Sergio Torres (footballer, born 1981)

Sergio Raul Torres (born 11 July 1981) is an Argentine footballer who is currently Player-Assistant Manager for Eastbourne Borough in National League South. He holds an Italian passport, since his grandmother was Italian.[2] He has previously 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 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Eastbourne Borough
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 58 (6)
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– Eastbourne Borough 86 (5)
Teams managed
2019 Eastbourne Borough (caretaker)
2019– Eastbourne Borough (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:30, 5 November 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Torres began his early career in Argentina at Club Atlético Banfield in his native city of Mar del Plata playing part-time while working in the family brick factory.[3] After two seasons he decided to leave the club and fund his own trip to England in 2004 with the aim of impressing Brighton & Hove Albion during a two-week trial.[2] Although Albion showed no more interest, he signed for non-League Molesey before moving on to Basingstoke Town later that year.[2] While at Basingstoke, Torres worked at Boots, stacking shelves in order to earn a living and cycled to work.[2][4]

Wycombe Wanderers

In July 2005 Basingstoke Town played a pre-season friendly match against Wycombe Wanderers, during which Torres impressed then manager John Gorman and was offered a two-year professional contract.[2]

Peterborough United

In July 2008 Torres and Russell Martin joined Peterborough United for a joint fee of £200,000,[5] with Torres valued at £150,000.[6][7] The move to Peterborough was not a success, with Torres even considering returning to Argentina and consulting a sports psychologist after not being selected or being played out of position.[8] He was transfer listed by the club following their promotion to the Championship[9] and subsequently joined Lincoln City on a one-month loan on 17 September 2009.[10] On 28 October 2009 Torres signed for Lincoln until January. He was transfer listed again by Peterborough at the end of the 2009–10 season.[11]

Crawley Town

In July 2010, Torres joined Crawley Town on a two-year contract. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but BBC Sport suggested that it was around £100,000.[12][13] Torres enjoyed considerable success with Crawley during which time the Reds won promotion to the Football League and then League One under Steve Evans as well as reaching Round 5 of the FA Cup in 2011, to play at Old Trafford against Manchester United. Crawley disposed of three football league sides, Swindon Town, Derby County and Torquay United on the way. Torres played the full 90 minutes at Old Trafford in central midfield. Despite still being a non-league side at the time, Crawley narrowly lost 0-1, but had 52% possession and hit the bar in the last minute.[14] After a change of manager, Torres was released in 2014.

Whitehawk

In June 2014 Torres signed for Conference South side Whitehawk, citing his wife's desire to stay living in Brighton, the lack of offers from Football League teams and a wish to play under The Hawks manager Steve King as the reasons for dropping down three divisions.[15] Torres once more enjoyed FA Cup success at Whitehawk, helping his side reach Round 2 for the first time in their history in 2015.[16]

Torres on the ball for Whitehawk versus Dartford in 2016

Torres was appointed club captain at Whitehawk for the 2015–2016 season. After helping The Hawks reach the league play-offs two seasons on the run, Torres was named in the Conference South team of the season in 2016, alongside teammates Danny Mills and Nick Arnold.[17]

Eastbourne Borough

On 7 June 2017, Torres joined fellow National League South side Eastbourne Borough.[18]

Personal life

Torres lives in Brighton. In October 2013 he published his autobiography with co-author Juan Manuel Lopez The Sergio Torres Story: From The Brick Factory to Old Trafford.[19]

Torres is a close friend of Norwich City and Scottish International defender Russell Martin. They first met while both playing for Wycombe Wanderers in League 2 and then Peterborough United. In 2016 Torres joined the Russell Martin Soccer Academy as Lead Coach.[20] Torres stated that he always wanted to coach children and before he left Argentina was studying to become a PE Teacher. He is currently in his final year of a Sports Science degree.[21]

Career statistics
As of match played 6 August 2019 [22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wycombe Wanderers 2005–06 League Two 24110103[lower-alpha 1]0291
2006–07 League Two 200003000230
2007–08 League Two 445101000465
Total 886205030986
Peterborough United 2008–09 League One 151201000181
2009–10 Championship 900000—90
Total 241201000271
Lincoln City (loan) 2009–10 League Two 8111000092
Crawley Town 2010–11 Conference Premier 39472—2[lower-alpha 2]0486
2011–12 League Two 38350211[lower-alpha 1]0464
2012–13 League One 23020201[lower-alpha 1]0280
2013–14 League One 22010001[lower-alpha 1]0240
Total 1227152415014610
Whitehawk 2014–15 Conference South 34120—4[lower-alpha 3]0401
2015–16 National League South 35270—3[lower-alpha 4]0452
2016–17 National League South 32141—4[lower-alpha 2]0402
Total 1014131001101255
Eastbourne Borough 2017–18 National League South 42421—4[lower-alpha 5]0485
2018–19 National League South 31130—5[lower-alpha 6]0391
2019–20 National League South 13020—00130
Total 8657100901006
Career total 4292440510128050730
  1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  3. One appearance in FA Trophy, three in Conference South Play-offs
  4. One appearance in FA Trophy, two 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

Conference National 2010–11 : Champions

Football League Two 2011–12 : Promotion

Football League One 2008–09 : Promotion

References
  1. "Sergio Torres". Crawley Town. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  2. Barney Ronay (1 February 2008). "The Buckinghamshire Maradona in a league of his own". The Guardian. London.
  3. Chris Osborne (27 December 2013). "Sergio Torres: How brick maker realised Manchester United dream". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  4. Dave Peters (25 January 2008). "I just had an aeroplane ticket and a lot of hope". Bucks Free Press.
  5. http://www.russellmartinacademy.co.uk/about/
  6. Chris Osborne (27 December 2013). "Sergio Torres: How brick maker realised Manchester United dream". "BBC".
  7. Alan Swann (10 July 2008). "Torres Signs For Posh". Peterborough Evening Telegraph.
  8. http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/sport/football/posh/posh-almost-forced-torres-to-quit-1-5435906
  9. "A dozen listed by Posh". Sky Sports. 13 May 2009.
  10. "Torres joins Lincoln from Posh". BBC Sport. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  11. "Peterborough United transfer-list five players". BBC Sport. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  12. "Torres becomes a Red". Crawley Town F.C. 8 July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  13. "Crawley Town sign Peterborough United's Sergio Torres". BBC Sport. 8 July 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/9401072.stm
  15. http://whitehawkfc.com/hawks-sign-sergio-torres/
  16. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35035872
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. "Howell Makes First New Signing for 2017/2018 Season". Eastbourne Borough Official Site. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  19. http://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/sergio-torres-story
  20. http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/14590865.Martin_aims_to_make_it_fun_for_kids___and_he_d_love_to_discover_a_star_or_two/
  21. http://www.russellmartinacademy.co.uk/about/sergio-torres/
  22. Sergio Torres at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
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