go on.

JS: If he played for Barça he’d score more goals than we’d know what to do with. The problem is that at Atletico everyone expects him to be the saviour and he’s still just a kid. You put all that on a twenty year old lad’s shoulders, ask him to carry the whole team. If he was playing alongside Ronaldinho, Xavi, Deco or Eto’o I’m sure he’d show his true greatness.

TR: But Ronaldo is much better...

JS: I’m not going to deny the evidence. Ronaldo is far and Hawai the best centre forward in the world. But look, he misses chances too and I don’t see him getting the same kind of stick that Torres has been getting these last few days. I remember spells when Ronie hasn’t been scoring and nobody says “He can’t finish, he doesn’t take his chances”. Just let me say this: Torres is better than Van Basten.

TR: You are joking. Right?

JS: Not at all. Torres is faster and more direct than Van Basten was. The Dutchman only betters Fernando in that he was more deadly in the box, and a much better finisher.

TR: Right, but Torres was one on one with Casillas five times and he didn’t score.

JS: But Iker was amazing. If a keeper makes outstanding saves it’s not the striker’s fault. If he claws the ball off the line you can’t do anything other than say “well done”. Casillas is a phenomonon and it’s not fair that we only hear about Torres’ failings...