Torres EXCLUSIVE: So far, so good 26 June 2006 by FIFAworldcup.com Spain’s striking prodigy Fernando Torres has had a roller-coaster of a season. Lauded and lambasted in equal measure, the FIFA World Cup has come as a blessed relief for the talented striker. The Atletico Madrid frontman has made an immediate impact in his first finals, opening his account during a stellar performance in Spain’s opening Group H game against Ukraine. Against Tunisia, his tireless industry up front helped La Seleccion back into a game that was gradually slipping away from them, and his two late goals capped a memorable comeback after Raul’s opportunistic equaliser. Against Saudi Arabia, coach Luis Aragones gave him a well-earned rest in the first half, but he came off the bench in the second to rapturous applause from the legions of Spanish fans packed into the Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern. The FIFA World Cup™has put a smile back on the face of the 22-year-old after a difficult domestic campaign with the Colchoneros. Spain’s top scorer, known affectionately as El Nino (The Kid), has a youthful spring in his step and took time out to speak exclusively to FIFAworldcup.com about his experiences so far at Germany 2006 and his dreams of Spanish glory. FIFAworldcup.com: How would you rate your team’s performance in the group stage? Fernando Torres: We’ve achieved our aims and that’s the most important thing. We’ve picked up maximum points, and in the first two games we played very well. Against Saudi Arabia, it was a case of just getting through the game, but we won and that’s what we wanted. Are you happy with your own performance? I’m happy because I’ve scored goals, because the team have won and because I’ve played in all three games. That’s what I hoped for; I wanted everything to go well, and luckily up to now things are going better than I thought. Have you thought about the prospect of finishing as the tournament’s top scorer? To finish as top scorer, your team has to go a long way in the competition. They have to play the maximum number of games and that’s really the most important thing because it would mean that Spain were in with a chance of winning it. I hope that both things actually happen. How do you feel about your first FIFA World Cup experience overall? I’m very happy about the way things have gone, it’s a lot better than I expected. I want to enjoy the World Cup, and let’s hope that it doesn’t finish here. What is your view on your opponents in the Round of 16, France? France have got some great players, but they aren’t playing very well. Even so, it’s a game that I would have wanted to avoid because they can win a game in an instant. Which system do you feel most comfortable with: 4-3-3 with David Villa and Luis Garcia, or alongside wingers Joaquin and Jose Antonio Reyes? I just want to play (laughs). I’m not really bothered about everything else. We can play well with either system, and it just depends on the games and how the results are going whether we use one or the other. That’s the coach’s decision. The important thing is that we are all committed and focused on the same objective. Before the tournament, the Spain team was relatively unheralded, but you have had a lot of praise for your displays. How has the dressing room responded to that? We knew what we could do and what we were capable of, but maybe we haven’t shown it up to now. Because of that, we came here in the shadow of other teams, but that was fine because it took the pressure off us, and we were happy to go along with it. After the first two games, perhaps people outside the squad now see us in a different light, but for the players everything is just the same. The favourites are those teams which have won the tournament in the past, and which have bigger reputations. We aren’t among the favourites. How do you feel when the fans give you such a tremendous reception every time you come onto the pitch? The truth is that after you’ve been playing for the national team for a while, that’s what you want to happen, you want people to be keen to see you play. When you go out onto the pitch, and you get the kind of reception that I had against Saudi Arabia, it’s an emotional moment, because it’s the whole country behind you, people who all support different teams. I can only hope to pay them back by scoring more goals. Do you think Spain can finally overcome that psychological barrier and reach the quarter-finals? First of all, we’ve got to get through the Round of 16, and if we carry on playing the way we have done so far, we won’t have to worry about that particular hurdle. -- 「我从来没讨厌过记者，只是不喜欢一部份自称记者的寄生虫而已。 我讨厌的是那些对可能受到政治压力的事避而不提，却专写那些会 伤害一般市民的隐私及名誉的记者；更过份一点，成为当权者的利 益代辩人的家伙而已。」 --杨威利，银河英雄传说 --

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