ENGLISH FA CUP FINAL:JOSE REINA, the Liverpool goalkeeper, has accused Liverpool's FA Cup final opponents Chelsea of mishandling Fernando Torres since his €61 million move from Anfield and suggested that the former manager Andre Villas-Boas, egos and playing style are all responsible for the striker's problems at Stamford Bridge.
Torres has recently shown signs of the form that convinced Chelsea to pay a British record transfer fee for the Spain international in January 2011. The striker has scored four goals in his last three appearances for Roberto Di Matteo’s team including the equaliser that sealed the club’s passage into the Champions League final at the expense of Barcelona.
However, Reina, who remains close friends with his former Liverpool team-mate, believes that Chelsea would have received a greater return than just 12 goals in 64 appearances from Torres had they shown faith in his talent.
“I don’t think Chelsea as a club delivered for him,” the Spain international says. “When you move there is always a question mark. We knew how good he was here but he needed to change city, team-mates and the mentality of the team. That is a hell of a change.
“He had to get used to that but also keep delivering and the expectations when a team has spent £50 million on a player are also very high. The pressure was there but I don’t think it was only down to Fernando.
“We built a team for Fernando here at Liverpool. Along with Stevie [Gerrard], Fernando was our star player. We had no problems admitting that. He deserved that and he earned that credit. I’m not sure it’s like that at Chelsea.
“Fernando has always performed at his best when he has been at the heart of the team. I’m not saying Chelsea have to do that because Fernando can perform for any club in the world, but it is easier when you have that situation.”
Ahead of today’s Wembley showpiece Reina admits being disappointed with his own form at Liverpool this season but, in contrast to Torres at Chelsea, claims he has not been allowed to linger over mistakes. “The difference between Fernando and myself is that I have had the confidence of the people at my club all the time. I don’t think that has been the case for Fernando at Chelsea,” he adds.
“It is much easier to get over your mistakes when you know you have the confidence of your manager and your team-mates. With Villas-Boas especially, I don’t think Fernando felt that confidence.”
There was a point not so long ago when Reina’s counterpart Peter Cech had a line-up in front of him without any of the other members of the famous Chelsea spine. No John Terry. No Frank Lampard. No Didier Drogba. That was as recently as February.
While Roberto Di Matteo still has his choices to make in terms of team selection for today’s final, the names that have adorned the team sheet for so many years expect to be there. The season’s climax, with the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in two weeks’ time, has Chelsea’s veterans sounding like boyish enthusiasts.
Drogba reckons the experience of scoring in a cup final (something he has felt on numerous occasions) takes him back to childhood. “I feel like a kid scoring a winning goal,” he says cheerily. “We were just practising free-kicks out on the pitches and, with the last free-kick, Ramires scored and he reacted like a kid would react. It’s a dream.”
Lampard has been struggling to switch off when he gets to bed as he goes over and over the scenarios that are coming up.
He believes this could be the most historic period in the Chelsea story. “I think about it every night, I really do,” he says. “I’ve never been more aware about what a situation like this means. The FA Cup final is a game you are always going to want to win, and it’s a massive game against a big team. And then the Champions League is something we’ve always wanted and I’m actually desperate to win it, I make no bones about that.”
Guardian Service
