Sergio Torres (footballer, born 1981)
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Sergio Raul Torres (born 11 July 1981) is an Argentine football coach and former player who was most recently the assistant manager for Eastbourne Borough in
National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
. He holds an Italian passport, since his grandmother was Italian. During his playing career he played in his Argentinian homeland as well as in the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
for
Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...
,
Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
and
Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...
.


Club career


Early career

Torres was born in
Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a sh ...
. After a two-month trial with
Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in th ...
aged 15, Torres began his career in Argentina at
Quilmes de Mar del Plata Club Atlético Quilmes (mostly known as Quilmes de Mar del Plata) is a sports club based in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Although other sports are practised in the club, Quilmes is mostly known for its basketball team, which cu ...
and later
Club Atlético Banfield Club Atlético Banfield is an Argentine sports club based in the Banfield district of Greater Buenos Aires. It was founded on 21 January 1896, by the British–origin inhabitants of that city (mostly English, and some Scots and Irish). The clu ...
in his native city of Mar del Plata playing part-time while working in the family brick factory and training to become a
PE teacher Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
. In November 2003, he decided to leave the club and fund his own trip to England in the hope of playing professionally; Torres arrived in England with just £180 and stayed in a shared a house in
Norbury Norbury is an area of south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross. Etymology The name Norbury derives from ''North Burh'', (North Borough). Some local histories note that ...
, London owned by his
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. Then
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
manager Mark McGhee offered him a two-week trial after seeing a highlights video, though he was rejected with McGhee telling Torres that he "would never make it in England". He subsequently signed for
Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 t ...
side
Molesey Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames. East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second retai ...
in late 2003 alongside fellow Argentinian Cristian Levis after a friend put them into contact with the Molesey owner. With Molesey unable to pay Torres any wages, manager
Steve Beeks Stephen John Beeks (born 10 April 1971) is an English former professional footballer and Pro Licensed coach. Beeks is currently working as Academy Director for IFK Mariehamn, a Finnish Veikkausliiga league team that competed in the 2017/18 U ...
arranged a trial for Torres and Levis at
Basingstoke Town Basingstoke Town Football Club is a football club based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Winklebury Sports Complex. Their motto, 'Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum', means 'Never a step backward' ...
, who they signed for in February 2004 after two months at Molesey. While at Basingstoke, Torres worked at
Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Boot or Boots may also refer to: Businesses * Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England * Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom * The Boot, Cromer St ...
, stacking shelves in order to earn a living and cycled to work. He and Levis lived with a supporter of the club for four months, shortly after he was married. He scored 4 goals in 20 league appearances for Basingstoke in the 2003–04 season, whilst he scored twice in 38 games across the 2004–05 season.


Wycombe Wanderers

In July 2005, Basingstoke Town played in a 7–2 pre-season friendly defeat against
Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...
, during which Torres impressed then Wycombe manager
John Gorman John Gorman may refer to: *John Gorman (director) (1884–1936), American movie director * John Gorman (entertainer) (born 1936), English vocalist and musician *John Gorman (politician) (1923–2014), Northern Ireland politician *John Gorman (footb ...
, who stated that he thought that he could be "worth a look in training". He was offered a two-year professional contract the following month. He made his debut for Wycombe as a 58th-minute substitute in a 0–0 League Two draw with
Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...
on 29 August 2005. He received the
man-of-the-match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the win ...
award on his first start for the club in a 1–0 home victory over Barnet on 17 September 2005, before scoring his first goal for the club on 14 January 2006 with the second of a 2–0 home victory over
Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
. He suffered an ankle injury in February 2006 that ruled him out for the rest of the season, despite the initial belief that he would be ruled out for just two weeks. He scored once in 29 appearances for Wycombe across the 2005–06 season. Without Torres in the side, Wycombe qualified for the League Two play-offs but were eliminated in the semi-finals to
Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...
following a 2–1 aggregate defeat. In September 2006, Torres signed a one-year extension to his contract at Wycombe, keeping him at the club until summer 2008. He suffered a knee injury in September 2006, which limited his involvement in the first team that season. He returned to first-team action on 6 January 2007 as a substitute in a 1–1 league draw at home to
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Bor ...
. He made 23 appearances across the 2006–07 season. Torres scored 5 goals in 46 appearances across the 2007–08 season as the club finished second in League Two and qualified for the League Two play-offs, though the club were eliminated in the play-off semi-final after a 2–1 aggregate defeat to
Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
.


