Fernando Torres was born on the 20th March 1984 in the Fuenlabrada neighbourhood of Madrid, Spain. His family ardent Athletico Madrid fans saw their son start his career at their club. Fernando Jose Torres Sanz made his debut for Atletico de Madrid on 27th of May 2001, he scored his first goal in a game against Albacete the very next week.
Nicknamed the kid (El Nino) Torres was player of the tournament when Spain won the European Under-16 Championship in 2001. The Under-19 European Championship's of 2002 saw him return to Spain as top scorer & player of the tournament and with a championship win.
Fernando made his full debut in the Spanish national shirt on 6th September 2003 in a fixture against Portugal and his first international goal was on 28th April 2004 against Italy.
Torres' goals were crucial in Spain's qualification for the World Cup Finals of 2006 in Germany. Where he starred in the Spanish shirt on the biggest stage in the world, scoring important goals for Spain, who after a good start failed to live up to the expectations put on them. His impressive World Cup performances saw him touted as a transfer target of many big clubs in europe, but Torres stayed at Atletico Madird where he wears his favourite number 9 shirt as he does for Spain.
