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Published 12:04 IST, September 16th 2020

Fernando Torres snubs Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho when naming the coach he most reveres

Spanish football icon Fernando Torres has snubbed Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez to pick Luis Aragones as the best coach he has ever played under.

Reported by: Minaam Ansari
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Spain's Fernando Torres enjoyed immense success during his time with Liverpool. 'El Nino' rose to fame under the watchful eye of Rafael Benitez at Liverpool, scoring against Chelsea on his Liverpool debut. Torres quickly followed this up with a move to west London to join the very team he scored against on his Reds debut. While Torres has played under some of the game's most astute tacticians, when asked which is the manager he most reveres, Torres snubbed Benitez and Mourinho as his favourite managers. 

Also Read | Fernando Torres - The Last Symbol: All you need to know about the documentary

Fernando Torres snubs Benitez, Mourinho for Aragones

Former Spanish national team star Fernando Torres has named ex-Atletico Madrid and Spain manager Luis Aragones as the best boss he has played under during his decorated football career. Torres emerged onto the scene in Spain under the guidance of Aragones at Atletico Madrid and went on clinch the Euro 2008 title with the Spanish national team under the same manager. 

Despite picking Aragones, Fernando Torres enjoyed one of the best stints of his career with Liverpool. In three seasons at Anfield, the former Liverpool striker netted 72 goals for Benitez. The player-manager duo united again rather briefly at Chelsea before Jose Mourinho took charge at Stamford Bridge. 

Also Read | Frank Lampard hits back at Klopp, labels Liverpool boss ‘hypocrite’ over Chelsea spending

Fernando Torres speaks on team management 

As quoted by Spanish media publication AS, the former Liverpool star, in his Amazon documentary "Fernando Torres: The Last Symbol", insists that Aragones is the best ever coach he's played under. However, he did assert that it was indeed a virtue to learn something or the other from every manager. 

Fernando Torres also spoke on a possible managerial stint in the future. It is a tedious task to manage a team, having witnessed the complications first hand, the former Atletico Madrid star was quoted as saying. He further went on to laud Aragones, claiming that the former Spanish boss played an instrumental role in making him understand the various perspectives, including but not limited to the media and his relationship with colleagues, to name a few.

Also Read | Salah scores 3, Liverpool beat Leeds 4-3 in Premier League thriller

Fernando Torres speaks on Liverpool exit 

Speaking to TalkSPORT, Fernando Torres revealed the complications at Liverpool that led to his move to Chelsea. He stated that the club sold off their best players, including Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso, along with letting manager Rafael Benitez go. Liverpool then needed six to seven years to develop a title-winning team and he did not have the patience to wait for so long in his career, Fernando Torres asserted. 

Also Read | Liverpool wins wild opener, Arsenal coasts as EPL begins

Image courtesy: Spurs Instagram/Fernando Torres Twitter/LaLiga.com

12:04 IST, September 16th 2020