Benitez reveals why Fernando Torres has struggled at Chelsea

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Rafa Benitez discussed Fernando Torres and his role at Chelsea.

“I think he can be good. I’m not sure he will be at the same level that he was when he was at Liverpool with us. But he’s improving his fitness. He has been working so hard in the gym, and his pace is nearly there. He’s very strong. So he can beat defenders running, and now it’s just confidence.”

Just confidence. Heard that one before.

“He has to find the timing for his runs and the right movements, and he will be much better. How good? Can he be at the same level [as in the past]? I’m not sure. It depends on a proper preseason, training with the team, doing a lot of the things that he was doing this year. We’ll see how he feels at the beginning of next season.”

Fernando Torres has scored 22 goals – twice as many as he managed last season – in 63 matches for Chelsea in the 2012/13 season. Valuable goals, too. His strike vs Brentford in the FA Cup to force a replay, and his goals to open the scoring in the Europa League final, to name but two.

Torres: Top-four spot vital

Fernando Torres says it is crucial for Chelsea to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League and is also targeting Europa League glory as a bonus.



Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are in a four-way battle for the two remaining spots in the top four behind Manchester United and Manchester City.

Rafa Benitez's men currently have the edge as they occupy third place ahead of their clash with Liverpool on Sunday, and Torres insists they cannot afford to slip up.

He told Sky Sports News: "It is crucial for everyone. We are at Chelsea because we want to win trophies and the Champions League is one of them, maybe the most important.

"If you want to play in the Champions League you have to finish at least in the top four.

"Obviously it is not the target we had at the beginning of the season but it is the reality now. We must focus on the games we have to play this month and we have to qualify."

Chelsea have an opportunity to win some silverware this season after making it through to a Europa League semi-final against Basel, and Torres is hopeful they can be successful on two fronts.


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He added: "We have a bonus in the Europa League. Hopefully we can win this competition and finish in the top four and have the chance to play next season in the Champions League and the European Super Cup."

Torres ready for action

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has said that he is fully rested following a layoff over the international break.

The Spaniard was left out of Vicente del Bosque's squad for the recent World Cup qualifiers against Finland and France as he continues to struggle in front of goal.



Despite being disappointment at his exclusion, Torres stated that he is ready to get back to business as the Blues take on Southampton at St Mary's this afternoon.



"It was relaxing, but everyone wants to be involved with the national team and not have this time available," Torres told the club's official website.



"It was a good break and I enjoyed it with my family and had some rest, and now I'm ready for the next challenge."



The 29-year-old has scored just seven goals in 28 Premier League appearances this season.

Atletico Madrid opens door to Torres

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has seemingly opened the door for a possible return of Fernando Torres.

Torres has endured a torrid stay at Stamford Bridge since joining from Liverpool in January 2011 for £50million.

In 74 league games he has scored just 14 times, which is a shadow of his Liverpool form where he hit 65 goals in 102 Premier League appearances.

The 29-year-old began his career with Atletico Madrid and is still revered by their fans, and now Simeone has refused to rule out a possible return.

"Fernando Torres is currently playing for another team. We have to wait for the season to finish and decide which of the available players could come here and do a good job," Simeone told Onda Cero.

"Fernando knows about the club's history, what it means to play here and I don't need to speak about his ability.

"We were team-mates. I know how important he can be."

Simeone admits he does not know if a deal could be struck, adding: "It's complicated. I wouldn't like to say yes or no. He's a player who always performs and we have to respect his choice."

With Chelsea being strongly linked with Atletico's Radamel Falcao - a player-swap plus cash deal has long been mooted.

Simeone was also quizzed about the future of the Colombian, and said: "I'm not Falcao and I'm not his agent. I'm the manager and have the utmost respect for him, because he gave me so much at River Plate and has done the same here.



"He always gives his all and I really respect players who do that. But everyone makes their own decisions in life. Every person is different, and we have to respect each other. Those who stay are always going to be the best."

Torres left out of Spain squad

Fernando Torres has been left out of the Spain squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Finland and France.

The 28-year-old Chelsea striker was omitted from recent friendlies against Panama and Uruguay but has made the squad for earlier World Cup qualifiers.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said: "Especially for strikers, inconsistency worries us and Fernando's inconsistency provoked a sense of insecurity in us."

