Miguel Torres (footballer, born 1986)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Torres and the second or maternal family name is Gómez.

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]

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

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

Real Madrid

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

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

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

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

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

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

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 2006–07, 2007–08^[27]
• Supercopa de España: 2008; runner-up: 2007^[27]

Olympiacos

• Super League Greece: 2013–14^[27]

References

1. "Miguel Torres". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
2. "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. "Miguel Torres". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
28. Miguel Torres at FBref.com

External links

• Miguel Torres at BDFutbol
• Miguel Torres at Futbolme (in Spanish)