Chelsea star Fernando Torres has revealed the inspiration behind his medal-laden career - not Pele, Diego Maradona or Johan Cruyff, but a Japanese cartoon called Captain Tsubasa.

The Spanish striker, who has a World Cup, two European Championships and a Champions League title to his name, said his love for the game owes its origins to a popular manga animation he watched as a boy.

He said, "It was a series called Oliver y Benji in Spain, and in Japan it was Captain Tsubasa, and these two young players started as youth team players, got into the national team, won the World Cup, and moved to Barcelona and Bayern Munich, so it was like a dream. I started playing soccer because of this."

AFP - Global Times