There are few foreign players who could adapt better or quickly in EPL than Fernando Torres who scored 33 goals in all competitions on his first season with Liverpool. Yet as the prolific Spain striker ponders how he can improve next season, he is swift to pay tribute to the part that Rafael Benítez played in his rapid and spectacular progress. Torres maintains, he might not have made such immediate impact without the intensive training and guidances of the Liverpool manager.

“There are days when you think: ‘My God, this guy [Benítez] doesn’t let you breathe’,“At times like that, you don’t realise that all he wants is for you to improve,” said Torres of his Liverpool boss.

“When you are in a team where things are going mostly well, players tend to relax. But you must always push yourself. Never become complacent; you try to do your best every single day. At a club like Liverpool, you can’t sit back after scoring 20-odd goals and say: ‘Well, that’s it.’ After you score 20, Benítez is at you during the next training session and stays on top of you all day, all week. He tells you to go off on your own and do new exercises. I want to progress in life, not relax, not be complacent, and you need someone close to you telling you to keep at it. It is impossible to do it otherwise. We don’t always fancy someone that close but, in the long term, I am sure that everybody will thank him for it,” said the El Nino.

Fernando Torres carried his form into the EURO 2008, scoring two goals as Spain were crowned European champions. His second goal - a trademark effort embracing power and pace - was enough to see off Germany 1-0 in the final in Vienna.

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