Is Fernando Torres Really the Best Striker at Euro 2008? What do the Fans of Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Everton, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Man City, West Ham, Newcastle & Sunderland Think?
Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher has stated this week that his club team-mate Fernando Torres is currently in his view the best striker in the world.
He had this to say on the Spanish forward, “He does not have to prove anything to anyone at Liverpool as he has done it in the Champions League and I am sure he has gone down well in Spain. I am Liverpool player and I am biased, I suppose, but for me he is the best.” Carragher went on to add, “Hopefully he will do it for the next four or five years for Liverpool, but at the moment I would not swap him for anyone.”
It’s debatable whether the striker is the best striker at Euro 2008, let alone the world but after an incredible first season in England and some excellent performances in Austria & Switzerland many may judge him to be just that.
So do you agree with Carragher that Torres is the best striker around? Would you rank him the number 1 striker at Euro 2008 or do you rate the likes of his compatriot David Villa and Russia’s Roman Pavlyuchenko higher?
Vote for your favourite and let’s hear your views.
Tags: Arsenal, Chelsea, Euro 2008, Fernando Torres, Liverpool, Man City, Newcastle, Premier League, Sunderland, Tottenham, West Ham
June 27th, 2008 at 16:01
David Villa has looked class but for me Pavlyuchenko has looked superb. Torres would be joint 3rd choice with Van Nistelrooy
June 27th, 2008 at 16:11
I guess torres has showed that as a lone striker he cant do the buisnes t relly high level.. But for liverpool as teams like fullham etc he is class.. Not the worlds best. No..
June 27th, 2008 at 16:17
sorry gazza but hes scored against chelsea an a couple of times as well as arsenal people jus think he is a goalscorer he offers more thsan that an is willin to word hard i think villa has been the best in the tournament but if u take everythin into consideration torres has had a better season an has had better than most its actually quite difficult to say whether he si the best or not but certainly up there top 3
June 27th, 2008 at 16:17
He is so good that his own manager subs him after 60 mins.
Torres has been a flop. He has been outshone by Villa and even Guiza.
Only English commentators try to build him up. The Spanish media want Guiza to start.
June 27th, 2008 at 16:20
come on we all know scousers think they are it! this was a statement from jamie carragher right? the player who puddlers think is the best centre half in the country lol lol, the now england manager stated that ledley king & vidic were pound for pound the best two centre halfs in europe, even terry henry said the best centre half he has ever played against is ledley king..fact. so i take what scousers say with a pinch of salt so as for torres being the best??? no! although he is qt he aint the best! i would have to agree with yidyank and say around the 3rd best in the euro’s? if you gave berba torres’ pace then you would have the best forward on the planet
June 27th, 2008 at 16:22
Main problem in euro 2008, is aragones team setup and tactics, generally do not play to torres stregths. The 2 main players who put balls through, the way torres thrives on, have generally not been on the pitch at the same time. I think if Torres and Fabregas start, then the delivery and passing, that torres has thrived on with gerrard in the premiership, he will be able to play to his strengths a lot more, and will give a better showing than so far in the tournament.
June 27th, 2008 at 16:22
I have great respect for Torres, I am a Liverpool supporter and like many other fans we are satisfied with the lad.. But I`d be a liar if I said he`s the best striker in Europe, David Villa is way better and more convincing in my opinion. Ideally the 2 of em in Liverpool?… now that would be a fantastic combination!
June 27th, 2008 at 16:54
no he isn’t, so overrated
June 27th, 2008 at 17:01
Why no topic about C.Ronaldo?
Is he the best player in the world when he continues to disappoint at the highest level?.
June 27th, 2008 at 17:18
sirbillynick carragher is far better than ledley king and the day mclaren played him ahead of carragher that is when i believed that the English are&will always be below average
June 27th, 2008 at 17:21
to get the best out of torres the spanish need to field fabregas to play the role stevie G plays at LFC.Torres cannot play lone striker.Torres is so lethal with all the other abilities u would want in a striker.
June 27th, 2008 at 17:36
lets face it torres is good but overatted. lets face it any player worth his salt wouldn’tr wish his main rivals to lose a player so that they could compete. smacks of cowardess and desperation, not world class.
June 27th, 2008 at 17:38
lets face it torres is good but overatted. lets face it any player worth his salt wouldn’tr wish his main rivals to lose a player so that they could compete. smacks of cowardess and desperation, not world class ohh did i forget abit of idiot for want cr to move to rm.
June 27th, 2008 at 17:49
silly scousers again your even more big headed then the aussies and thats saying something. The english commentators build him up as a world class player and you take it word for word. Sorry 2 games against russia 7 goals spain has scored and torres hasn’t even got on the score sheet. I’m not denying hes a good player i just don’t believe that hes the best player at euro 2008. Hello podolski has been playing left wing for germany and has scored more then torres and his team mate villa. It just proves how bad defensivly the premier league is (part from chelsea) and no i am not a chelsea fan (neutrals point of view
June 27th, 2008 at 17:59
emmm….i bet every bit of my flesh, i say Torres is the best centre foward in the world. i don’t know how on earth u guys say he’s overrated.
what kind of statistic do u guys used to stomp a judgement like that, plain stupid i guess.
33 goals !!! any 3 year old kid can say he’s damn good, how about grown up like urself?
