The Return of El Nino

Form is temporary, class is permanent, they say. Fernando Torres, since his earth-shattering £50m move from Liverpool to Chelsea, has had both his form and his class questioned, leaving fans up and down the country wondering how someone can fall from such a height. It seemed beyond comprehension how a player who, in his time at Liverpool, tormented defences throughout the land on weekly basis, yet suddenly seemed to have 'lost it'.

Earlier in the season, 'El Nino', as he was once affectionately named at Atletico Madrid, danced round David De Gea at Old Trafford, only to blaze the ball high and wide with an open goal gaping. It was one of the moments of the season; a collector's item that will be re-lived on Comedy Football DVDs for eternity, and a moment that highlighted the Spaniard's lack of form on the field of play. Perhaps furthermore, it also demonstrated a mental fragility, a weakness of the mind. During the week, however, Torres danced round Barcelona's goalkeeper Victor Valdes and finished in cool fashion, albeit after running half the length of the field unopposed.

And today, in similar fashion, as Torres swept round Paul Robinson, there was a conviction about his finishing that had returned. His touches were coming off and he looked a reformed player, finishing with a match ball and a bottle of Champagne after a hat-trick of emphatic finishes allowed his Chelsea side to sweep past a doomed Blackburn Rovers side. That goal in the Nou Camp might just have saved him.

For all of his faults this season; his poor touches and lack of clinical shooting, his Club have stood by him. When Roman Abrahmovic shelled out such a gargantuan fee, nobody questioned Torres' ability or his standing in the upper echelons of World Football. However, as the goals failed to materialise as they so frequently did North of the border at Anfield, people started to wonder. But how fickle football is.

What this week has summarised is essential to understanding the Psychological aspect that is so vital in Sport in general: if you do not believe in yourself, you cannot achieve. You can be the most gifted centre forward in the world, but without that belief you are nothing; which is something that has been demonstrated in a number of Sports and by a number of leading characters. The goal in Barcelona was essential in Torres' re-emergence; a significant turning point in his journey back to success and one that has reflected in his rampant goalscoring mood today.

With the season drawing to a close, the Spaniard must be longing to continue. And what would be a better way to end a fascinating season for both himself and his club, than to score the winner in the Champions League final, a trophy so craved by his club's Billionaire owner? It is surely another chapter waiting to be written.