The decisive hour for the mutant Ferran Torres | Sports

Ferran Torres always like Cristiano Ronaldo. But he has recently begun studying videos to try to reproduce his movements. His friends say that at his home in Manchester he had proven goals for the identification exercise. Like Cristiano, he is prey to an obsessive personality.

The two goals he scored against Italy in the Nations League semi-final confirm the path he has taken since then Arrived in Manchester City In the summer of 2020 to discover it Guardiola Something that neither the Spanish coach nor the footballer knew very well until they met. His true talent is not shown when the ball is at his feet but when it is not in his possession.

Ferran returns to England decorated with Spain after being shown as false nine Thanks to his dissatisfaction with Guardiola since 2020. Until then, he had sparked the interest of several clubs, including Madrid, for displaying his repertoire related to speed and class. His six goals in 44 games last season for Valencia were less important than his eight assists.

It is enough to be skilled and strong to play extreme. But being skilled and strong is not enough to play in an extreme way with City. Ferran knew this well, spending two months practically without participating after signing for about 23 million euros, which, according to many brokers, was a bargain. The City players also knew that, even with more circumstances than his brilliance near the goal line, they stood for the first time before Guardiola took the leading positions as the extremes.

Sterling, Bernardo, Mahrez or Sane required a period of initiation into a set of maneuvers designed to involve them more than usual in their midfield jobs. He also signed Jack Grealish, the most expensive deal in England history, for £100m this summer.

Having topped the list of players who have caused the most fouls in the past three editions of the Premier League, the youngster from Birmingham now sits in fourth place. Without the deserted lawns that opened up to a backlash in every villa, Grealish has a hard time off-balancing. His bravery, daring, dribbling, and love of the game aren’t enough when it comes to interpreting moments, spaces, and associations in areas crowded with rival defenses. Passing it through the position false nineAt Anfield, he found it zigzagging, accustomed to receiving passes on his foot.

Ferran is ahead of him as a striker. At 21, he couldn’t match Mahrez’s dribbling prowess, and he couldn’t detail like Bernardo. But already in training, he started to emerge as a match finisher and Guardiola provided him with ideas to reach first place repeatedly and with minimal friction. His uncanny ability to attack open spaces earned him 13 goals in 36 games in his first season in the English language and he now has three goals in seven games. “He has some amazing numbers,” Guardiola said in May. “He came in as a winger but maybe he should consider playing as a striker. He has the intuition to know exactly where the ball will go.”

He set out to find a top scorer, lined up by Guardiola false nine In his last three matches with City – Arsenal, Leicester and Leipzig. In the next three – Chelsea, PSG and Liverpool– Replace it with Foden, Sterling, and Grealish respectively. None of it was comfortable. . Nor mice.

Like Cristiano, he prefers to start from the side to finish on the inside. Luis Enrique, who put Sarabia or Oyarzabal on the axis, offered him this possibility. With good results.

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