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The perfect bite of the shark, Ferran

The attacker is going through a great moment and wants to maintain his magnificent stats with Spain
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Wed, 11/10/2023 - 15:30

Ferran Torres is in excellent form. His performance this season makes him one of the current standout footballers, a key player at FC Barcelona with his goals and hard work. He returned to the national team in September, scoring a beautiful goal in the thrashing against Cyprus in Granada (6-0), and is now back for the matches that Spain will face against Scotland (this Thursday at La Cartuja) and against Norway (on Sunday in Oslo), both crucial for the Eurocopa qualification. The shark wants to keep biting. "I am very happy to be in the national team, to be with my teammates. I'm really looking forward to the match on Thursday."

His numbers in the red jersey are of a world-class star. He has 36 caps at only 23 years old and has scored 17 goals, which is a lot. Moreover, they have come at important moments, a player with a sharp instinct who contributes a lot to the national team's attack and wants to keep pushing forward as he always has, aware that being among the chosen ones is very difficult, and reflective when he recalls the time he was not being called up. "I used it to work hard, to do everything in my power to come back as soon as possible and do my best with the club, which ultimately is what allows you to be here."

There's not much secret for Ferran, always demanding more of himself. "With discipline, constant work, and a clear mind. Doing the best with what you can control and what is within your reach." That's why he mentions having a clear mind and emphasizes this point, mental balance being fundamental to perform at the elite level: "I believe the mind is the most important thing. In the end, a player is subject to a lot of pressure, being in the spotlight every day. I think it's very important to have a well-grounded mind and be calm when things go well and especially when they go wrong." Ferran was nicknamed "shark" this summer by his teammates, but he prefers to explain the reasons for a nickname he loves himself. "There's no particular story. It's the philosophy I've always had, that has always identified me: constant work, discipline... From there, in the preseason, it started as a joke with Eric (García), with Iñi (Iñigo Martínez), with Marcos Alonso, and some others like Sergi Roberto. It began with emojis and stuck. I started to believe it and I really like the nickname."

So much so that he showed up last Monday at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas wearing a very special sweatshirt, with a huge shark's teeth printed on the chest. "A friend gave me the sweatshirt, and it's perfect. I really like the nickname, I identify with it, and the young kids who are coming up can also identify with it."