Fernando Torres. Photo: Getty Images
The excitement of being Confederations Cup hosts next month stems largely from the star attraction of some of the big names in football strutting their stuff in Mzansi.
Spain will be a major drawcard for those who may have felt that their television sets were the closest they would ever come to seeing Fernando Torres, Iker Cassillas, Cesc Fabregas, Carles Puyol, Xavi Alonso, Andres Iniesta, Marcos Senna, David Villa and Sergio Garcia in action.
These are just a few of the names that make up the exciting European Champions squad destined for our shores.
Add arguably the best starlet in the game, 19-year-old Bojan Krkic Perez, or simply Bojan if you are a Barcelona supporter, and you will understand why La Roja are ranked number one in the world.
Before the Euro 2008 triumph, Spain endured an incredible 44-year barren spell on the international stage. But this group of talented Spaniards has made up for all those painful years. La Roja, or the Reds, have not been defeated in their past 31 games. Spain completed their Euro campaign with a 100% record under coach Vicente Del Bosque.
This record had has been kept intact in their World Cup qualifiers. It seems likely to run for a few more games, even with the Confederations Cup around the corner. They open their account with a seemingly easy task against the all-whites of New Zealand on June 14 before they play Iraq three days later. Hosts Bafana Bafana will have to raise their game when they face the European champions on June 20 if they are to stop the Spanish juggernaut.
Liverpool hitman Torres is certain to ask Joel Santana’s defence a lot of questions. Whether they have prepared well enough to respond with the correct answers will be known in just over a month. The player nicknamed El Nino (The Kid) at Atletico Madrid after he scored 75 goals for the club in 174 appearances has already started his Confederations Cup campaign. He is one of the familiar faces on our screens shyly affirming ”ke-Nako”, in Sesotho, in support of the tournament coming to Africa.
The 75 goals he scored for Atletico before he joined Liverpool in 2007 give an indication to the size of the man inside The Kid on the field of play. He marked his arrival at Anfield by being the first player to score more than 20 goals in a season since Robbie Fowler’s 1995-96 feat. Torres finished the season with 33 goals from 46 appearances. He is currently on 16 goals from 36 matches after missing several games due to injury.
In national team colours, fans are more inclined to remember his strike that earned Spain a 1-0 victory over Germany in the Euro 2008 final. It is, after all, the goal that propelled the high-flying Spaniards to the Festival of Champions taking place in South Africa next month. Torres has banged in 18 goals in 61 matches for his country in total.
The Liverpool star will no doubt add to the entertainment value of the Confederations Cup.