Sergio Torres - The Sergio Torres Story: From the Brick Factory to Old Trafford

Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk

Sergio Torres and Juan Manuel Lpez, 2013

Translated by Ivn Molina Corona and Christopher Orne

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.

First published and printed in 2013
First published in eBook format in 2013

eISBN: 978-1-909626-08-9
(Printed edition: 978-1-90917-876-2)

eBook Conversion by www.ebookpartnership.com

... to Lena and Luna

... to Ral, Mabel, Rosana and Diego

... to Fernando, Celia, Jos, La Nena and grandmother.

... to Cristian Levis

... to John and Mimi

... to Russell Martin and Jazzy

... to Luisina

... to Jorge Timoner

... to Mario Stilman

... to Pezza

... to Keith

... to my good friends Agus, Gusi, Luis, Pata, Ari and Nico

... to the tricolores

... to the wolfpack

In different ways they all helped us. Marked our mistakes and offer their support. Thank you is not enough.

The fear of dreaming should be penalised. The prohibition of dreaming should be punished by the strongest sanction possible.

T HE INTENTION of this book is to tell a story, but thats not the main idea behind it. Using the course of a persons life as our backdrop, we want to talk about dreams and utopia, about sacrifice and suffering, about values and willpower, about ability and hardship, along with the hundreds of other untold tales which we havent uncovered yet.

It is a true story, covering a part of Sergio Ral Torress life. While working at a brick factory in his native Mar del Plata (in the province of Buenos Aires in Argentina), he dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. His destiny suggested otherwise, which is why he had to either accept his lot in life, or find the key to fulfil his dreams.

There was no other option but to take a chance and take a break from the monotony of his life. Aged 22, and with just 300 dollars in his pocket, he left behind his comfortable lifestyle, and travelled to England in search of his dream. He set off with much trepidation, without a home to go to, and a non-existent grasp of the English language. He went against the will of many, and with very little support, but he tried his luck, and ended up playing at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, in front of 42,000 spectators, and then at Old Trafford (fittingly nicknamed the Theatre of Dreams) against Manchester United, a game followed by 75,000 fans in the stands and millions watching on television.

Not content with flicking the ball over the head of German international Michael Ballack, he did the same thing again to Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, and found himself playing on the same pitch as world-class players such as Andrei Shevchenko, Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Lassana Diarra, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney.

In between times, he had experienced some of the most unusual things imaginable. He lived wherever he could, and with whoever would take him in. He discovered that life is like a big wheel that turns and turns. He learned that you have to make the most of the time when youre at the top, while remaining aware that when you get back round to the bottom you have to keep plugging away and hope that the wheel starts turning once again, mindful that it cant be impossible, as youve already made it to the top once before.

His main virtue was that he dared to dream. He turned his dream into an art form, leaving everyone in no doubt that the word impossible should be banned from the dictionary. A regret of this author is that while writing these paragraphs, Sergio has continued to write still more chapters in his career, and continued fulfilling new dreams. For a long while, the ending of the book remained uncertain as a result of the delay.

The process of writing this book took maybe a little longer than expected. That is because the contract never signed between the protagonist and author only had one line: Proceed with the project only when you want to. The clause was self-evident, to the point of being elementary. There is no point of doing it without conviction.

Moreover, from here on in, Sergios future is as uncertain as anyone elses. The one thing we know for sure is that he will continue to dream. Other dreams await him, because all in all dreams are what keep most people going. To dream is to live, and whats more its free, in a world where it seems that we are almost at the point of paying just to say hello. Dreaming is a way of getting by. It is a way of keeping going. In between the time dedicated to football and to his family, Sergio also dreamed of immortalising his story in print.

This book, it should be noted, does not conform to certain formalities of others. The path of Sergios life, when all is said and done, doesnt conform to that of most people either. This book is not a biography, nor does it belong to any particular genre of literature. It was written purely to fulfil another dream nothing more, nothing less. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Juan Manuel Lpez

Wretched are those who are afraid of taking risks, because they will never be disappointed, nor be disillusioned, nor suffer like those who pursue their dreams.

A TTENTION PLEASE. Aerolneas informs that the flight to London ... A female voice was announcing the departure. And that announcement, completely normal to everyone else, became an unmistakable one deep down inside him. The message was clear. There was no room for doubt. There was no turning back. Giving up was not an option and it was time to make way for the madness that was about to begin. Was it nonsense? That was how he was made to understand it. Best case scenario, it was a utopic idea. For Sergio Torres, who wasnt capable of measuring utopias or madness, it was only a dream. It was what he had been yearning for since he was very young. This was the beginning of the path to the Theatre of Dreams.

The previous day, in Mar del Plata, relatives and friends saw him off without understanding it too well. They wished him good luck because that was what they had to do, but alongside their voices there were also un-trusting gazes. Several questions came to mind, some of them implied, while others were expressed exhaustively with different words: Is he doing the right thing? Isnt it quite risky? Of all people he is doing this? He has always been shy. What will he do to cheer himself up? And if it goes wrong? How is he going to make it? What will he eat? Where will he sleep? Doesnt he realise hes a little old for this? Is he conscious of what he is trying to do? Has he gone mad?