Manuel Torres Díaz

Manuel Torres Díaz (26 May 1926 – 13 April 2006) was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder for Atlético Madrid, Málaga, and Las Palmas, for whom he scored a total of 56 goals in 193 La Liga matches between 1947 and 1959. In 1950, he was selected to represent Spain in the 1950 FIFA World Cup, but a last-minute injury prevented him from becoming the first international player in Málaga's history. (Some sources wrongly claim that he was born on 19 March 1927.) Two years after their relegation, Torres helped Las Palmas win the 1953–54 Segunda División, thus returning to the top-flight, where he played for the next five years, until 1959. In total, he scored 55 goals in 204 matches for Las Palmas, including 29 goals in 137 La Liga matches. In total, he scored 56 goals in 193 La Liga matches for Atlético, Málaga, and Las Palmas, including four league hat-tricks, three with Málaga and one with Las Palmas, the latter coming on 13 April 1952, in a 4–2 win over Real Zaragoza, but he also netted hat-tricks in the second division, including one against Alcoyano; in the following day, the cover of the local newspaper La Hoja del Lunes featured the headline: TORRES 3-ALCOYANO 1.

Every time he was fouled, the entire stadium would scream Que la tire Torres! ("Let Torres throw it!"), as a reference to his prowess at taking free-kicks and penalties, so much so that he was considered among the best free-kick takers in the world by the likes of Helenio Herrera and Ferdinand Daučík. He often had excellent performances against Barcelona, a club that was interested in his services, because their close marking usually resulted in good free kicks, which Barça goalkeeper Antoni Ramallets found hard to stop. Furthermore, his midfield partnership with Manuel Naranjo was considered the best midfield line in Spain, along with Mauri-Maguregui.

Managerial career After his career as a player ended, Torres remained linked to Las Palmas, now as a coach of the club's youth team, which he oversaw in the early 1970s, winning the Youth Copa del Rey in 1971 after beating Real Madrid 1–2 in the final at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Death Torres died on 13 April 2006, at the age of 80.

Honours Málaga Segunda División: Champions (1): 1951–52

Las Palmas Segunda División: Champions (1): 1953–54