Former World Cup-winning Spanish striker Fernando Torres has been named coach of Atletico Madrid's B team, the LaLiga club said in a statement on Tuesday.
“I accept it as a great challenge with a lot of ambition and the peace of mind of knowing that we are prepared,” said Torres, who previously coached Atlético under-19, adding that he understood that the objective of the reserve team is to grow players from the club's first team.
During his time as coach of the Under-19s, Torres won two League titles, a Champions Cup and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Youth League.
Torres replaces Luis García Tevenet, who earned consecutive promotions in his first two years and finished ninth in Spain's third division. Tevenet will join Diego Simeone's first team coaching staff.
Torres, 40, scored more than 100 goals in two spells at his boyhood club, Atlético. He helped Spain win the European Championship in 2008 and 2012 and its first World Cup in 2010.
The forward also played for Liverpool, Chelsea and AC Milan, winning the Champions League and Europa League with the London club. He also lifted the Europa League with Atlético in 2018.
