Fernando Torres and 8 Other Great Football Redemption Stories

Fernando Torres: £50 million flop, or heart-warming redemption protagonist?

After the improbable events of the last week or so, the answer is probably the second one. After months of misfiring, Torres has helped lead Chelsea's charge into the final, decisive stretch of the season.

It's still too soon to know whether Torres is back in form for good. But for now, he's the latest example of a great football redemption tale.

Here's his story, along with eight more.

Chelsea signed Spanish striker Fernando Torres for an eye-popping £50 million in January 2011.

For much of the next year, Torres did, well, very little.

El Niño struggled to find the form that had made him an international superstar with Liverpool and Spain, and the f-word—flop—became tangled up with Torres' reputation.

Then, April 2012 rolled around, and you know what happened next. Torres suddenly started scoring, and he popped up with a memorable equalizer for Chelsea against Barcelona in the Champions League semifinal second leg at the Camp Nou.

Chelsea would have advanced to the final without Torres' goal, but the late equalizer rubber stamped El Niño's official return to form.

And if not, his hat-trick the following weekend against QPR drove the point home.

Zambia won the 2012 African Cup of Nations, and by itself, that was an improbable tale.

What made Zambia a redemption story, however, was what came 19 years before.

In 1993, 18 members of Zambia's national team died in a plane crash while flying to Senegal for a World Cup qualifying match.

In 2012, Zambia's improbable continental title was dedicated to them.

For Zambia, though, there was a bittersweet joy, a sense of having done something that transcended sport. Efford Chabala, John Soko, Whiteson Changwe, Robert Watiyakeni, Eston Mulenga, Derby Makinka, Moses Chikwalakwala, Wisdom Mumba Chansa, Kelvin "Malaza" Mutale, Timothy Mwitwa, Numba Mwila, Richard Mwanza, Samuel Chomba, Moses Masuwa, Kenan Simambe, Godfrey Kangwa, Winter Mumba, Patrick "Bomber" Banda, Godfrey "Ucar" Chitalu, and Alex Chola were not there last night but the modern-day side built for them the greatest possible memorial.

Former Paraguayan international Salvador Cabañas returned to profession football in April, two years after taking a bullet to his head in a Mexico City bar.

Cabañas, 31, still has the bullet in his head, but that didn't stop him from lining up for Paraguayan third division club 12 de Octubre—the same club with which he began his career in 1997.

B/R's Mohamed Al-Hendy wrote about Cabañas recently:

What does the future hold for 31-year-old Cabañas? No one really knows. He's still got a good amount of training to do before he reaches full match fitness, and before he starts scoring goals once again.

Furthermore, at the age of 31, Cabañas' national team days are probably over. He also will almost surely never play for a huge club like Club America again.

But for Cabañas, none of that matters. For the man who famously proclaimed "football is my life," the joy of having overcome the odds to once again be playing the game he loves is more than enough. 

For guys like Fabrice Muamba, and even Darren Fletcher, Cabañas is a shining example of the power of will. We here at Bleacher Report wish him all the best.

Indeed, we do.

Former Manchester United and France superstar Eric Cantona served an eight-month ban in 1995 for attacking a Crystal Palace fan during a match.

The incident was called "a stain on our game" by the FA's chief executive, and Cantona considered quitting English football.

In his comeback match, Cantona scored against Liverpool, and over the course of the season, he helped United erase a big deficit in the league.

He also scored the winning goal in the 1996 FA Cup final (video at left) as United became the first club to win the league and cup double twice.

Legendary English manager Brian Clough failed famously at Leeds United, lasting only 44 days in the job.

In one of his first training sessions with Leeds, the sharp-tongued Clough told his former rivals that they could throw away their medals "because they were not won fairly."

His next appointment came at Second Division Nottingham Forest. By the time Clough left, Forest had won the league title and two European Cups.

They also set a record by going 42 league games unbeaten.

England fans turn away now.

Stuart Pearce famously missed a penalty against West Germany in the 1990 World Cup semifinal shootout.

OK, England fans. You can look again.

Six years later, Pearce converted an important penalty for the Three Lions against Spain in the quarterfinals.

In 1968, Manchester United became the first English club to win the European Cup. They defeated Benfica 4-1 in the final at Wembley Stadium.

The Red Devils' historic victory came 10 years after the Munich air disaster, a plane crash that claimed the lives of eight players, three club staff employees and several journalists.

Bobby Charlton—who had survived the crash 10 years earlier—scored for United in regular time and added a second in extra time after the match finished in a 1-1 draw.

George Best, who had recently been named European Footballer of the Year, scored the winner in the 93rd minute. Brian Kidd added the third one minute later before Charlton finished off Benfica in the 99th minute.

The 1998 World Cup wasn't David Beckham's greatest moment.

Beckham drew the ire of England fans for the Three Lions' exit from the Cup after Beckham was sent off in the Round of 16 match with Argentina.

An effigy of Beckham famously hung outside a London pub, and fans booed him lustily wherever he went.

Then, in 1999, Beckham helped lead United to the treble—the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.

And in 2001, his free kick goal against Greece (video at left) clinched England's spot in the 2002 World Cup—where he converted the winning penalty against Argentina in the group stage.

Former Arsenal star Tony Adams went to prison in 1990 for a drunk-driving conviction after he was allegedly found to be 27 times over the legal alcohol limit for driving.

Six years later, Adams admitted to his alcoholism and sought treatment. The final years of his career were some of his best, with Arsenal winning the double in 1998 and 2002, the latter Adams' last as a professional.

In 2000, Adams founded the Sporting Chance Clinic, which provides "support and counselling for the kinds of destructive behaviour patterns that exist in the world of competitive sport, but that are often denied."

Adams received an MBE in 2004, and Arsenal later unveiled a statue of "Mr. Arsenal" outside the Emirates Stadium.