Torres: Why I'm so proud of Steven
Fernando Torres has added his voice to the tributes being paid to Steven Gerrard, admitting he has missed playing alongside the departing Liverpool captain ever since leaving the club.
The Spanish striker enjoyed the most prolific spell of his career during three-and-a-half seasons at Anfield, plundering 81 goals in just 142 appearances between 2007 and 2011.
But he insists he would not have been as successful on Merseyside had it not been for the legendary No.8 loading the bullets behind him.
The two players formed a deadly partnership under Rafael Benitez, helping claim some memorable results in the Champions League and coming close to Barclays Premier League glory in 2008-09.
Ahead of his former partner-in-crime's 17-year stay at the club ending, Torres was asked to reflect on his experiences of working with the skipper as part of LFCTV's brand new documentary, 'Gerrard: My Liverpool'.
And the 31-year-old paid a remarkable homage to his former teammate, conceding he is unlikely to find a player with whom he enjoys such a brilliant understanding ever again.
Torres, now back at boyhood club Atletico Madrid, also revealed how Gerrard changed his ambitions and explained what makes the Huyton-born midfielder such a brilliant captain.
Read on for excerpts from the exclusive chat and make sure to watch the documentary premiere at 7.30pm BST on Saturday May 23 for much more.
How much did you know about Steven Gerrard before you joined Liverpool?
Everybody knew about Stevie. [I was] playing in a different league, in a different country, and at that time I was thinking to play for Atletico forever, with no plans to move. But here in Spain we were starting to follow the Premier League a lot, a lot of Spanish players were going there and it was very attractive football to watch.
One of the big names was Steven Gerrard from Liverpool. There were others for other top teams but he was just different. I remember in the UEFA Cup final against Alaves, a Spanish team, he was so young and he scored one of the goals. Everyone was expecting this player to be one of the best and obviously he is and he was.
Why were you so successful as a partnership?
I think for him to have a player up front who likes to run into the spaces so he can use all his quality was good, but it was even better for me because I really need this player. You have Gerrard behind you, it's so simple to know that every time you only have to move and find the gap to receive the ball because it's going to be there in the right time and right place so the only thing I needed to do was to look for the space. That was very simple because we had a great team and [Xabi] Alonso and [Javier] Mascherano did a great job in the middle to give Stevie freedom.
All the games Stevie was injured, or I was injured, or he was suspended, or I was suspended, when I was in the stands watching him, I was wishing to be on the pitch. Every time he gets the ball I saw the space - and every time I was on the pitch and he was in the stands I missed the way he was looking for me. In my career, I will never find a player like him who understands my game like he did. I have been lucky enough to play with great players but with him it was different because I knew at that time that he trusted I could do anything and he was giving me the ball because he wanted me to take the responsibility and he was sure I was going to do well. That's a great thing for me, because I had the support of Stevie.
How important is he to Liverpool fans?
I'm sure he's going to be remembered forever as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, legends in the club. And that's huge, it's Liverpool - one of the biggest clubs in the world. I'm sure he's very proud of that and I'm very proud of him. I would like for Stevie to play for Liverpool forever and forever but sometimes in life you cannot choose what is better for everybody. You can see the reality, everybody understands his position, and even if they don't understand they respect his decision because they all love Stevie.
Everything he did; you can see the top teams and the clubs, it's difficult to find a player who stays in the good and the bad times. He had great times, bad times, but he was always ready for the next challenge and this is what Liverpool supporters ask of the players. Give your passion, your love, your entire life for the club and he did and with great results.