Fernando Torres Was Simply Unstoppable In His Prime Years At Liverpool

In his prime years, Fernando Torres was one of the best strikers in world football. Without doubt.

A constant threat in the final third, the former Liverpool striker used his lightning speed and agility to glide past defenders, most notably against Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic.

He struggled to contain the almost unstoppable number nine. Torres was at the peak of his powers when he came up against the Serbian centre-back and boy, did he give him a rough ride.

It all began in September 2008, when Liverpool came out on top at Anfield in a game where Vidic saw red. Literally.

Six months later the dynamic speed merchant would tear him apart again, this time at Old Trafford, where he famously tore the United defence apart with his incredible skill and power.

Then that 4-1 drubbing at Old Trafford happened in 2009 and Torres left Vidic on his arse. Literally.

The former Manchester United man admitted later on in his career that he struggled to play against Torres during his glory days at Liverpool.

"Torres was a top player," he said. "At the time, he was probably the best striker in the league. He scored a few goals against United.

"In the Premier League, I had some good games against [Didier] Drogba, sometimes bad.

"I played well against Torres one week, then one game bad, that's the Premier League. You're not going to be on top of your game every week."

"It's why I like the Premier League. In one game, you're going to be against a strong player like Drogba, the next it'll be a Torres or [Sergio] Agüero.

"If people see me live, they say, 'I thought you were much bigger!' I was never big, but I gave everything in challenges.

"It's why I never got bigger because I knew the next week I'd have Torres or Aguero, so I never spent as much time in the gym as you have to adapt to players."

Ten years after tearing Vidic apart, Torres announced his retirement from football after an incredible 18-year career, and played his final game against Andres Iniesta's Vissel Kobe in August of last year.

The former Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea forward scored over 250 goals in his club career, as well as scoring 38 times for Spain.

"After 18 exciting years, the time has come to put an end to my football career." he said on his official Twitter account in June.

Torres began his career with Atletico Madrid before joining Liverpool, where he enjoyed arguably the best spell of his career, scoring 81 goals in 142 games.

The Spaniard then joined Chelsea for a then British record transfer fee, but he failed to live up to his £50 million price tag.

He did, however, lift the Champions League trophy after that iconic goal against Barcelona in the semi's.

We all remember that Gary Neville commentary don't we? "OOOOOOOH UNBELIEVABLE!"

Torres later joined his former club Atletico before making the move Japanese side Sagan Tosu.

He leaves behind an incredible legacy in the game, and will forever be remembered for his time in the Premier League, as well as La Liga.

I'm sure you'll all agree that he was unplayable on his day.

Thank you for the memories, Fernando. What a player.

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Topics: Liverpool, Football News, Football, Fernando Torres

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_