The exclusion of Fernando Torres this week from Spain's match squad was a shock to many of his ardent fans around the globe. But really, on the face of it, why?
The Chelsea striker has played 21 competitive games since his record £50 million move from Liverpool in January, and has, without mincing my words, been a total disaster. In fact , with his shocking return of one goal, he is well on course to be the biggest flop there has ever been in English football. He is even currently managing to out-fox Steve Daley's fateful stint at Manchester City following his record transfer from Wolves in the late 1970s (although in fairness to Daley, he wasn't supposed to be a goalscorer).
The omission of the 87 times capped striker from Vincente del Bosque's 18 man crew had been coming. If match squads were selected on name only, Torres would be the first name on the team sheet. But they are not, and the 27 year old has not scored in nearly a year for his country. On form, it's clearly the right decision, and, in the long term, might even be the best thing that could happen. The Spanish are hardly short on options are they?
This is not a sudden occurrence, however. Torres' lack of form is not confined soely to his spell at Stamford Bridge. He has not been the same player since he limped out of Liverpool's Europa League quarter final against Benfica nearly 18 months ago. Four days previously, the much maligned Rafael Benitez had withdrawn him after an hour during a 'must win' Premier League match at St Andrews against Birmingham. The iconic image of Steven Gerrard's shaking head as Torres departed may well have been the beginning of the end of the Benitez era at Anfield. But in hindsight, was Torres' fellow Spaniard actually justified and only trying to protect his fellow countryman? Was the then manager acutely aware of the severity of Torres' injury problems and the issues they were causing?
Torres was subsequently ruled out of Liverpool's last five league games that campaign following knee surgery and the club missed out on a Champions League place. However, the striker faced a race to be fit in time for the start of the World Cup seven weeks later. The Spanish star won that race, but has the pressure he put on himself to make that squad destroyed his career? Has it left him worn out and a shadow of his former-self? It certainly appears to be the case. He failed to score in seven matches in South Africa and has never looked the same since.
Before that injury, Torres - always somewhat of an injury prone player in his time at Anfield - still boasted an incredible goalscoring record during his time in England. He hit the net 18 times in 22 league games during the 2009-10 season, and up to that point, his injuries, however regular, never seemed to particularly affect his comebacks. 72 goals in 116 games at Anfield during a prolific - often brilliant, but fragmented period at Liverpool are statistics second to none in the club's history. In fact, earlier that season, Torres had become the fastest ever player to score 50 league goals - faster than Rush, Owen or even the wonderfully gifted and precocious Robbie Fowler.
Between 2007 and 2009, it would be hard to argue that Torres wasn't the best frontman in world football. In addition, his partnership with Gerrard was as potent as any attacking force in Europe during those years. The dynamic and almost telepathic on-field relationship they had is probably the best combo there has been at Anfield since the days of Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush in the early 1980s. Yes, it was that good at times.
But despite his lack of domestic silverware, we shouldn't forget that Torres has won both the European Championships (where he scored the winning goal in 2008) and the World Cup with Spain. Has he simply, just lost his desire? The striker - despite ''proudly' displaying a Liverpool scarf during Spain's post match celebrations following their World Cup triumph, reportedly desired a move to Chelsea during the summer of 2010. He was persuaded to stay in the north-west, but, under Roy Hodgson, his form continued to dip dramatically.
There were moments of brilliance under the former Fulham boss - the double strike versus Chelsea being the stand out performance, as well as the brilliant volleyed winner at home to West Brom. But you could sense that this was a player who had lost the passion to play for his club. It was a club where he was idolised and worshipped, under the affectionate nick-name of 'El Nino'.
Although Torres' performances were well below par at Anfield during this period, he wasn't alone. The whole team struggled under Hodgson's stewardship and were 13th in the table by the time he was dismissed in early January. Ironically, following Kenny Dalglish's arrival, Torres immediately started to perform the 'Torres of old'. Three goals and two assists in four games under the guidance of the Liverpool legend appeared to have turned the corner and, once again, Torres was smiling. But was this step up in form due to Dalglish's influence and renowned man management skills, or, in fact, was it the player's desire to force through a move during the January transfer window? It appeared to be the latter - so you would have thought....
After requesting a transfer, 'Nando' finally grabbed the move he had been looking for. However, a lacklustre debut in a 1-0 home defeat to his former club only rubbed further salt into the wounds. The Spaniard - who had now been out of form for nearly the whole of the previous nine months, was now at his lowest ebb. Game after game he failed to score for his new club.
