Clubs retiring shirt numbers to honour a special player is pretty commonplace in football.
Naming a stand after a club hero is – as Liverpool did with Kenny Dalglish recently – also a regular gesture.
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But how about naming a stadium after a player who never represented the club?
Riddle me that.
Real Madrid take on Spanish minnows Fuenlabrada in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night.
And their stadium is named after a familiar face – or foe in Real’s case.
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That’s because Fuenlabrada’s ground is literally called the Estadio Fernando Torres, named after former Liverpool and Chelsea striker and the town’s most famous son.
Torres was born in Fuenlabrada but never represented the club, instead snapped up by the Atletico Madrid youth academies when he was just 11-years-old.
But the 33-year-old was immortalised in his home town back in 2010 to recognise his rise to national treasure status.
Fuenlabrada are currently second in Group 1 of Segunda B in the Spanish league pyramid and the ground has a capacity of approximately 2,500.
This Copa del Rey clash, then, is almost certainly the biggest game in the club’s history.
As Atletico’s prodigal son, Torres could effectively help knock their great city rivals out without even contributing a playing part.
READ MORE:
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- Alvaro Morata reminds me of Fernando Torres at his peak… defenders should be VERY afraid
- What Fernando Torres said to the player who knocked him out will make you love him even more
