A Tale of Two First Touches

How much can a first touch reveal?  Let’s look at the cases of Antonio di Natale and Fernando Torres.  Both subs in Sunday’s headline game, the two came on to very different ends.


Di Natale put in work, making a meal of the space left by the Spanish defense with a deft first touch.

Exhibit A

Torres made a mess of his first foray.  Beaten in the box from a hard charging Gigi Buffon, whose forceful field play denied Torres a redemptive strike.  Yes, you read that right: in a one-on-one, Gigi came out on top, no hands involved.

Exhibit B

Both moves emblematic of their greater career trends: the ascendant Italian and crest fallen Spaniard.  The contrast could not have been more stark.