IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Llorente's reward plan

18th September
In The Spotlight

The World Cup and the European Championship will take centre stage.

But there will be room too for the Europa League, Serie A and the Coppa Italia.
Fernando Llorente has the layout of the "museum" of his career he plans to build in his house mapped out in his mind.
And there is still some space up for grabs.
Llorente does not know yet where the various mementoes of his stellar stint as a professional footballer will be housed, for he is not sure where home will be when he eventually heads back to his native Spain.
He is from La Rioja, after all, while his wife hails from San Sebastian. The decision on where they will go after football is yet to be made.
But wherever Llorente ends up, he is keen to ensure there will be at least one souvenir from his time at Swansea City.
The 6ft 5in centre-forward is still getting used to his new surroundings having swapped southern Spain for South Wales last month.
Llorente's impressive CV features stints playing for much more celebrated teams than Swansea, and he is well aware that he has not joined one of the Premier League's heavy-hitters.
But that does not mean that there will be no further additions to the Llorente family's collection of silver.
As he discusses life at his new club at the Swans' Fairwood training base, Llorente points to a picture on the wall of Ashley Williams thrusting the Capital One Cup trophy into the Wembley sky.
"This is the proof," he says.
"It is possible, of course, to win a medal with Swansea.
"It's very difficult, I know that. But three years ago this club won the cup.
"It is very special to do something like this and it would be fantastic if I could help the club do it again.
"We have to dream of this, because in football you have to be able to work for your dreams."
Llorente has lived out more than most.
The Swans' 5-0 triumph over Bradford City in 2013 ensured the club brought a major trophy back to SA1 for the first time in their history.
Llorente, by contrast, is fortunate enough to have become used to the winning feeling.
There were some disappointments at Athletic Bilbao, the club where Llorente learned his trade as a youngster and spent a large chunk of his senior career.
He twice helped Bilbao to the Copa del Rey final, while they lined up against Atletico Madrid in the final of the 2011-12 Europa League.
On each occasion, they lost.
But Llorente's luck changed when he moved to Juventus in 2013.
Two Serie A titles followed, along with one Coppa Italia and two Italian Super Cups.
The only setback while Llorente was a Juve player came in the 2014-15 Champions League final, when his team were beaten 3-1 by Barcelona in Berlin.
Though he came on as a substitute in that game, Llorente exited Turin a few months later, signing for Sevilla.
In his one year with the Andalusian club, Llorente pocketed a third Copa del Rey runners-up medal before helping Sevilla win the Europa League, after Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool were dispatched in the final.
Yet for all his successes at club level, the biggest highlights of Llorente's career have come whilst representing his country.
"My best periods were with Spain - winning the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship two years later," he says.
"These tournaments were amazing to be part of. It is hard for me to describe the feeling when you win these big trophies with your country.
"I played with some great players in the Spanish squad. I enjoyed just taking part in the training sessions.
"When you are training with players like that, you have to stay very alert. You have to concentrate.
"Every player plays the ball very quickly. Just training with them improves you a lot."
At 31, Llorente may be heading towards the back end of his playing days, but he believes there is still room for him to improve.
Having sampled La Liga and Serie A, he is now getting used to a whole new challenge in the Premier League.
"It is very different here," Llorente says. "In Spain, teams play a lot of possession football, but here it is more about teams trying to get the ball forward all the time.
"There is more intensity in the games here - the referees do not whistle much.
"But the play is stop-start. When the ball arrives to the defender, the defender does not play. They kick long or they kick it off the pitch.
"In Spain, the defenders try to play. They go back to the keeper or they try to find a team-mate. Here it is a little different - although I know Swansea are known for playing possession football.
"I think we have to try to improve this. We have to try to keep the ball more."
In Italy, Llorente explains, the footballing style is different again.
"The game there is more defensive," he adds.
"Teams play with a lot of defenders. Always there are five at the back and teams often have 11 players dropping back to defend their goal.
"Against Juve especially, this was always the way. It makes it difficult for a striker. When I played, I was up against three centre-backs. It's not easy.
"The play is slower also. The pitches are not good as they are here - the ball does not run like it does in this country.
"But I had a happy time at Juventus. We won five titles in the two years I was there. This was a very good time for me, my most successful spell in club football."
Though he was not there long, Llorente enjoyed his stint at Sevilla too.
And though the Swans have had a mixed start to the new season, he is also savouring his taste of the Premier League.
"I am enjoying being here at Swansea - I am very happy," Llorente says.
"The league is very good and as a team we are working very well I think. We are on the road to improving and we have to continue that.
"It is still very early in the season. We are just beginning. We have to get to know each other more. We have to get used to playing with each other and we have to train together more. I think as we do that, we will get better.
"The important thing now is to work, work, work to improve each day. Then I hope some rewards will come."
For Llorente, getting rewards means scoring some goals.
There have been a few near misses in his first weeks as a Swan, but he has not yet opened his account at his new club.
"I dream about scoring a lot of goals," he says.
"I know that it is difficult. In the beginning I have to adapt to a new club and a new league because it is all different for me.
"But I think I can do it."
Llorente's record suggests his time should come fairly soon.