Daniel Alejandro Torres

Daniel Alejandro "Dani" Torres Rojas (born 15 November 1989) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Spanish club Real Zaragoza.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Torres and the second or maternal family name is Rojas.
Dani Torres
Personal information
Full name Daniel Alejandro Torres Rojas
Date of birth (1989-11-15) 15 November 1989
Place of birth Cáqueza, Colombia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Zaragoza
Number 3
Youth career
Sporting de Cáqueza
2005–2008 Independiente Santa Fe
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2015 Independiente Santa Fe 158 (1)
2011 → Atlético Nacional (loan) 12 (0)
2015–2016 Independiente Medellín 39 (3)
2016–2020 Alavés 42 (0)
2019 → Albacete (loan) 16 (0)
2020 Zaragoza 2 (0)
National team‡
2015–2017 Colombia 14 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 February 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 February 2020

Club career

Santa Fe

Born in Cáqueza, Cundinamarca, Torres joined Independiente Santa Fe's youth setup in 2005 at the age of 15. He made his senior debut on 8 June 2008, starting in a 0–3 away loss against América de Cali.[1]

On 8 July 2011, Torres was loaned to fellow league team Atlético Nacional until the end of the year, with a buyout clause.[2] However, he only appeared sparingly for the club, being released in the end of the year mainly due to disciplinary problems (some of them related to alcoholism).[3]

Upon returning to Santa Fe, Torres established himself as a regular starter and helped the side in their 2012 and 2014 successful campaigns. He scored his first professional goal on 9 August of the latter year, netting the second in a 2–1 home win against Independiente Medellín.

Independiente Medellín

On 5 July 2015, Torres and fellow Santa Fe teammate Luis Carlos Arias were transferred to Independiente Medellín.[4] He featured regularly for the side during his spell, scoring two goals in the 2015 season.

Alavés

On 19 July 2016, Torres signed a four-year contract with Deportivo Alavés, newly promoted to La Liga.[5] He made his debut in the category on 21 August, starting in a 1–1 away draw against Atlético Madrid.[6]

On 31 January 2019, after featuring rarely during the first half of the campaign, Torres was loaned to Segunda División side Albacete Balompié, for six months.[7]

International career

On 6 November 2015, Torres was called up by Colombia national team manager José Pékerman for two 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Argentina. He made his full international debut six days later, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw against the former.

Torres was also included in Pékerman's final 23-man list for the Copa América Centenario, featuring regularly as his side finished third.

Personal life

In October 2016, Torres produced a video urging Colombians against supporting the peace deal with FARC.[8] Torres is a devout Christian, who cited his opposition to then president Juan Manuel Santos as that Santos did not put Jesus at the center of his politics.[9]

Career statistics

Club
As of 5 December 2018[10][11]
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
ClubSeasonLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Colombia League Cup[n 1] South America Total
Santa Fe 2008 Categoría Primera A 50000050
2009 1600000160
2010 2100060270
2011 1304000170
2012 2106000270
2013 3804000420
2014 361110120591
2015 1302081231
Subtotal 16312702612162
Atlético Nacional (loan) 2011 Categoría Primera A 1204000160
Independiente Medellín 2015 Categoría Primera A 2326080372
2016 1611000171
Subtotal 3937080543
Spain League Cup Europe Total
Alavés 2016–17 La Liga 2105000260
2017–18 1805000230
2018–19 20100030
Subtotal 41011000520
Career total 25544903413405
Notes
  1. Includes Copa Colombia and Superliga Colombiana.

Honours

Club
Santa Fe

International
Colombia

References
  1. "Daniel Torres, pidiendo pista en la Selección" [Daniel Torres, asking for a place in the National Team] (in Spanish). En Directo Sabana. 7 November 2014. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  2. "El volante Daniel Torres es nuevo jugador de Atlético Nacional" [Defensive midfielder Daniel Torres is the new player of Atlético Nacional] (in Spanish). Caracol Radio. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  3. "Daniel Torres, jugador del Santa Fe, venció el alcoholismo" [Daniel Torres, player of Santa Fe, defeated the alcoholism] (in Spanish). Noticias RCN. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  4. "Daniel Torres y Luis Carlos Arias fueron transferidos al Medellín" [Daniel Torres and Luís Carlos Arias were transferred to Medellín] (in Spanish). Caracol Televisión. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  5. "Daniel Torres, juego, contención y liderazgo en el centro del campo" [Daniel Torres, break-up play and leadership in the centre of the midfield] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  6. "Al Atleti le sobra el final" [To Atleti the ending is too much] (in Spanish). Marca. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  7. "Dani Torres jugará cedido en el Albacete" [Dani Torres will play on loan at Albacete] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  8. "Colombian Opposition to Peace Deal Feeds Off Gay Rights Backlash". New York Times. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  9. ""Señor presidente, el centro de esta negociación no es Jesucristo"". Semana (in Spanish). September 27, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  10. Daniel Torres at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  11. Daniel Torres at ESPN FC
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