.. from The Offal.
El Pais, the best-selling newspaper in Spain, has been conducting a series of quick-fire question and answer interviews with members of the Spanish national squad throughout the World Cup and earlier this week it was the turn of Pepe Reina.
The Liverpool man answers 34 quite bizarre questions - and all his responses are below. Enjoy...
Q: Can you recommend me a food shack on the beach?
A: Casa Pepe, in Torremolinos, or Malibú in Ibiza.
Q: Would you ban bullfighting?
A: Never.
Q: What gets on your nerves?
A: Watching a game from the bench.
Q: Do you know what a scrum is?
A: An ice crum?
Q: Do you remember what was your first kiss like?
A: Vaguely.
Q: What do you play on Play?
A: I don't play, I don't like it.
Q: Nesquik or Cola Cao?
A: Nesquik.
Q: How many watches do you own?
A: More than a dozen.
Q: What were your first boots like?
A: They were from Marco.
Q: How long has it been since you went to the circus?
A: I went to Cirque du Soleil in Manchester a while ago.
Q: How long does the pregnancy of a whale last?
A: 80 weeks, more or less.
Q: Do you know who Katalinski was?
A: He scored a goal against Spain. Polish. No... not Polish, Yugoslavian.
Q: Where was Iribar born?
A: In PaÃs Vasco.
Q: Who did you ask for an autograph when you were a kid?
A: Zubizarreta, in the Hotel Sanvy in Madrid. He was my idol.
Q: Do you know who wrote Saber perder?
A: No.
Q: What is your dog's name?
A: Curro.
Q: Why have shows with midgets in the bullfighting ring in Zaragoza been prohibited?
A: For a lack of respect.
Q: Which player has kicked you the most?
A: No one kicks me.
Q: Why hasn't the Constitutional Court passed the Estatut [the Statute of Autonomy of Cataluña]?
A: I don't know and I'm not interested.
Q: What year did apartheid end?
A: I don't know exactly.
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Q: What was the name of Pippi Longstocking's horse?
A: I put that on every morning when I'm take my daughters to school! Gran TÃo? No, Señor... No, that's the monkey, Sr. Nelson. Pequeño TÃo!
Q: Have you been able to get a reservation at elBulli?
A: I've never tried.
Q: What's the last TV series you've become addicted to?
A: 24 and Lost.
Q: If it weren't for the World Cup, why would you go to South Africa?
A: To hunt sharks.
Q: What does Liverpool have that Johannesburg doesn't?
A: A football team that plays in Anfield.
Q: How many years was Mandela imprisoned?
A: I should know this because I've just finished reading Carlin's book. 24 years?
Q: Do you know what an Afrikaner is?
A: A white South African, no?
Q: How many diapers have you changed in your life?
A: With two daughters, more than one.
Q: What is the name of Portugal's captain?
A: Cristiano or Bruno Alves.
Q: Does a lion or a hippo kill more people?
A: I imagine it would be the lion.
Q: How are you doing in the porra of the team?
A: I fell behind... I finished horribly.
Q: To be a Spanish international, do you have to know how to play pocha (a card game)?
A: No.
Q: Do you know where del Bosque was born?
A: Salamanca.
Q: What position did Xabi Alonso's father play?
A: Midfielder.
El Nino answered 35 questions his teammates had already been grilled on.
Have a read - it's certainly not your average football interview...
Fernando Torres - El Pais Q and A
1. Can you recommend me a food shack on the beach?
That on the beach of Estorde, on the Costa da Morte (Galicia), next to Finisterre.
2. Would you ban bullfighting?
No, no I don't go.
3. What gets on your nerves?
People who talk about things they don't know anything about.
4. Do you know what a scrum is?
No idea.
5. Do you remember what was your first kiss like?
Yes, and I'll leave it at that.
6. What do you play on Play?
Football.
7. Nesquik or Cola Cao?
Cola Cao.
8. How many watches do you own?
A lot, and all were gifts.
9. What were your first boots like?
Joma Toledos.
10. How long has it been since you went to the circus?
Since my last year at Atlético, when I went to see Cirque du Soleil.
11. How long does the pregnancy of a whale last?
I don't know.
12. Do you know who Katalinski was?
No.
13. Where was Iribar born?
In PaÃs Vasco? Yes, in PaÃs Vasco.
14. Who did you ask for an autograph when you were a kid?
It embarrassed me to do so.
15. Do you know who wrote Saber perder?
No, I don't know.
16. What is your dog's name?
Pomo and Llanta.
17. Why have shows with midgets in the bullfighting ring in Zaragoza been prohibited?
They've been prohibited? It should be because it's not ethical.
18. Which player has kicked you the most?
(Thinks about it a lot) I don't know, to tell you the truth. I don't remember anyone in particular.
19. Why hasn't the Constitutional Court passed the Estatut [the Statute of Autonomy of Cataluña]?
It's very complicated. I've said before that I don't like it when people talk about things they don't know, so I won't give my opinion on what I don't know.
20. What year did apartheid end?
It was sometime during the 1990s, but I don't know when exactly.
21. What was the name of Pippi Longstocking's horse?
I've been reading the tests [done by his teammates] hoping that someone would know the answer before me! I don't know! Jolly Jumper was Lucky Luke's house, and Imperioso was that of [Jesús] Gil... I know a lot about horses, but I can't remember the name of Pippi's horse!
22. Have you been able to get a reservation at elBulli?
Never.
23. What's the last TV series you've become addicted to?
Californication.
24. If it weren't for the World Cup, why would you go to South Africa?
To get to know the culture.
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25. How many years was Mandela imprisoned?
I don't know, a lot, more than 20.
26. What does your town have that Johannesburg doesn't?
I can't compare, I don't know much about Johannesburg.
27. Do you know what an Afrikaner is?
I think an Afrikaner is a person that speaks Afrikaans, one of the many languages in South Africa.
28. How many diapers have you changed in your life?
A lot.
29. What is the name of Chile's captain?
I don't know, I saw the game the other day but I don't know.
30. Does a lion or a hippo kill more people?
The hippo. They explained that to us during the safari. They're very fast and crush the people who enter into their territory.
31. Where is Ellis Park?
In Johannesburg.
32. How are you doing in the porra of the team?
Horrible, I'm one of the last ones. A disaster.
33. To be a Spanish international, do you have to know how to play pocha?
No, not necessarily.
34. Do you know where del Bosque was born?
In Salamanca.
35. What position did Xabi Alonso's father play?
Periko Alonso, in the midfield, like his son.
