Former Liverpool and Spain teammates Fernando Torres and Alvaro Arbeloa clashed during a heated match between their respective sides in the Champions Cup quarter-final second leg....CONTINUE READING
Torres, now manager of Atletico Madrid’s Under 19 side, faced Arbeloa, who is currently Real Madrid’s youth boss. Despite being all smiles before the game, the match turned into a seriously feisty affair, resulting in Torres being sent off for shoving Arbeloa.
Atleti fan and former captain Torres was furious with Real’s second goal and almost came to blows with Arbeloa. Torres told Arbeloa, “I’ll blow your head off!”, to which Arbeloa replied, “start whenever you want.” As tempers boiled over in the youth fixture, Arbeloa was shown a yellow card, but Torres saw red and was instructed to leave the touchline area.
This prompted protests from the Atletico bench, but the 39-year-old was met with insults by Real fans and called one supporter a “clown.”
Real emerged victorious in the match, winning 4-2 on aggregate after the score finished 2-2 following extra time. They will now face Las Palmas in the semi-finals. Torres, on the other hand, could face further punishment for his conduct.
Former Chelsea striker Torres retired from football in June 2019 after a stint in Japan with Sagan Tosun, followed by his return to Los Rojiblancos. He was appointed head coach of the Juvenil A in July 2021 but has drastically changed his appearance in retirement by bulking up and looking like a bodybuilder.
With his massive arms and shoulders, it’s hard not to imagine that Torres would have been happy to follow up on his threat towards Arbeloa.
Atleti are currently five points behind Real in the Division De Honor Juvenil table after 30 games, and the rivalry is very much present at youth level.
It remains to be seen what kind of punishment Torres will face for his conduct, but it’s clear that the feud between the two former teammates is far from over.