Villa got 4 goals…so what, 2 of them are gift from torres anyway. torres tormented defenders & if u have the heart to look closer, u can see torres been guard by defenders with all kind of dirty trick.
Look at last night, when torres was substituted, what happeded? everyone seems to forget the threat and that’s is why guiza has the opportunity to score.
torres may got 1 goal to his name but i would like to see if Spain can ever go this far without his contributions. his name alone send shivers throughout europe football teams.
and lastly, try be open minded and look clearly that spain strength lies with their midfield and throuhout the tournament, torres got limited chances and so do his time on the football field. if spain plays like Liverpool where they depend a lot from the foward duties, may be torres had better chances and goal. from what i can see on my television in asia, spain like to play in the middle and sometimes, the midfields like to go foward or kick the ball like they are the strikers.
but, i guess u guys are the genius one right. may be u can score 40 goals thenext time u play a game with ur buddy next door huh?
June 27th, 2008 at 19:06
Torres is an amazing striking talent but if this is about peoples choice for best striker at the Euro’s then it has to be Pavlyuchenko.
June 27th, 2008 at 19:41
It seems that Liverpool is the only team Torres can score for on a regular basis.
His goal scoring record for his national team is pathetic considering he is supposed to be their main striker.
Yes he is only 24 and has the future ahead of him. Maybe his performance for the national team will improve in the future but his performance in Euro 2008 has not impressed me or anyone around me (except for Liverpool fans ofc).
Pavlyuchenko has been very impressive. Villa has been ok - Nistelrooy was great for Holland. Podolski has been fantastic, probably the best player of the tournament but he has not been playing as a striker. For me Klose has been better than Torres.
It’s only Villas Hat-trick that people seem to be impressed with in his performance. He is a great striker but lets not get blinded by his Hat-trick. And this hat-trick came against pathetic Russian defense.
It is Spain’s defensive work that has got them to the finals. I’m very impressed by their defense which i thought to be their main weakness. Torres and Villa have been good but not great.
June 27th, 2008 at 20:23
Torres is, for me, among the top three strikers in the world. The tournament is not over yet and we may see something different if he is paired with Guiza in the final.
David Villa has had an excellent tournament, but I think his style and temperament would be suspect in the premiership with the more physical aspects of the game. Take his current injury into consideration.
Torres hasn’t scored as many as he could, or should have, but he has worried and scattered defences in every game.
Aragones clearly doesn’t value him as highly, perhaps because of his previous knowledge of Torres, prior to Torres’s move to England, perhaps because he has such a talented squad he is simply doing what’s best for the team. So far it’s working. Many of us who have seen how good he has been in the premiership last season have been surprised by his substitutions. But as a Liverpool fan i’m glad that in a way he’s been protected.
I am a lover of football and an admirer of talented players everywhere. I’ve no real time for the territorial politics and slander.
So fairplay to Jamie, he’s certainly qualified to voice his opinion… when asked a question… in an interview!
June 27th, 2008 at 21:01
hahaha…………torres best striker…..you having a laugh. what has he done for spain even the manager dont like him as he keeps substituting him….villa looks a class above him in every dimension. sorry but everyone apart from liverpool fans will agree with me
June 27th, 2008 at 21:05
wtf is at boy on about. cant play as lone striker?? spain wer more productive wen david villa went of in jured. but maybe that was cos fabregas came in an dictated tha game. but if torres stayed on the field he wud hav scored at least 2 more goals no doubt about he tore the russians apart
for me hes the worlds best striker
June 27th, 2008 at 21:15
No ifs ands or buts Pavlyuchenko is the pick of the bunch.
If Torres learned top be a man and stay on his feet then he might be in with a chance
June 27th, 2008 at 21:20
I agree when Torres comes off the defence is tired by coping with his speed. Any forward replacing him is on then to take on a tired defence, so will look good. The other way round and the tired defence would not know what hit them. How many goals did he score this year in the Prem??
June 27th, 2008 at 22:27
He’s shown at Liverpool that he’s top quality, but he’s not had a good tournament; far too many misses. Still, one tournament does not a striker make, just ask Milan Baroc.
June 28th, 2008 at 01:54
All the strikers at Euro 2008 are all pretty average. None of them are uncontainable, as we have seen. Henry was good, but after leaving Arsenal seems to aged 10 years. Torres is not bad but when his legs go in about 2 years time he’ll be back down to average, never to rise again.
June 28th, 2008 at 08:50
The lad is overated.but still good.Why?
He is very,very good.But not the best in the world.I actually thought he did well on his own against russia,gave them all the run around,worked for the team,but when his chances came,he just couldnt finish,perhaps tiredness,which is more than understandable.Its easy to say about guiza coming on and finishing with 1st chance,as he was fresh,and the russians where knackered from chasing torres for an hour.There are a lot better strikers in europe at the moment,but what i hate is this lad is 23,younger than most top strikers around,so he no where near peaking yet,and hes very good.
So thats my view,as painful as it was to give a fair view.
COYB
June 28th, 2008 at 08:57
Just to add,itv commentators were so up his ar*e,it was painful to listen too.
They were doing with ronaldo until they went out,then torres,and then when fabregas came on,it was him they drooled over.
I think its clive tyldsley,man that guy is sh*t,and pleat didnt help,saying torres should have had a pen,when the defender made a great tackle.It frustrates me when commentators obsess about english based players just cos england didnt make it,i think it actually been a great tournament,apart from rubbish commentary.