REINA BACKS TORRES

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has said that he expects the former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres to help the national team win the Euro 2012. The former Liverpool striker is currently with Chelsea after having completed his £ 50 million British record move almost 2 years ago. However, he has been in extremely poor form since signing for Chelsea.

Even though he managed to lift the FA Cup and the Champions League title in his first full season with the club, it has been regarded as a major disappointment in terms of the personal numbers. As a result, he has found it hard to get into the first-team of the national team as well.

The Spanish national team manager Vicente del Bosque has been using Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas as a false striker in most of the matches. However, Fernando Torres showed his quality in the 4-0 win over Republic of Ireland by scoring two goals. He was hugely responsible for Spain winning the Euro 2008 after he scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Germany in the final. Pepe Reina has backed Fernando Torres to help Spain lift the Euro 2012, despite his ongoing problems on the pitch.

“Everyone has ups and downs in his career and surely his is coming up again. I think he was in good form, in good shape. He’s looking really sharp in training and that’s the Fernando I know – I’m glad for him,” said Reina. Even though Torres was largely used as a substitute by Chelsea this season, the departure of Didier Drogba is expected to make him the undisputed number one within the Chelsea team next season. The signings of Eden Hazard and Marko Marin is further expected to help him score the goals because they can supply the ammunition that he deserves.