He is the man born in our country who scored the most corners. He was a center-forward who learned to play as a right-back thanks to Serbian coach Vladimir Popovic, with whom he won the green-and-white club in 1974.
Ángel María Torres was nine years old when he had to leave his hometown of La Paila to move to the San Antonio dels Cavallers district of Florida (Vall d’el Cauca), because his father , Camilo Torres, was going to work in the ingenuity Central Castile. There the dreamy boy began to play ball on the pavement surrounding his home. That’s why his mother always told him, “Piles with broken shoes and pants, which we don’t have to buy anymore.” But the passion won and there were not a few occasions when the protagonist of these letters arrived almost at midnight, then eternal confrontations, with broken clothes and shoes without soles.
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“The skins with rejo and flip flops were not lacking,” he explained to the Spectator the being who did not neglect the study. He was a good student who liked mathematics, algebra and geometry. While his classmates did not want to see numbers in his modest notebooks, he loved to do all sorts of arithmetic operations. The numbers fascinated them, I loved football (still).
The Torres family moved to Cali and, as soon as he reached the age of majority and it was legal for him to work, Ángel María started doing it in a textile company. He collaborated in the home economy and had more freedom to walk the path of football as a career. He played in matches played by his older brother. He stood out as a center forward and moved to the United Quarters team. The then observer of the Sport Cali, Victor Celorio, wanted it for the smaller divisions and the talented young person sold his sport rights to him to the mentioned club, by $ 3,000.
In 1970, Torres played in the National Games with the Vall de l’Cauca team, was a scorer and Santa Fe and Esportiu Pereira offered him $ 40,000 to take home. He was filled with rage because he had already signed with Cali and complained at the verdiblanca institution, at the sports venue it was not for four months. One day he returned with the conviction that he would win much more thanks to his goals and enjoyed the process until he reached the professional training ground, although he almost died at sea to go and play some matches on the island of Gorgona.
(Pere Zape: between sugar and mud)
“It was in the minor divisions, we went on a tour there and on the way back to the ship it ran aground and sank. We almost stayed here. Fortunately the whole team was able to get back safe and sound,” the man said. that in 1971 wore the t-shirt of the selection of Colombia in the South American Championship Sub-20 in Asuncio’n (Paraguay), that same year represented the country in the Pan-American Games of Cali and that in 1972 was in the Olympic Games in Munich (Germany).
The Vallecaucano liked to play in the middle of the attack and “gambetear to the archer to get me into the bow with the ball and everything”, but his football concepts changed thanks to Vladimir Popović, one of the Yugoslav coaches who came to Colombian football at that time.
Before the presence of Galician Jorge Ramirez (maximum goleador in the history of the Sport Cali), to Torres it was called on to him to run towards the right band and to be placed like pointer by this side. Popović taught him the movements he had to make in this position and the Ñato, As they said in the equipment, responded with historical activities and the sugar picture was champion of the local rent in 1974.
With the Cali shirt the Ñato he was happy, because in addition to playing football he shared with human beings who filled him with laughter. And even in matches. In a against Esports Tolima in Ibagué, Germán Burrito González noticed that Hébert Barona was distracted and shouted to him: “Hébert, long live the party”. Baroness, also to the cries, replied, “Long live!” Torres could not contain his laughter at this anecdote which they later commented on in the locker room and in talks by friends when professional football was already a memory.
In 1976, Carlos Salvador Bilardo came to the technical management of Esportiu Cali and implemented his extensive blackboard talks, video explanations and some decisions that for the Ñato they were not so understanding. At 77, during a match at Pascual Guerrero against Cúcuta Deportivo, the footballer, greatly angry, left the stadium after a decision by the narigón (nickname of the Argentine strategist who was world champion in Mexico 1986). “In the first half things weren’t going well for me, but in the second half I improved and even scored. Unfortunately he took me out. I didn’t like that and I chose to leave the stadium immediately and go. for my house. “
With Billiards the Cali faced Mouth Juniors in the end of the Glass Liberating of 1978. To the Paschal one they tied 0-0. At La Bombonera Torres he didn’t take the corner shots at ease: he couldn’t take the right momentum to hit the ball, because police officers with dogs had been stationed here. The Argentine team was superior, thrashed 4-0 and retained the title. And it is that the Ñato was specialist in these stopped balls, since along with the Argentinean Ernesto Cococho Alvarez stayed rehearsing them after training. Witnesses from those days say that out of ten attempts at Olympic goals they scored nine.
And they moved that into the realm of truth. The Argentine, who holds the record in national football, scored nine goals this way (eight with Cali and one with Emelec of Ecuador). And Angel Mary, five. One of them in a historic match against Atlético Nacional, at the end of the 1978 tournament. The verdolaga team took the lead with a goal from the remembered goal scorer Oswaldo Marcial Palavecino. In the last minute, corner kick for Cali. the Ñato it accommodated the ball, it put the perfect effect to him with his right booty and it turned a new golás, that gave to the vallecaucano picture the subtitle him (the champion was Millionaires) and the classification to the Liberators of 1979.
(“Checho” Angulo: God, family and football)
Torres played this continental competition, received offers from Independent (Argentina) and Santos (Brazil), but Alex Gorayeb, legendary president of Cali, did not let him go to the club until 1982, when he had a brief stint. for Santa Fe and Millionaires. In 1983 he returned to the sugar trade and in 1985 he retired with Cúcuta Esportiu. “For the 86th he had arranged with a director of the Quindío Sports, but unfortunately he arrived the Chiqui Garcia, who told me he was calling me. I’m still waiting, “said Torres, who has no fond memories of the Colombian national team.
“At 74 and 75 he was playing better than all the right wingers in the country, where he was very good: Willington (Ortiz), Ernesto Díaz, Ten Castañeda … But he was better and the coach (Efraín Caiman Sanchez) did not call me in the first instance. He did it when someone got injured. Then I went reluctantly, I told him I didn’t want to be and I came for my club, “explained Ñato Torres, who did not suffer from retirement. He was then a physical education teacher, coach of the minor divisions of Cali and worked in a notary, because a fan of the green club wanted to have him here as a partner.
At present, Ángel María Torres is dedicated to watching football. Admire Manchester City and Barcelona. The one who needs unbalanced extremes, as he was. This Saturday he will watch the match in which his beloved Esportiu Cali will look to secure qualification for the next phase of the League. A game during which his mind will play the Olympic agonizing goal he scored in 1978 against Atletico Nacional.