Miguel Torres (footballer, born 1986)

Miguel Torres
Torres in 2024
Personal information
Full name Miguel Torres Gómez[1]
Date of birth (1986-01-28) 28 January 1986 (age 38)[1]
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Right-back
Youth career
1998–2005 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 Real Madrid C 34 (1)
2006–2007 Real Madrid B 19 (0)
2006–2009 Real Madrid 52 (0)
2009–2013 Getafe 102 (1)
2013–2014 Olympiacos 10 (0)
2014–2019 Málaga 70 (0)
Total 287 (2)
International career
2007–2009 Spain U21 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Miguel Torres Gómez (Spanish pronunciation: [miˈɣel ˈtores]; born 28 January 1986) is a Spanish former footballer. Usually a right-back, he was equally at ease on the other flank.[2]

He played 223 La Liga matches over 11 seasons, in representation of Real Madrid, Getafe and Málaga. He also competed professionally in Greece with Olympiacos.

Club career

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Real Madrid

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Born in Madrid, Torres joined Real Madrid's junior teams at the age of 12. He made his first-team debut against Écija Balompié as a starter, in a Copa del Rey game on 25 October 2006, because of injuries to defenders Fabio Cannavaro, Cicinho and Míchel Salgado. He also played in the return leg as a substitute after replacing Sergio Ramos in the 80th minute,[3] and started in both cup matches against Real Betis.[4][5]

Torres made his La Liga debut in his fourth consecutive appearance, playing the whole 90 minutes in the 1–0 home victory over Real Zaragoza on 14 January 2007.[6] He kept his place in the side the following week against RCD Mallorca, with that performance leading coach Fabio Capello to state: "It is not easy to find a player with as much personality and talent in attack and defence as Torres".[7]

On 10 February 2007, against Real Sociedad, Torres made his first assist: after a quick run on the left flank he provided a left-footed (he was right-footed by nature) cross for Ruud van Nistelrooy, whose header found the net as Madrid came from behind to win it away 2–1.[8]

With Torres as an important piece, Real Madrid won their 30th league title; however, he was unable to play in the decisive game with Mallorca due to a hamstring tear.[9] He signed his first professional contract on 12 July 2007, joining the main squad permanently from Real Madrid Castilla.[10]

Although Torres appeared in more league matches in the following season, he would start significantly less as Madrid repeated league honours, primarily due to the signing of Argentine Gabriel Heinze.[11] During the 2008–09 campaign, still under Bernd Schuster first and later Juande Ramos, he did not fare any better;[12][13] additionally, he switched back from number 38 to 22 which he previously wore with Castilla.[14]

Getafe

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On 31 August 2009 – transfer deadline day – Torres moved to neighbours Getafe CF on a five-year contract, with Real having the option to rebuy in the first two.[15] He made 26 appearances in his first season, with qualification to the UEFA Europa League after a sixth-place finish.[16]

Torres was challenged by new signing Juan Valera for the right-back position in the 2011–12 season, under new manager Luis García,[17][2] but still contributed 23 league matches as the Madrid outskirts team again retained their status. On 16 April 2012 he scored his only goal in the top division, opening a 5–1 home defeat of Sevilla FC.[18][19]

Olympiacos and Málaga

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On 9 August 2013, Torres joined Olympiacos F.C. from Greece on a three-year deal worth a reported 500,000, reuniting with Míchel who also coached him at Getafe and Real Madrid Castilla.[20] After only ten competitive games he returned to Spain's top flight a year later, signing a one-year contract at Málaga CF with the option of two more.[21]

During his later spell at the La Rosaleda Stadium, Torres suffered several injury problems and was also deemed surplus to requirements by manager Juan Ramón López Muñiz.[22] On 4 July 2019, the 33-year-old announced his retirement from football.[23]

International career

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Torres made his debut for the Spain under-21 team on 6 February 2007 in a 2–2 draw against England,[24] remaining a regular in subsequent fixtures.

