Euro challenge to Fernando Torres

Jun 4 2008 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

Fernando Torres

FERNANDO TORRES has been urged to prove he is the best striker on the continent during the Euro 2008 Championships.

But his Liverpool team-mate Alvaro Arbeloa is also warning his Spanish side to adopt tactics similar to Liverpool’s in order to get the best from their target man.

Torres, who is set to shake off a minor ankle injury sustained in training to feature in Spain’s friendly with the USA tonight, scored 33 goals in 46 games for Liverpool in his remarkable debut season in England.

But in only one more appearance for his country he has scored just 15 times – prompting Arbeloa to encourage his countrymen to play in the more direct style associated with the Premier League.

“We need to take advantage of Fernando like we have been doing at Liverpool,” said the full-back, who made his international debut against world champions Italy in March.

“I have noticed that at Liverpool we have been able to make the most of Torres’s qualities.

“When he gets away from his marker, we send the ball forward without doubting it.

“In Spain there is more possession and we would risk less with those long balls for Fernando.”

Only Cristiano Ronaldo hit more goals in England than Torres last year and pipped him to both major player of the Year awards.

Although Ronaldo is set to feature for Spain’s old enemy Portugal in Austria and Switzerland, Arbeloa believes this could be Torres’s time to eclipse him.

“I believe Fernando has had no rival in Europe this season,” added Arbeloa.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is more of a midfielder than anything else, but there is no striker who can get near Fernando.

“He has been the best in Europe and I am not saying that just because of his numbers – I say it because of his importance to the team.

“He took Liverpool to the semi-finals of the Champions League, scoring against Inter, Arsenal and Chelsea. He is always there.”

Arbeloa, who moved to Anfield form Deportivo La Coruna in the 2007 January transfer window, hopes his country’s Liverpool connection can inspire Spain to finally live up to their billing as one of Europe’s most dangerous sides.

And he feels the physical aspects of the game they have picked up in the Premier League can enable them to finally achieve that goal.

“At Liverpool we play very differently to how they play in Spain,” Arbeloa said. “In England, the football is more physical, with more contact and fight. That can only help the national team because we will have the same technically good players, but they are also used to more physical play and contact.

“You can see it at Liverpool. We have players with a lot of quality like Xabi Alonso and Torres, and they don’t shy away from the physical contact. They are very good players, but they fight for every ball. That makes us more complete.”