Kolkata: Long before Ferran Torres broke Argentine hearts in the Fifa World Cup final on Sunday night, Kolkata witnessed his talent first-hand.Nine years ago, a teenage Torres turned out at a packed Salt Lake stadium in the 2017 Fifa U-17 World Cup final, where England scripted a dramatic 5-2 comeback victory over Spain in front of a record crowd of more than 66,600 spectators. The match remains one of the most memorable football evenings the city has hosted and, with Torres now scoring the most important goal of his life, those memories have come flooding back.“I still remember how quick and fearless Ferran Torres looked on the ball. Even though Spain lost that final, you could sense he was destined for bigger things. Watching him score the World Cup-winning goal brought back memories of that unforgettable night at Salt Lake,” said Priyansu Maji, who attended the 2017 final.Another spectator, Anurag Shirvastava, who was in Class 6 back in 2017 when he watched the final at Salt Lake with his father, said: “We went to watch the final because Kolkata had embraced the U-17 World Cup like no other city. None of us imagined that one of those boys would one day decide a senior World Cup final. It feels special that we saw him at the beginning of his journey. Although I am a die-hard Argentina fan, it was something special to see that young boy from 2017 score in the all-important final that denied Argentina the World Cup this year.”Torres, then regarded as one of Spain’s brightest youth prospects, was part of a talented generation that also featured Sergio Gomez and Abel Ruiz. While Spain fell short that evening, Torres’ steady rise eventually took him to the pinnacle of international football, where he delivered the decisive blow against Argentina on Sunday.The 2017 tournament transformed Kolkata into the heartbeat of the Fifa U-17 World Cup. The Salt Lake stadium hosted 11 matches, including the final, averaging more than 55,000 spectators per game and drawing a record 66,684 fans for the title clash, helping India register the highest attendance in the tournament’s history.For many football lovers in the city, Torres’ World Cup-winning strike was more than Spain’s moment of glory. It was a reminder that one of football’s newest world champions had first showcased his extraordinary talent before thousands of roaring fans in Kolkata, long before conquering the biggest stage of them all.“England’s comeback grabbed all the headlines then, but Torres was one of the players everyone was talking about after the tournament when we watched him live,” said Avishek Guha Thakurta, a Baghajatin resident.
