Fernando Torres tipped to have managerial career by former Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez

Former Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez has tipped Fernando Torres to have a career in management. 

The former Liverpool and Chelsea striker is currently in charge of Atletico Madrid’s U19 team.  

Marquez, who currently manages Barcelona Athletic, the Catalan giant’s ‘B’ team, said that Torres along with another former Liverpool player impressed the Mexican on their coaching course together.

The 43-year-old told Mundo Deportivo: ‘Fernando Torres has great abilities. Equally, Alvaro Arbeloa.

‘You could already see they stood out during the course.’

It’s not the first time Torres has been tipped to have a successful career in management.

Former Atletico coach Armando de la Morena told AS in March: ‘A coach like Fernando, knowing his career a bit, as a player and always with the respect that he has acted, has the conditions to be a great coach.

‘I know it from the players too, who tell me wonders about him, how he transmits, how he gives them the concepts. So what I see in him is that if everything is going the right way, then we have a future coach for Spanish football and for Atletico and hopefully for the national team as well. Whatever what he wants.

Torres could be set to join former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard into senior management

Former Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez has tipped Torres to have a career in management

‘He spoke very well to you even when he was still a kid, 17, 18 years old. He is always respectable both on and off the field, for his manners and behaviour. After all, a coach has to be that. An example both outside and inside the field. And he meets those conditions.’

 Torres and Arbeloa were team-mates at Anfield, from 2007 to 2009, when the latter left the club to join Real Madrid – 18 months before the striker joined Premier League rivals Chelsea.

Atletico Madrid legend Torres, was previously assistant for Atletico’s U19 side, when they won their league last season.

Torres is now in charge of the team, following a host of former Liverpool team-mates into management, including Arbeloa, Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso.

Arbeloa holds the same role at Real Madrid, where he had previously coached the U17 side – following in the footsteps of club legend Raul Gonzalez.

Alonso was most recently in charge of Real Sociedad’s ‘B’ side, winning them promotion to the Segunda two seasons ago. 

Former Liverpool and Spain team-mates Torres (left) and Arbeloa (right) are now managing the U19 sides for LaLiga rivals Atletico and Real Madrid

Gerrard has enjoyed the greatest success from that Liverpool squad, winning the Scottish Premiership title with Rangers.

The former Liverpool captain, who formed a deadly partnership with Torres towards the end of the 2000s, is now at Aston Villa who sit 15th in the Premier League.

Liverpool’s team featuring the likes of Alonso, Arbeloa, Gerrard and Torres came closest to winning a league title in the 2008-09 season, where they finished four points off eventual champions Manchester United. 

Torres is one of Atletico’s most iconic players of all-time and was idolised by fans ever since he broke into the team in the 2001 to fire them back to LaLiga after they had been relegated to the second division the previous season.

He remained a fan favourite even after joining Liverpool in 2007 and when he came back to the club in 2015 some 45,000 fans flocked to the Vicente Calderon just to see him presented.

He finally won a trophy with Atletico in his final season with the club and came off the bench in their 3-0 win over Marseille in the Europa League final.