Torres v Forlan
By
Stefano Faccendini Last updated: 01st August 2007
Torres:flop?
When Fernando Torres decided to leave Atletico Madrid after another disappointing season, many fans took to the streets and protested against the decision of letting a player depart who had spent all his football life at the club.
"El Niņo" had been at the Vicente Calderon since he was 11 and made his debut at 17. His qualities attracted the attention of all Europe's top clubs, but he never wanted to leave until this summer. In the years when he was wearing the famous red and white shirt, Atleti have won just one Segunda Division title in 2001/02, not enough for a "wonder kid".
But after the tears have dried, fans and club were left counting the cash and they realised it was not bad business. They have already signed Simao from Benfica, Luis Garcia from Liverpool, Christian Abbiati from Milan, Raul Garcia from Osasuna and Diego Forlan from Villarreal.
The latest news is that Arsenal's Jose Antonio Reyes will be making the short trip from the Bernabeu, although the fact he scored the two decisive goals to give Real the title will not be easy to forget for Atletico's passionate fans.
Of all the new signings, probably the smartest has been Diego Forlan. Since his arrival in La Liga, the Uruguayan striker has really hit form and in three seasons with the Yellow Submarines he scored 54 goals in 106 games, helping the small team near Valencia to get to a UEFA Champions League semi final.
During last season the ex-Manchester United player, despite his side's slow start, was a constant menace and while Torres netted four penalties (of eight taken) to get to his personal tally of 14, Forlan scored from the spot just once.
His shooting accuracy also was much better while Torres can boast five assist goals against one provided by Forlan.
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