MADRID, 19 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The former player and coach of the Atlético de Madrid youth team, Fernando Torres, acknowledged that he was wrong in his confrontation with Álvaro Arbeloa, Real Madrid coach in the same category, during the quarterfinal duel of the Champions Cup, although he criticized the “continuous provocations” from the white bench, at the same time that he hopes that this will help him “to improve in the future”.
“I see the images and I don’t like what I see, I don’t recognize myself. It’s not my usual way of acting, I admit that I was wrong, it was a mistake to go into those continuous provocations that we had been having since games behind,” said the now coach in Statements released by the club about a match in which the Whites advanced to the semifinals of the tournament after winning 4-2 in the second leg, after extra time, although they ended up being sent off.
The former player had a scuffle with Arbeloa during the match, even pushing the Madrid coach, which caused the referee to decide to send him off. “It does not represent me, it is not what I try to convey, but I am clear that I will always defend mine, against everything and everyone. I am sorry that this has soiled the tie, I am a young coach and it will help me improve in the future Torres added.
However, the former striker was proud of the level of the rojiblancos during the tie, in a second leg in which they managed to “recognise the team”. “We were an aggressive team, united, that pressured with intensity, that knows how to manage game times, something that we have lacked during the season. We have been able to compete against some of the highest-level rivals in the country, we are left with a little thorn ‘ of what happened in the extension”, lamented.
However, Torres insisted that this has been “a very nice year again” and “one of learning” for his team. “This is how I take this stage on a personal level. The players have a very high level and great potential,” he said.
Specifically, he highlighted the meteoric growth of youth player Pablo Barrios, already a fixture in the first team. “It’s an incentive for the quarry. Everything that will come to him in the future will be good, he has a level and mentality. The fans want their great signing to be a youth squad, I notice it in the reaction when Pablo plays. Hopefully he can establish himself in the first team for many years”, he wished.
Finally, Torres recalled the match that the youth played against Genk, corresponding to the round of 16 of the Youth League, at the Cívitas Metropolitano, “the most important moment of the season.” “I could see their illusion and passion. It was their dream come true, they connected with the people. That’s how we are unstoppable. They dreamed that they could play in the first team,” the coach settled.