Torres to retire after Iniesta, Villa reunion
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Fernando Torres will hang up his boots for good after taking on Andres Iniesta and David Villa in a J League match in August, the former Spain striker said yesterday, having decided to retire before his body gives up on him.
The 35-year-old former Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Chelsea and AC Milan forward told a news conference in Tokyo that he would bring down the curtain on his career after his Sagan Tosu hosts the Vissel Kobe side of his fellow World Cup winners on August 23.
鈥淭he reason is just personal,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 feel that physically and mentally I鈥檓 coming to a stage, where the time when I will not able to perform at the level I want is approaching, and I don鈥檛 want to be there when it arrives.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to look back in a few years and see myself playing in a level I don鈥檛 want to, so it was an easy (decision).鈥
Torres, who scored the winning goal in the 2008 European Championship final before helping Spain win its first World Cup in 2010, said he would be returning home after his retirement but beyond that, his future plans were unclear.
鈥淚 think I need time to be away from daily football, it鈥檚 been so many years ... training every day and playing at the highest level every day,鈥 he added. 鈥淪o I just need time to spend with my family and think about the next step. I don鈥檛 know if it will be coaching or managing.鈥
Torres scored more than 100 goals over two spells at Atletico and said he hoped that he could make his boyhood club part of his future at some stage.
鈥淎tletico Madrid is my life so probably there will be a way for us to link up somehow in the future, but not immediately.
鈥淲hat I鈥檇 like to do with Atletico, if I have a chance to go back, will be something so big that I鈥檒l need training for it.
鈥淚鈥檒l need to study and understand perfectly how it works, so I will not be back just as a face on show. If I go back it will be a big role, to take the club to the next level,鈥 the striker said.
Torres鈥檚 time in Japan has not been an unqualified success and Sagan Tosu narrowly avoided relegation in his first season. It is currently bottom of the J League with four wins from 16 matches.
Citing his pride at having scored the goal that kept Tosu up last season, Torres said he would do everything he could to help the club鈥檚 cause before retiring and that he would continue to act as an adviser to the club board afterwards.
鈥淚 want to really (have) an intense last two months. I鈥檒l give everything that is left inside of me to help the team to improve the current situation, which is not the best,鈥 he said.
The match against Iniesta and Villa鈥檚 Vissel will kick off matchday 24 of the 31-round J League on a Friday night at Tosu鈥檚 home ground. 鈥淚 tried to find an iconic moment to play my final game and I guess that鈥檚 perfect timing,鈥 Torres said.
鈥淭o say goodbye to football next to my dear friends is something that I could never imagine, and Japan is going to make it possible.鈥
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