Torres has scored 31 goals in 101 appearances for his country.

Golden Boot winner as top-scorer in Spain's victorious Euro 2012 campaign last summer, he has 17 goals in all competitions for Chelsea this season.



But he has not found the net in the Premier League in 2013 and scored only his third goal in 20 games as Chelsea beat Steaua Bucharest in the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday.



Spain squad to play Finland and France:



Goalkeepers: Victor Valdes (Barcelona), Jose Reina (Liverpool), David de Gea (Man Utd)

Defenders: Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Nacho Monreal (Arsenal), Jordi Alba (Barcelona)



Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Xavi (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Javi Garcia (Man City), Isco (Malaga)



Forwards : David Villa (Barcelona), David Silva (Man City), Pedro (Barcelona), Juan Mata (Chelsea), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Jesus Navas (Sevilla).

Tuesday's round up of the top transfer stories

- Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente has confirmed he will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.



- Fernando Torres has insisted that he wants to see out the rest of his contract and is looking to win more trophies at Chelsea.



- Chelsea have once again watched Bayer Leverkusen striker Andre Schurrle in action as they weigh up a January bid for the Germany international, according to Sky Sports.



- Chelsea and Manchester United are on alert as Jose Mourinho is set to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.



- Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign 18-year-old Brazilian right-back Wallace from Fluminense in the January transfer window.



- Senad Lulic, the Lazio midfielder linked with Chelsea, is on Inter Milan's radar.



- Tottenham winger Gareth Bale, who is believed to be a target for Barcelona and Real Madrid, has reiterated that he sees himself playing abroad in the future, stating: "If the time comes and a team that's right comes in for me, then I'll look at it seriously. I'll see what happens. Everybody wants to be playing in the Champions League."



- Manchester City target Stefan Jovetic has no intention of leaving Fiorentina - yet.



- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants to sign Schalke goalscorer Klass-Jan Huntelaar next month and he could be available for a cut-price £6million, according to Dailymail.



- Tottenham have made an enquiry for Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen, who has also been linked with Liverpool, according to Goal.com.



- Daniel Sturridge's agent has denied the Chelsea striker has demanded £80,000 a week and a guaranteed role up front if he's to join Liverpool.



- Liverpool's hopes of signing Barcelona starlet Cristian Tello have been hit after news emerged that the forward is set to sign a new deal.



- Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has rejected talk of a possible swap between Wesley Sneijder and Paris Saint-Germain star Javier Pastore.



- Arsenal and Chelsea could be forced to ramp up their interest in Paris St. Germain’s Marco Verratti after Juventus emerged as serious contenders to sign him.



- Frank Lampard's hopes of heading out to the US to play in the MLS have been dealt another blow after David Beckham told his former club LA Galaxy to sign Real Madrid midfielder Kaka.



- Brazilian forward Neymar has insisted that he is happy at Santos for the moment and does not want to move to Europe yet.



- Barcelona star Ibrahim Afellay wants to make his loan move to Schalke permanent - dashing the hopes of Arsenal and Liverpool.



- AC Milan have rejected rumours linking Robinho with a move away from the San Siro in January.



- Atletico Madrid are desperate to agree a new contract with Adrian to ward off interest from Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool.



- PSV Eindhoven striker Jeremain Lens, who has been linked with a move to Liverpool, has admitted to Elf Voetbal that he is interested in playing in the Premier League.

Campbell: I can 'fix' Torres

Former Olympic sprint champion Darren Campbell has claimed he could solve Fernando Torres' goalscoring problems for Chelsea.

Campbell, who won gold in the 4x100m at the Athens Games eight years ago, believes Torres needed just a fortnight's specialist training to recover most of his lost pace.



Torres briefly worked with Campbell during his first year at Stamford Bridge, prior to the departure of Dr Bryan English as Chelsea's medical director during Andre Villas-Boas' reign.



Interim manager Rafael Benitez suggested on Tuesday that Torres needed to do gym work to regain his explosive power.



And Campbell, a sprint coach in football and rugby union, told the Daily Telegraph: "It's something that is best done in pre-season but I think Fernando just needs two weeks when he hasn't got to worry about playing on the Saturday and just put in a nice two-week training programme that I think would definitely bring the majority of his speed back.