Personal life

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Torres and Echevarría in 2024

In 2021, Torres and actress Paula Echevarría became parents to a son, also named Miguel.[25] The couple took part together on the third season of Mask Singer: Adivina quién canta, won by fellow Real Madrid veteran Fernando Morientes.[26]

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[27][28][1]
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Real Madrid B 2006–07 Segunda División 19 0 0 0 0 0 19 0
Real Madrid 2006–07 La Liga 18 0 4 0 3 0 25 0
2007–08 20 0 3 0 3 0 26 0
2008–09 14 0 0 0 1 0 15 0
Total 52 0 7 0 7 0 66 0
Getafe 2009–10 La Liga 26 0 5 0 0 0 31 0
2010–11 32 0 2 0 5 0 39 0
2011–12 23 1 0 0 0 0 23 1
2012–13 21 0 4 0 0 0 25 0
Total 102 1 11 0 5 0 118 1
Olympiacos 2013–14 Super League Greece 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
Málaga 2014–15 La Liga 16 0 3 0 0 0 19 0
2015–16 23 0 1 0 0 0 24 0
2016–17 22 0 1 0 0 0 23 0
2017–18 8 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
2018–19 Segunda División 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 70 0 5 0 0 0 75 0
Career total 253 1 23 0 12 0 288 1

Honours

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Real Madrid

Olympiacos

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Miguel Torres". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Torres: "Ya jugué de lateral izquierdo"" [Torres: "I've played as a left-back before"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 19 October 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  3. ^ Trueba, Juanma (26 October 2006). "Écija penetra en la galaxia" [Écija enters galaxy]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  4. ^ Santamaría, Jordi (12 January 2007). "El Madrid apuesta por los jóvenes pero no ve puerta" [Madrid bet on youngsters but goal eludes them]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  5. ^ Astruells, Andrés (19 January 2007). "Ridículo Madrid" [Ridiculous Madrid]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  6. ^ Llamas, Fernando (14 January 2007). "La tesis 'post-galáctica' da crédito a Capello" ['Post-galactic' thesis gives credit to Capello]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Capello: 'Hemos ganado con mérito'" [Capello: 'We deserved to win']. El Mundo (in Spanish). 22 January 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  8. ^ Rodrigálvarez, Eduardo (10 February 2007). "Regalo de Beckham a Capello" [Beckham offers one to Capello]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  9. ^ "R. Madrid 3–1 Mallorca". El Mundo (in Spanish). 17 June 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  10. ^ García, Daniel (13 July 2007). "Torres firmó su contrato profesional hasta 2012" [Torres signed his professional contract until 2012]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Schuster manda a Saviola a la grada" [Schuster sends Saviola to the stands]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). 18 September 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Un problema más para Schuster" [Another problem for Schuster]. La Razón (in Spanish). 8 November 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  13. ^ "'De la Red pensaba que tenía más amigos'" ['De la Red thought he had more friends']. El Mundo (in Spanish). 28 January 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Biografía" [Biography] (in Spanish). Official website. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Miguel Torres jugará en el Getafe las próximas cinco temporadas" [Miguel Torres will play in Getafe the next five seasons]. Marca (in Spanish). 31 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  16. ^ "Míchel: "Es un día histórico"" [Míchel: "It's an historic day"]. Marca (in Spanish). 15 May 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Valera: "En el Getafe hay un proyecto ilusionante"" [Valera: "We have a hopeful project at Getafe"]. Marca (in Spanish). 16 August 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Five-goal Getafe crush Sevilla". ESPN Soccernet. 16 April 2012. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  19. ^ Rincón, Jaime (16 April 2012). "El show de Pedro Ríos" [The Pedro Ríos show]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Miguel Torres joins Míchel at Olympiacos". UEFA. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  21. ^ Ballesteros, Jesús (14 August 2014). "Miguel Torres ya es jugador del Málaga" [Miguel Torres is already a Málaga player]. Marca (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  22. ^ Suárez, César (30 April 2019). "El fin de la pesadilla y la nueva vida de Miguel Torres" [The end of the nightmare and Miguel Torres' new life]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  23. ^ Fernández, Juanje (4 July 2019). "Miguel Torres dice adiós al fútbol" [Miguel Torres says goodbye to football]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  24. ^ Rae, Richard (7 February 2007). "Lita arrives late and does his level best for Pearce's England". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  25. ^ Zuazo, Eñaut (20 August 2021). "Las primeras vacaciones de 'Miki', el hijo de Paula Echevarría y Miguel Torres" [The first holidays of 'Miki', the son of Paula Echevarría and Miguel Torres]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Fernando Morientes y Ana Torroja sorprenden a todos y ganan la tercera edición de 'Mask Singer'" [Fernando Morientes and Ana Torroja surprise everyone and win the third edition of 'Mask Singer']. Marca (in Spanish). 6 July 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  27. ^ a b c d "Miguel Torres". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  28. ^ Miguel Torres at FBref.com Edit this at Wikidata
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