Sergio Torres (footballer, born 1981)

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. 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 for Wycombe Wanderers, Peterborough United and Crawley Town.

For the Spanish footballer, see Sergio Torres (footballer, born 1984).

Sergio Torres
Torres at Dartford in February 2017.
Personal information
Full name Sergio Raul Torres
Date of birth (1981-07-11) 11 July 1981
Place of birth Mar del Plata, Argentina
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Quilmes de Mar del Plata
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2002 Quilmes de Mar del Plata 6 (0)
2002–2004 Club Atlético Banfield (Mar del Plata) 8 (1)
2004 Molesey
2004–2005 Basingstoke Town 61 (203)
2005–2008 Wycombe Wanderers 88 (6)
2008–2010 Peterborough United 24 (1)
2009–2010 → Lincoln City (loan) 8 (1)
2010–2014 Crawley Town 122 (7)
2014–2017 Whitehawk 101 (4)
2017–2020 Eastbourne Borough 86 (5)
Managerial career
2019 Eastbourne Borough (caretaker)
2019–2021 Eastbourne Borough (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:30, 5 November 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Torres was born in Mar del Plata.[2] After a two-month trial with Boca Juniors aged 15,[3] Torres began his career in Argentina at Quilmes de Mar del Plata and later Club Atlético Banfield 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.[4][5][6] In November 2003, he decided to leave the club and fund his own trip to England in the hope of playing professionally;[3] Torres arrived in England with just £180 and stayed in a shared a house in Norbury, London owned by his agent.[5][6] Then Brighton & Hove Albion 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".[3][7]

He subsequently signed for Isthmian League side Molesey in late 2003 alongside fellow Argentinian Cristian Levis after a friend put them into contact with the Molesey owner.[8] With Molesey unable to pay Torres any wages, manager Steve Beeks arranged a trial for Torres and Levis at Basingstoke Town, who they signed for in February 2004 after two months at Molesey.[8][3][9] While at Basingstoke, Torres worked at Boots, stacking shelves in order to earn a living and cycled to work.[7][10] He and Levis lived with a supporter of the club for four months, shortly after he was married.[5] 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.[11]

Wycombe Wanderers

In July 2005, Basingstoke Town played in a 7–2 pre-season friendly defeat against Wycombe Wanderers, during which Torres impressed then Wycombe manager John Gorman, who stated that he thought that he could be "worth a look in training".[12][13] He was offered a two-year professional contract the following month.[7][14] He made his debut for Wycombe as a 58th-minute substitute in a 0–0 League Two draw with Cheltenham Town on 29 August 2005.[15][16] He received the man-of-the-match award on his first start for the club in a 1–0 home victory over Barnet on 17 September 2005,[3][15] before scoring his first goal for the club on 14 January 2006 with the second of a 2–0 home victory over Notts County.[15][17] 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.[18] He scored once in 29 appearances for Wycombe across the 2005–06 season.[15] Without Torres in the side, Wycombe qualified for the League Two play-offs but were eliminated in the semi-finals to Cheltenham Town following a 2–1 aggregate defeat.[19]

In September 2006, Torres signed a one-year extension to his contract at Wycombe, keeping him at the club until summer 2008.[20] He suffered a knee injury in September 2006, which limited his involvement in the first team that season.[18] He returned to first-team action on 6 January 2007 as a substitute in a 1–1 league draw at home to Rochdale.[21] He made 23 appearances across the 2006–07 season.[21]

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.[22][23]

Peterborough United

In July 2008, Torres and Wycombe team-mate Russell Martin joined League One side Peterborough United for a joint fee of £200,000, with Torres valued at £150,000.[5][24][25] 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.[26] 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.[26] The club were promoted to the Championship at the end of the season following a second-placed finish in League One,[27] with Torres having scored once in 18 appearances.[26]

On 17 September 2009, he joined Lincoln City on a one-month loan.[28] He scored his first goal for Lincoln on 3 October 2009 with the only goal of a 1–0 home win over Aldershot.[29] He returned to Peterborough the following month after the expiry of his loan deal.[30] He returned to Lincoln on 28 October 2009 on a loan until the end of the season.[31] He suffered an ankle injury in November 2009 which ruled him out for 6 weeks.[32] 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.[29] He was transfer listed again by Peterborough at the end of the 2009–10 season.[33]

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.[34] He was transfer listed by the club at the end of the season following their promotion.[35]

