I Miss The Player I Used To Be, Chelsea Did Not Adapt To My Game – Torres

Fernando Torres has admitted that he misses his prolific days at his past clubs, but is ready to stay and fight for a place in Jose Mourinho’s team.

The Spanish striker scored just 11 goals in 41 appearances for Chelsea last season, with some of his appearances coming off the bench, something he says started when he moved to Stamford Bridge.


“Today, I am a different player but I am not going to lie to you: the player that I was, the one who started all the matches with a guaranteed place, I really miss sometimes,” Torres told French magazine So Foot.

“At one point, I even sat myself down to watch videos of my goals: I wanted to understand what I was doing before when I was scoring.

“I concluded that the only thing that had changed was the colour of the shirt. Everything is a question of adaptation to the playing style of a team. There are the styles which suit me well and others less, that is all.”

Torres, who has played for Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, also explained that it was difficult to integrate himself into the Chelsea team when he arrived.

“Before my arrival, Chelsea played with [Nicolas] Anelka and [Didier] Drogba in attack,” he said. “I arrived to play alongside Anelka in a system with three midfielders. We played only one match with that system.

“At the time, David Luiz and myself went to see [manager Carlo] Ancelotti together because we had been the last arrivals, we were told we would be important, but, in reality, we weren’t playing. They finished by saying to us: ‘We are going to finish the season with the team that started it.’

“I understood nothing of what had happened. I started to get to know the bench. I reassured myself by saying things would soon change. [Andre] Villas-Boas arrived, then [Roberto] Di Matteo, but it was always the same: one day I played, the next not.

“I felt bizarre, I had the feeling of getting tired quicker, of being heavier. I had no gas. You have to fight against a lot of things to get off the bench, sometimes even against yourself.”
Blues boss Jose Mourinho, has already said he wants Torres to stay, although he also added he was looking to add a deadly striker over the summer. Torres says he is ready for competition.

“Clearly [Mourinho's] aim is to sign another attacker for next season, but I am going to continue to work to make him change his opinion,” he continued.

“There is not a lot to analyse. It is not possible to read it another way: he is not completely satisfied with our performances and that is all. All that is left for us to do is to prove that we can be the striker he is looking for.”

Daily Sport