"I'm sure I could fix him. It doesn't have to be a lengthy process because these guys are already extremely fit. That's the great thing about working with footballers and rugby players. You're not having to worry about the base fitness so you just go in and teach the raw speed.



"In the case of Fernando, I think he would also probably need to do a bit of weightlifting as well as the running and the speed drills to put some power back into his muscles. That's why sprinters lift weights, to gain that explosive speed and power."



Meanwhile, Los Angeles Galaxy chief executive Tim Leiweke has admitted he is "honoured" his club have been linked with a move for Frank Lampard.



Lampard has long been touted with a move to Major League Soccer as a big-name replacement for David Beckham, who is quitting Galaxy at the end of their season.



Leiweke told Sky Sports News: "Chelsea is a club we have a great relationship with.



"We've heard of other players mentioned that are playing in Europe and we want to respect their clubs and where they're at."



But he added: "When you mention the likes of Frank Lampard to me, he's one of the class acts of football. I'm a huge fan of him as an individual, a huge fan of him as a captain and a huge fan of him as a player.



"We're honoured that anyone would even speculate that Frank would want to come here, that's a good day."

Benitez insists he can help Torres

Rafael Benitez insists he can help Fernando Torres rediscover his form and win over the Stamford Bridge faithful.



Benitez got a frosty reception from sections of the club's support when he made his first appearance in the dug-out against Manchester City on Sunday.



But he is adamant that he can revive the fortunes of the club and Torres - and get the fans back on side in the process.



"I understand the fans and how they feel," he told Sky Sports News. "I will try to prove I am here for the right reasons and I want to win.



"Imagine if you are a player who is struggling. I would say 'Stay focused, try to do your job, don't get distracted, concentrate on your football'.



"For me it is the same, I want to concentrate on coaching, improve the players and bring the fans back.



"I understand the feeling of the fans because of my time at Liverpool. We had a rivalry which was quite difficult.



"Torres can come back, but how far? I don't know. It depends on the team. Yes he can improve, I am sure he can improve, but it depends on the team to help him.



"I am not under pressure to pick him because Daniel Sturridge is still injured so I don't have many options."

Torres dropped for Eden Hazard against Juventus

Fernando Torres has been dropped by Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo for the crunch Champions League clash with Juventus.

The £50million Spanish striker will be replaced by Eden Hazard as the visitors look for at least a point to keep their European campaign alive.



The idea of having the Chelsea failure on his CV certainly irks the ex-Liverpool striker, but he has privately accepted he must leave west London, with Spain his preferred destination.



Potentially, Torres could return to Atletico Madrid as part of Chelsea's move to sign Radamel Falcao.



Torres' disastrous spell at Stamford Bridge plummeted further on Saturday after putting in another lacklustre display in the 2-1 defeat against West Bromwich.



And Roberto Di Matteo is today giving serious consideration to dropping the club's record signing for the trip to Turin.



Last week, Di Matteo admitted any manager would love to have Falcao in his team as Chelsea step up their interest in the Atletico striker.

Abramovich is ready to concede his £50m gamble on Torres has failed and the Blues owner will make funds available for Di Matteo.



Manchester City and Real Madrid are also interested in the 26-year-old Falcao, who scored a stunning hat-trick against Chelsea in the European Super Cup.

On Friday, Di Matteo said: 'Falcao is one of the best strikers, probably, in European and world football. His ratio of goals per game is quite impressive not just this season but over the last three years, at Porto and Atletico Madrid. If you ask any manager, he'd have him in his team.



'I know the window's nearing and there'll be a lot of speculation for our club, but whatever we do we'll keep it behind closed doors.'

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Torres: I hated being called 'El Nino'

Fernando Torres has revealed he hated the nickname ‘El Nino’ and always found it insulting that team-mates and supporters could not be bothered to learn his name.

The Chelsea striker, who was prolific in the Barclays Premier League when he first arrived at Liverpool from Atletico Madrid, has revealed nobody wanted to talk to him because they felt threatened.

Speaking to Chelsea’s official website, Torres said: ‘It’s not easy to come somewhere new and have to find your place. You might feel someone doesn’t like you or you might need to find new friends, it’s not easy and I don’t like this kind of thing. It’s not easy, so you want to protect the players who are alone.

