World Cup-winning former Spain striker Fernando Torres has been named head coach of Atlético Madrid‘s B team, the LaLiga club said in a statement on Tuesday.
“I accept it as a great challenge with a lot of ambition and the tranquility of knowing that we are ready,” Torres, who previously coached Atlético’s under-19s, said, adding that he understood that the objective of the B team is to develop players for the club’s first team.
During his time as coach of the U19s, Torres won two league titles, one Copa de Campeones and reached the semifinals of the UEFA Youth League.
Torres replaces Luis García Tevenet, who earned back-to-back promotions in his first two years and finished ninth in Spain’s third tier. Tevenet is set to join Diego Simeone’s first-team coaching staff.
Torres, 40, scored more than 100 goals in two spells at his boyhood club Atlético. He helped Spain win the European Championship in 2008 and 2012 and their first World Cup in 2010.
The forward also played for Liverpool, Chelsea and AC Milan, winning the Champions League and Europa League with the London club. He also lifted the Europa League with Atlético in 2018.