Fernando has always had a bit of boyish charm about him.

In full flight, he has the pace and grace of a fully-developed striker, but the infectious grin and eye twinkle are that of a boy enjoying his sport.

All that only serves to make this video of him at aged 12 all the cuter. He played on Atletico Madrid's youth team against A.C. Milan, and even then showed the potential of the world beater he would become.

In this clip, he scored two goals, assists a couple more, and frequently gets tangled up with opponents for the ball. Some of the same style is there, but I think we can all be grateful the childhood bowl-haircut has long since departed.

Watch a precocious Fernando Torres for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UCuNZXwwrs&eurl=http://goal.com/en-us/news/88/spain/2009/02/18/1114993/riggs-replays-fernando-torres-at-age-12&feature=player_embedded