‘It’s what I learned when I was 16 and arrived in Atletico’s dressing room, nobody wanted to talk to me because they were threatened. They called me “El Nino” because nobody knew my name. I didn’t like it and it shouldn’t be like that, but dressing rooms are very complicated with players coming from different parts of the world and with different roles.

‘I was captain in Atletico at 19, playing in the same team as Demetrio Albertini who won three Champions Leagues and Sergi Barjuan from Barcelona, who had won everything, and they were 32, 33.

‘I was a kid as captain, so I wasn’t the real captain, just a kid learning from them. I wore the armband but they were the leaders and I learned a lot from them.

‘I remember when I first came to Liverpool, Pepe Reina helped with everything and he made it easy for me. When I was Atletico Madrid captain I tried to help everyone. These are the basics in football, you need to create an atmosphere and try to create a group of friends. It’s not easy and it doesn’t always happen but you have to try.’

Chelsea are building something of a Spanish mafia at Stamford Bridge, with Torres joined by Oriol Romeu, Juan Mata and most recently Cesar Azpilicueta.





But Torres insists he is not in charge!

‘No, I am not the father figure! You have all the things you learned in your head that you can use for the good of the team, and that’s what I do here, but I don’t like to be a leader, maybe an example as someone to follow if you like.

‘We are all young still, and friends. I have been playing with Juan in the national team since the Confederations Cup in 2009, and since then we have been friends. I was so happy when he came here, and we have helped Oriol and now Azpi to settle. There are also some staff, I think there are seven of us in total in the dressing room, so it makes it easier for the new guys to have people here helping them.

‘There is no leader who has to talk for the others. Helping each other is a job we should do, it’s not a job Juan has to thank me for.

‘(Mata and I) go out to dinner sometimes or meet up at each other’s homes to watch TV shows we all follow,’ Torres confirms. ‘When you’re in a new city you try to be next to people you know, and then after that you make your own friends but we can all join together too.

‘Football is a team sport and not an individual sport. We win as a team and every individual is better if we are part of the team,’ he stresses. ‘If we win trophies we have the chance to win individual awards because it comes with the team targets.

‘If we win the Champions League, everyone is a better, more recognised player, but if you win an individual award and nothing with your team, it means nothing. You have to win with the team, and for the team.

‘In your life you go through a difficult situation or a very good situation and you have different moods, but you learn things from your experiences.’

Torres: Liverpool still a main part of my life

The Chelsea centre forward reaffirms his fondness for his former club and the city as a whole in the wake of recent developments surrounding the Hillsborough tragedy.

Fernando Torres has lost none of his affection for former club Liverpool, despite his move to Premier League rivals Chelsea meaning that he is no longer the icon that he once was at Anfield.



The striker spoke of his love for the team and city in the wake of recent and ongoing revelations regarding the Hillsborough tragedy and its subsequent cover-up, an ordeal that has greatly affected the city of Liverpool over the past 23 years.



"When I heard about Hillsborough I got excited, as I have known a lot of people who lived that, who cried with that ... somehow, I made it mine," Torres told El Pais.



Speaking about football matters, Torres reiterated his appreciation for the time that he spent at Liverpool, singling out the club's fans and former manager Rafa Benitez for specific praise. The striker also hinted that the "truth" surrounding the circumstances of his departure is still not a matter of public knowledge.



He added: "I owe very much to Liverpool, their fans, Benitez ... Liverpool is a main part of my life. I know I'm not well-considered now but I'm sure that will change in the future.



"Finally, I decided to leave because it was a step in my career. It was not the best way of leaving but it was not the way they sold it. Someday people will know the truth."



Torres' performances since leaving for the Blues have attracted plenty of criticism – the 28-year-old having only managed 18 goals in 79 competitive appearances for the club so far – but the Spaniard also spoke of how he has learnt to pay little attention to his detractors.



"The scars hurt in the beginning," he revealed,"but then you learn you're not alone on this. Social networks show you how people follow and support you. But yes, there is a moment you tend to protect yourself.



"I learnt the critics couldn't hurt me, I just had to know how to take advantage of them. You're the only one who can say: 'You're getting wrong; you have to react'.



"I'm not the same who left Madrid some years ago but I still keep the values I learnt there. I've been lucky as I started very young. One can think he knows everything but you don't."