Once lived a man called Torres

Fernando Torres, Spanish, twenty seven. The basic information of a footballer who was once considered one of the best strikers in Europe, but who is now considered just plain old average. A few years back, at international and at club level, he had every defender shaking in their boots. Pace, power and prowess. What every striker needs to succeed at the highest level, something he did do for a period of time. But over the past eighteen months, he's left it all behind, leaving us all asking the same question, is it ever coming back?

Today marks the day where Fernando Torres has been left out the Spanish national side, once again, for the friendly against Venezuela. He was once an integral part of the side, scoring the winner in the 2008 Euro final against Germany. Now, no-one seems bothered. He just isn't doing it anymore. Not being included in Spain's second to last friendly before the Euros is a worrying sign that even his own national team manager has no faith in him.

Torres has put away just four goals in twenty nine games so far this season. For Chelsea's fifty million pound striker, the return has been seriously below par. During his last season at Liverpool and in South Africa, he had been plagued with injuries and was also still trying to rediscover his form. But all front men dip in form, and before this bad patch, Torres' goal return was second to none. Due to his early statistics in his Liverpool career and his time at Atlético Madrid, Chelsea paid over the odds for him expecting him to pick his game up. But he hasn't.

Pundits, fans and players all thought with Drogba going to the African Cup of Nations, Torres would settle into the side more. This was the last chance, if Drogba departing for a few weeks couldn't improve Torres' performances, nothing would. In return it didn't happen. Daniel Sturridge stole the lime light and was much the preferred striker due to his unseen good form.

No-one can explain why it has all gone down the drain. It’s hard to imagine that a player of Fernando Torres’s ability would permanently lose all his potency in just a few months. Yet, has his confidence finally been dealt an unrecoverable blow?