Eventually, in his 12th game for the Blues, he scored (all be it with the aid of torrential ran) against West Ham. Surely the flood gates would now open, but no.. He failed to score during the last four games of the season as Chelsea's title challenge faltered. His confidence was low once again, but so too, and most worryingly, appeared to be his effort and desire. Maybe it was indeed Dalglish who had got the best out of him in his final days at Liverpool - because despite now being at the club he reportedly so wanted to join, he now (in a new season) looks even more sub-standard than he did under Hodgson at Anfield. In fact, the opening day defeat at Stoke aside, Torres' touch has been akin to a schoolboy, while his movement, at times, would make Jan Molby feel embarrassed.
Perhaps all of these issues can be put down to one thing - burn-out. Torres made his debut for Athletico Madrid shortly after his 17th birthday and was captain at 19. But he has also (as we have gathered earlier in the passage) had his fair share of injuries, so he has not been shorn of career breaks. Many football analysts suggest that his lack of a summer break from 2008 through to 2010 are reasons for his lack of form - not to mention his lack of a pre-season at Liverpool during the summer of 2010. But surely, that's a contradiction in terms. Players such as David Villa and Xavi Hernandez - both older than Torres, have hardly suffered from so much summertime football in recent years have they?
Several pundits and media have pinpointed Chelsea's lack of a 'Steven Gerrard' or 'Xavi Alonso' in the Chelsea side. But to many outsiders looking in, this claim doesn't really cut the mustard. Torres' form is not fundamentally down to a lack of chances being created. He has had, and indeed missed, several 'simple' chances at Chelsea - four or five a game at times. While in his pomp at Liverpool, he would have had the confidence and pace to beat the last man, at Chelsea, he regularly gets tackled or loses control of the ball.
In truth, Chelsea probably create more chances than Liverpool did under Benitez - where his teams were often counter attacking outfits. Maybe this is part of the problem, as Torres is now just one of many fish in a large pond, whereas at Anfield he was, at that time, one of the two main men and the focal point of the side.
I heard Chris Sutton on Talk Sport this week, stating that Torres was 'still a great player and will come good'. He also rolled out that marvellous old cliche that 'you don't become a bad player overnight'. Coming from the mouth of Sutton (another big money failure), that's interesting, as he never managed to come good at the Bridge, despite endless opportunities given to him by Gianluca Vialli. There must also be a grave concern at Chelsea this time around too, despite the transparent media facade they appear to be creating.
Many Torres believers (and there is plenty of them) have all been saying for nigh on eight months now that Torres will come good, but people tend to forget (as I suggested earlier) that for nine months previously, his form was 'patchy' to say the least. Sure, he hasn't become a bad player overnight, but appears to have become a bad player since he motored down the M6 and the M40 to London on that cold winter's night last January (I know - perhaps he came by helicopter, but you get my point).
Torres' body language suggests, that even at a new club, he lacks desire and he is clearly, well past his best. This scenario does, quite interestingly, mirror the careers of two other of Anfield's former greats - Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen. Both of these players were also pretty much 'washed up' by 27, after a succession of serious injuries. Such a regular frequency of injuries will un-doubtebly take their toll and Liverpool, despite the fans much publicised displeasure when Torres left the club, must be turning cartwheels now.
Whether or not Dalglish could have continued his rehabilitation of Torres had he stayed, we will never know. But Luis Suarez, Craig Bellamy and Andy Carrol l(who despite the criticism, has at least scored three goals in 12 games and is far from the finished article) for Torres along with a handy £7 million appears, on the face if it, to be good business.
The recent arrival of Juan Mata at may help Torres somewhat, and he may improve marginally. But anyone who expects him to repeat the goalscoring feats of his Anfield days are living in a dreamworld. The Spaniard scored 56 goals in 78 league games during his first three seasons at Anfield, and I, like many Torres sceptics am 99.9% sure that those days are long gone.
Chelsea fans and Roman Abramovich will hope that their partial funding of Dalglish's second 'revolution' at Anfield will yet be re-paid and justified. But there is something worth noting. The three times Premier League winners could have picked up two and a quarter Luis Suarez's (three years younger remember...) for what they paid for Fernando Torres.
So the jury is still out in West London on the man who was voted the third best player in the world less than three years ago. But, let's be fair, they should have gone home along time ago with the verdict 'guilty as charged' ringing in their ears.
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