EXCLUSIVE: Ferran Torres on finishing secrets, mentality and inspirations | OneFootball

Football is about scoring goals and little else when you’re young.

As you grow older, players settle into different positions, further away from goal and few are fortunate enough to maintain their status as goalscorers.

But Ferran Torres is one of the lucky ones and the Barcelona winger has revealed his finishing secrets in an exclusive interview with OneFootball.

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“Scoring a goal is the best possible feeling in football,” he explains. “It gives you that boost and makes you puff out your chest.

“The first thing you have to do is look at the goalkeeper because most times, the goalkeeper makes your decision for you – depending on where the gap is.

“You have to stay calm. Don’t rush and try to shoot as quickly as possible. Sometimes you have no other choice than to take the shot quickly but it comes down to instinct with time.

“You can always come up with things like looking one way and shooting the other but ultimately, the important thing is that it goes in between the posts and into the net.”

Having broken through as the next great hope at Valencia, before joining Manchester City and later Barcelona, the 22-year-old is no stranger to the mental side of football.

“I’ve always believed that confidence is everything in football. When you feel confident, you do things that normally you wouldn’t think of doing.

“But on the other hand, when you’re down on confidence, you need to find your basics again which will slowly rebuild your comfort and get you back to those levels.

“When you’re at an elite club, you have to find a way to protect yourself because you’re under a lot of pressure and criticism from people.

“There are always players who try to get under your skin and try to put you off your game, so you have to be mentally strong.”

Already throughout his young career, Ferran has already played across the frontline for both club and country but barely hesitates when asked to reveal his best position.

“I’m a winger and I’ve always said that. My position is right winger and that’s where I feel most comfortable.

“That’s where some of my best football has come from but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel comfortable on the left and through the middle, or even in midfield.

“I could play in any of those positions without a problem.”

And managers? Well, it would be an understatement to say that Ferran is spoilt for choice.

But two in particular stand out and the Barcelona winger wastes little time crediting their influence in his early development.

“Without a doubt, Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola,” he says. “Those two managers have had a big impact on me, because they both focus a lot on their players.

“It was under their guidance where I learnt to play in many different positions. To this day, I still use what they taught me.

“If you’ve played in one position all your career but then you’re moved to a different position through the middle, you see less of the ball and there’s more people around you.

“These details are things you have to get in your head and then practice – I’m only 22 years old and still have a lot to improve on.”

Unfortunately for professional footballers, even they can’t escape doing their homework but the Foios-born winger was quick to explain how important doing your research is.

“It’s important to know how your opponents play as a team and also how they operate as individuals.

“We often prepare by watching the opposition, position by position, with each player analysing who they could face in their direct duels.

“What do I watch for? The weak spots of my full-back and their strong suits, to see where they’re most comfortable and where I can go.”

But above all, football is about the collective and Ferran is clear that the teams’ interests should and will always come above his own.

“At the end, football is a team sport and your movement will create space for another player, just as your teammate’s movement will create space for you.

“Even if the ball doesn’t come to you, you can help by creating space or doing something different which has helped to provide an opportunity.

“I’m a player who, if I see a player in a better position than I am, I’ll give them the ball because this is a team sport and you look for the best for the team.”

With Costa Rica on the horizon, Ferran is undoubtedly ready to contribute wherever possible.