Crawley Town
Torres in April 2011

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, a then record fee for the club.[36][37][38] 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 with a record 105 points.[39][40] The club also reached the fifth round of the FA Cup where they lost 1–0 to Premier League club Manchester United, though Torres did score the winning goal in their 2–1 fourth round victory over Championship side Derby County.[5][41][42] Torres made 45 appearances for Crawley across the 2010–11 season and scored 6 goals.[43]

Crawley achieved their second consecutive promotion to League One at the end of the 2011–12 season after finishing third in League Two.[44] He scored 4 goals in 46 appearances for the club across the 2011–12 season.[45] At the end of the season, Crawley took up an option to extend Torres' contract.[46]

Torres made 28 appearances for Crawley across the 2012–13 without scoring.[47]

At the end of the 2013–14, Torres was released by the club[48] following a season in which he made 24 appearances without scoring.[49]

Whitehawk
Torres playing for Whitehawk against Dartford in 2016

In June 2014 Torres signed for Conference South side Whitehawk, citing his desire to remain living in Brighton and the lack of offers from Football League teams as the reasons for dropping down three divisions.[50] The club's owners also offered him an office job with KSD Group.[2] Whilst at Whitehawk, 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 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 team of the season in 2016, alongside teammates Danny Mills and Nick Arnold.[51]

Eastbourne Borough

On 7 June 2017, Torres joined fellow National League South side Eastbourne Borough.[52] Torres left Eastbourne on 14 August 2021, after he decided to relocated to Spain with his family.[53]

Personal life

Torres lives in Brighton with his wife Lena and his two daughters, Luna and Nala.[2] 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.[2][54] He is of Italian descent through his grandmother, and holds an Italian passport.[7]

Torres is a supporter of Boca Juniors, having trialled with the club aged 15.[55][3] In 2013, he published his autobiography with co-author Juan Manuel Lopez, titled: The Sergio Torres Story: From The Brick Factory to Old Trafford.[5][56][57] A biographical film of his career titled The Unknown Torres was subsequently produced by filmmaker Jasper Spanjaart.[58][6]

Torres is a close friend of current Southampton manager and former Scotland international defender Russell Martin, whom he played alongside at Wycombe Wanderers and Peterborough United.[6][59] Torres coaches at the Russell Martin Academy in Brighton, run by Martin.[60][61]

Career statistics
As of match played 6 August 2019
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Basingstoke Town 2003–04[11] Isthmian League
Premier Division		 204—204
2004–05[11] Conference South 382—382
2004–05[9] Conference South 3200—0032
Total

61!!8!!!!!!0!!0!!!!!!61!!8

Wycombe Wanderers 2005–06[15] League Two 24110103[lower-alpha 1]0291
2006–07[21] League Two 200003000230
2007–08[22] League Two 445101000465
Total 886205030986
Peterborough United 2008–09[26] League One 151201000181
2009–10[29] Championship 900000—90
Total 241201000271
Lincoln City (loan) 2009–10[29] League Two 8111000092
Crawley Town 2010–11[43] Conference Premier 39472—2[lower-alpha 2]0486
2011–12[45] League Two 38350211[lower-alpha 1]0464
2012–13[47] League One 23020201[lower-alpha 1]0280
2013–14[49] League One 22010001[lower-alpha 1]0240
Total 1227152415014610
Whitehawk 2014–15[62] Conference South 34100—3[lower-alpha 3]0371
2015–16[62] National League South 35240—2[lower-alpha 4]0412
2016–17[62] National League South 32120—2[lower-alpha 2]0361
Total 10146000701144
Eastbourne Borough 2017–18[62] National League South 42421—4[lower-alpha 5]0485
2018–19[62] National League South 31130—5[lower-alpha 6]0391
2019–20[62] National League South 13020—00130
Total 8657100901006
Career total 4903233410124055737
  1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  3. Appearance(s) in Conference South play-offs
  4. Appearance(s) in National League South play-offs
  5. Two appearances in FA Trophy, two in Sussex Senior Cup
  6. Three appearances in FA Trophy, two in Sussex Senior Cup

Honours
Peterborough United
Crawley Town

References
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  2. "Sergio Torres ready to write a new chapter with Whitehawk". thefa.com. The Football Association. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  3. Broadbent, Rick (3 October 2005). "From Boca Juniors to Wycombe (via Basingstoke and Boots)". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  4. "El futbolista marplatense con un documental sobre su vida". Noticias de Mar del Plata (in Spanish). 5 March 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  5. Osborne, Chris (27 December 2013). "Sergio Torres: How brick maker realised Manchester United dream". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
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