Torres still lethal - Castro

Posted Friday, January 23, 2015 by PA

Rayo Vallecano defender Ze Castro believes Fernando Torres' mid-career slump was just a blip and has reminded his team-mates just how lethal the Spaniard can be in front of goal.

The Portuguese, who was briefly a colleague of Torres at Atletico, will go up against the former Liverpool and Chelsea striker at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday evening.

Torres' stint at Chelsea following a B£50million move from Anfield was desperately disappointing and his prospective season-long loan move to AC Milan last summer failed to rekindle his goalscoring touch.

He has scored twice in the Copa del Rey since rejoining Atletico, however, and Castro is all too aware of the 30-year-old's many talents ahead of a Primera Division derby in south-west Madrid.

"I met him at Atletico, he's a very nice guy," said Castro. "I was amazed by the powers and abilities he had then and since then he's won almost everything there is to win, everywhere he's been.

"We must show great respect for him, for what he was, what he is, and what he will be.

"He's not lost any of his ability, but all footballers go through different phases.

"I have only good things to say about Fernando."

Rayo's last trip to the Calderon was a painful one as Diego Simeone's men plundered a 5-0 win towards the start of a campaign which ended with them winning La Liga.

But Castro knows Los Vallecanos are fully capable of upsetting the odds - and the reigning champions.

"It's a game that we will play to win," he told rayovallecano.es.

"It's a tough place to go and they were crowned champions on their own merit - but we will see who is the better side at the end of the match.

"If they win then we will congratulate them and move on but we will certainly not hide."

Rayo are on course to secure a fifth straight season in the top flight after closing out the first half of the league campaign in 10th place.

Castro believes there is more to come, as the club's current position puts them in good stead to exceed their eighth-placed finish in 2012-13.

The defender added: "It was important that we closed out the first half of the season with a win (1-0 at Real Sociedad).

"We earned 23 points and could or should have really earned even more. Now we have 19 games remaining in which to show how far we can go and how well we can do.

"We are not setting ourselves a specific goal or maximum points tally but we'll see how far we get."