Can Torres homecoming at Atletico bring about El Nino renaissance?

Geography and climate experts will tell you El Nino is a force of nature, but Fernando Torres has not been worthy of that nickname for some time.

Roman Abramovich’s £50m folly is about to cut his final ties with Chelsea, and become an AC Milan player for keeps. The Rossoneri, coached by Filippo Inzaghi who was a very different type of striker to Torres, are then set to loan him out immediately, and send the Spaniard back home to Atletico Madrid, 18/1 chances with Coral to win the Champions League this term.

This is clearly a move Torres is making in the hope of rediscovering the sensational, fearsome form he was in at the Vicente Calderon. It was those scoring exploits at Atletico that attracted Liverpool, where he was equally rampant and thus became a Kop idol.

While it is obvious Torres has lost the spring in his step (namely his pace) from his younger days, he is adored even more in Madrid. So often in the pervasive shadow cast from across the Spanish capital by the Bernabeu’s bright lights, Atletico have nonetheless had some awesome attackers up front this century.

But what Sergio Aguero, Diego Costa, Radamel Falcao and Diego Forlan, who like Torres have gone on to or previously ply their trade in the Premier League, lacked was a link to the fanbase.

‘He’s one of our own’ is a popular chant in English football stadiums around the country, and something similar in Spanish was undoubtedly screamed from the Vicente Calderon crowd every time Torres played on home turf in Madrid.

On Atletico’s books since the age of 11, Torres spent a dozen years with them man and boy. Once the team was back in La Liga, he always managed double figures for goals.

This image of a hometown, homegrown hero contrasts sharply with the player he became at Chelsea. Torres never reached 10 Premier League goals in a sesaon at Stamford Bridge. He has scored once for AC Milan since joining them.

And this drying up of El Nino is why the Rossoneri are doing a swap deal with Atletico, and getting former Torino winger Alessio Cerci in return. You could be forgiven for thinking Torres’ new parent club are getting the better of this deal, but there may be method in Diego Simeone’s madness.