Torres breaks his silence on the Ballon d'Or and reveals the secret behind the genius of Guardiola and Enrique

Fernando Torres never stops hunting for the small details that separate great managers from the rest. Years spent inside the green rectangle behind him, the Spaniard has begun a new journey on the touchline, testing his experience and his career to build a coaching identity of his own.

Success, the young Atletico Madrid manager believes, does not come by chance. It arrives when a person holds on to their dream and dedicates themselves fully to it, a philosophy he is trying to apply in his current coaching experience.

Torres spoke about the managers who left the biggest mark on his career during his conversation with the newspaper "Marca", singling out Jurgen Klopp as one of the figures who caught his attention most.

Lucky enough to visit Liverpool during Klopp's final season, Torres got the chance to follow the German up close. He attended team meetings, spent time at the hotel and watched the way Klopp announced the starting line-up.

"What I saw in Klopp's teams was wonderful: the energy, the honesty, the pressing and the enthusiasm, and most important of all, the way the players engage with the idea," he explained. "I really loved the all-out attacking style of play that he offers."

What impressed him most, he added, was the mutual respect between manager and players, and everyone's belief in the idea the manager puts forward. Klopp made him realise that the image a manager wants his team to project starts on the training ground.

Torres is not interested in the Ballon d'Or

On the ongoing debate around the Ballon d'Or, Torres declined to join the race of nominations. His focus, he stressed, sits with the Spanish national team and its players.

"Honestly, I am not very interested in this subject," he said. "Spain won the World Cup, and we were the best. We have Lamine Yamal, Fabian Ruiz, Rodri, Pedri and Paina, and there are many players who deserve recognition."

Luis Enrique drew warm praise. Torres put his personality and steadiness among the biggest reasons for his success, along with his ability to anticipate problems and search for solutions before they arise.

On that point, he added, Enrique resembles Pep Guardiola. Neither waits for the opponent to expose their weak points. Instead they keep developing their ideas constantly, even when everyone thinks they have worked out their way of playing.

Torres's list of the best managers

Torres chose ten managers and described each one with a word that captures what distinguishes him most:

Luis Aragones: the father

Vicente del Bosque: management

Carlo Ancelotti: intelligence

Jose Mourinho: the leader

Rafa Benitez: precision

Diego Simeone: passion

Pep Guardiola: genius

Luis Enrique: another genius, inspiring

Hansi Flick: wonderful

Luis de la Fuente: a role model to follow

He is also keen to keep an eye on Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, Torres confirmed, because he enjoys watching their matches. When he follows his former club, though, he turns from manager into fan and tries to enjoy the game away from the pressures of the profession.

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