Sergio Torres has a little piece of Old Trafford in his Brighton home which reminds him every day of the magic of the FA Cup.

The boy from Argentina made it to Manchester United via Molesey, Wycombe and Peterborough as part of the non-league Crawley Town side which enjoyed a fairytale run to the fifth round in 2010-11.

Torres scored a dramatic, stoppage-time winner to knock out Championship side Derby County in the third round and, after facing Wayne Rooney and Co at the Theatre of Dreams, he famously tucked a piece of grass inside his sock as the Old Trafford pitch following a 1-0 defeat.

Crawley’s run to the last 16 five seasons will perhaps forever define the club and Torres will always hold a special place in the hearts of Reds fans for the role he played in it.

Now the 34-year-old is helping to rewrite history for another Sussex club, albeit on a smaller scale at this stage.

Tomorrow Torres will lead the team out as captain as Whitehawk play in the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in the club’s 70-year history.

Standing in the way of Torres and Whitehawk will be Conference premier side Lincoln City, another club which provided a temporary but enjoyable stopping point in the colourful career of the South American midfielder.

Whitehawk against Lincoln may appear a far cry from Manchester United against Crawley in the fifth round but FA Cup dreams start somewhere and Torres knows that better than anyone.

He remembers following the competition as a boy in his homeland, while that Crawley run has provided his happiest memories in the game.

Torres told The Argus: “It is the most famous cup in the world for a reason. In Argentina I used to watch the games and loved seeing the little teams like we are now, the underdogs getting to play against the big boys.

“Of course, everyone talked about Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles because they were the first two players from Argentina to win the FA Cup. There was a lot of coverage on that although I was really young of course.

“Before I was at Crawley all the clubs I had been at I don’t think I had ever got past the first round. I always wondered how small teams get further. When I went to Crawley that first year we got to the fifth round and it was just amazing. I fell in love with the FA Cup.

“The Derby game was so special because I scored the winning goal in the 91st minute. It was the best feeling I have had on a football pitch. Then Old Trafford, of course, was a dream come true, any footballer would like to play at the Theatre of Dreams.”

Life changed significantly for Torres after he was released by Crawley in the summer of 2014. Rather than trying to stay in the professional game he joined part-time Whitehawk while taking an office job with the KSD Group in Patcham, an environmental services company run by the owners of the club.

It is not a decision he has regretted and he is delighted to be playing a part in a golden era for the club – playing at the highest level in their history with ambitions to go further, as well as making their first appearance in the first round of the FA Cup.

Torres said: “Last year it was a really hard decision, after nine years of being a professional to drop out of the Football League. I didn’t want to go up north when Crawley released me, my wife and kids love living in Brighton so I was so happy that Whitehawk offered me something and that Ned (Peter McDonnell) and Chris (Gargan) offered me a job here.

“At the beginning I was thinking I can never work in an office but it has been over a year now and my work colleagues are my friends now.

“I am playing pretty much every game (for Whitehawk). The last two years at Crawley I didn’t play many games so I was missing playing football week in, week out.

“The fans here have been unbelievable, they make so much noise every single game.

“We knew when we played Poole Town (in the fourth qualifying round) if we won we would be making history for Whitehawk and we wanted to give the fans something more to cheer.

“It will be a massive game for everyone involved in the club on Sunday and hopefully we can get a win.”

As part of his life in a ‘normal’ job, Torres had to cook dinner for his work colleagues this week – something they each do on a regular basis. A menu of pumpkin soup for starters followed by roasted vegetables and chicken was prepared by a man who readily admits he cannot cook.

Tomorrow Torres hopes to serve up something else special for Whitehawk fans – and maybe they could then start thinking about places such as Old Trafford.