Peterborough United

In July 2008, Torres and Wycombe team-mate Russell Martin joined
League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
side
Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
for a joint fee of £200,000, with Torres valued at £150,000. He made his debut for the club on 9 August 2008 as a substitute in a 1–0 League One defeat away to
Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 March 2009 with the second Peterborough goal of a 3–2 away win at
Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
. The club were promoted to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
at the end of the season following a second-placed finish in League One, with Torres having scored once in 18 appearances. On 17 September 2009, he joined Lincoln City on a one-month loan. He scored his first goal for Lincoln on 3 October 2009 with the only goal of a 1–0 home win over
Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...
. He returned to Peterborough the following month after the expiry of his loan deal. He returned to Lincoln on 28 October 2009 on a loan until the end of the season. He suffered an ankle injury in November 2009 which ruled him out for 6 weeks. He returned to Peterborough prior to the end of the season and made 9 appearances without scoring, whilst he scored twice in 9 matches across his two spells on loan at Lincoln. He was transfer listed again by Peterborough at the end of the 2009–10 season. Torres stated that his time at Peterborough "did not work out the way I wanted", and that he considered returning to Argentina and consulted a sports psychologist after not being selected or being played out of position. He was transfer listed by the club at the end of the season following their promotion.


Crawley Town

In July 2010, Torres joined Crawley Town on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee reported to be around £100,000 by
BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside f ...
, a then record fee for the club. In the 2010–11 season, Crawley were promoted to League Two, the fourth tier of English football, for the first time in their history after winning the
Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...
with a record 105 points. The club also reached the fifth round of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
where they lost 1–0 to
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
, though Torres did score the winning goal in their 2–1 fourth round victory over Championship side
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...
. Torres made 45 appearances for Crawley across the 2010–11 season and scored 6 goals. Crawley achieved their second consecutive promotion to League One at the end of the 2011–12 season after finishing third in League Two. He scored 4 goals in 46 appearances for the club across the 2011–12 season. At the end of the season, Crawley took up an option to extend Torres' contract. Torres made 28 appearances for Crawley across the
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
without scoring. At the end of the 2013–14, Torres was released by the club following a season in which he made 24 appearances without scoring.


Whitehawk

In June 2014 Torres signed for
Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
side Whitehawk, citing his desire to remain living in Brighton and the lack of offers from
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
teams as the reasons for dropping down three divisions. The club's owners also offered him an office job with KSD Group. Whilst at
Whitehawk Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was original ...
, the club reached the second round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history in 2015. Torres was appointed club captain at
Whitehawk Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was original ...
for the 2015–2016 season. After helping the club reach the league play-offs for two consecutive seasons, Torres was named in the
National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
team of the season in 2016, alongside teammates
Danny Mills Daniel John Mills (born 18 May 1977) is an English former professional footballer best known for his time at Leeds United. His main position was right-back, though he could also play as a centre-back. On 7 August 2009, he announced his retirem ...
and Nick Arnold.


Eastbourne Borough

On 7 June 2017, Torres joined fellow
National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
side Eastbourne Borough. Torres left Eastbourne on 14 August 2021, after he decided to relocated to Spain with his family.


Personal life

Torres lives in
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
with his wife Lena and his two daughters, Luna and Nala. His wife is Russian, though he first met her whilst she was working in a hotel in Germany where Wycombe Wanderers were playing on a pre-season tour, before she moved to England to study for a masters degree. He is of Italian descent through his grandmother, and holds an Italian passport. Torres is a supporter of
Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in th ...
, having trialled with the club aged 15. In 2013, he published his autobiography with co-author Juan Manuel Lopez, titled: ''The Sergio Torres Story: From The Brick Factory to Old Trafford''. A biographical film of his career titled ''The Unknown Torres'' was subsequently produced by filmmaker Jasper Spanjaart. Torres is a close friend of current
Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
manager and former Scotland international defender Russell Martin, whom he played alongside at Wycombe Wanderers and Peterborough United. Torres coaches at the Russell Martin Academy in Brighton, run by Martin.


Career statistics


Honours

;Peterborough United *
Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
runners-up: 2008–09 ;Crawley Town *
Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...
:
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
*
Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football L ...
third-place promotion: 2011–12


References


External links

*
Guardian statistics
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Sergio 1981 births Sportspeople from Mar del Plata Living people Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Association football midfielders Argentine footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Basingstoke Town F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players English Football League players Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Citizens of Italy through descent Italian people of Argentine descent National League (English football) players Whitehawk F.C. players Eastbourne Borough F.C. players Eastbourne Borough F.C. managers Argentine football managers Association football coaches