Fernando and family in Ibiza.

Oscar, Juli, Hugo, Elias and Angel are Fernando Torres’ closest friends. They all shared a chat in which we discovered more things about what Fernando is like off the pitch


FT: I’ve known Oscar for 25 or 30 years (laughs). I don’t know. For a long time.

Oscar: Since we played together in Infantiles (Under 13).

FT: And I met Hugo in the Madrid Team. At that time they took anyone on, as you can see. And I went to school with Elias in Fuenlabrada.

Hugo: We met each other through football.

FT: What we didn’t know was that Hugo wasn’t on his own, the package included Juli, who was like...

Initial concerns regarding the fitness of Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will be assuaged by the news that the 24-year-old is not undergoing treatment today after his substitution in last night's Champions League semi-final.

There was notable anxiety at Stamford Bridge among Liverpool coaching staff and fans alike last night when Torres, who had scored in the 65th minute to put Liverpool back on equal terms with Chelsea, was replaced by Ryan Babel with 20 minutes of extra time still to play.

Rafael Benitez said afterwards that he was forced to substitute his front-man because the Spaniard...

LIVERPOOL (Reuters) - Fernando Torres is key to Liverpool's chances of beating Chelsea and reaching a third Champions League final in four seasons, manager Rafael Benitez said on Monday.

Liverpool scored just two goals in their previous semi-final victories over Chelsea in 2005 and 2007, but their manager now possesses a clinical scorer in Spain striker Torres who will lead the attack in Tuesday's first leg at Anfield.

"The team has confidence when players like Fernando Torres are in the team that can score goals," Benitez told reporters of the striker with a tally of 30 in his debut season.

"The...