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Álvaro Morata

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Álvaro Morata
Morata training with Real Madrid in 2010.
Personal information
Full name Álvaro Borja Morata Martín
Date of birth (1992-10-23) 23 October 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Juventus
Number 9
Youth career
2005–2007 Atlético Madrid
2007–2008 Getafe
2008–2010 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Real Madrid B 83 (45)
2010–2014 Real Madrid 37 (10)
2014– Juventus 15 (4)
International career‡
2009 Spain U17 6 (2)
2010 Spain U18 2 (3)
2010–2012 Spain U19 13 (11)
2013– Spain U21 13 (13)
2014– Spain 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 January 2015
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2014

Template:Spanish name Álvaro Borja Morata Martín (born 23 October 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Italian club Juventus F.C. as a striker.

He began his career at Real Madrid, making his debut with the senior team in late 2010 and going on to appear in 52 official games (11 goals), notably winning the 2014 Champions League. He moved to Juventus in 2014, for €20 million.

Morata gained 34 caps for Spain at youth level, helping the country win the 2013 Under-21 Championship.

Playing style

Good in the air and at holding the ball, with clinical finishing ability and excellent movement, Morata drew comparisons to legendary Real Madrid and Spain player Fernando Morientes due to his style.[2]

Club career

Real Madrid

Morata training with Real Madrid in 2011.
Morata celebrates with Castilla in 2013.

Born in Madrid, Morata signed for Real Madrid in 2008 from neighbouring Getafe CF, finishing his formation two years later but starting appearing for Real Madrid C still as a junior.[3] In July 2010, after a successful season with the Juvenil A where he won two youth titles and scored 34 goals,[4] he was promoted to Real Madrid Castilla; later that month, first team coach José Mourinho took the player alongside four teammates to a preseason tour in United States.[5]

On 15 August 2010, Morata made his debut with Castilla in a friendly match with AD Alcorcón, scoring the only goal of the game.[6] His third division debut came on the 29th in a 3–2 win against Coruxo FC,[7] and he netted his first official goal in a 1–1 draw against RSD Alcalá, on 31 October.

On 12 December 2010 Morata made his debut for the first team, when he was brought on as a substitute for Ángel Di María in the 88th minute of a 3–1 La Liga win at Real Zaragoza.[8] Ten days later, he made his debut in the Copa del Rey, also coming from the bench in the last minutes. In January 2011, after Gonzalo Higuaín's injury, Spanish media appointed him to be his replacement in the main squad. However, Mourinho discarded this option saying that "he's not prepared to be in the starting lineup of Real Madrid. He needs to grow up and finish his formation with Castilla";[9] in this period of time Morata scored five goals in four matches with the reserves,[10] while Emmanuel Adebayor was being signed to fit the missing striker in the first team.

On 13 February 2011 Morata scored the first hat-trick of his career, in a 7–1 victory against Deportivo de La Coruña B.[11] He finished his first season as a senior with 14 league goals – squad best alongside Joselu – but Castilla failed to gain promotion in the playoffs.

Morata scored his first official goal with Real's main squad on 11 November 2012, entering the field in the 83rd minute of an away fixture against Levante UD and netting the 2–1 winner after just 60 seconds.[12] In his first-ever official start, at home against Rayo Vallecano on 17 February of the following year, he scored the opener after just three minutes, but was removed from the pitch before the half-hour mark to make room for Raúl Albiol after Sergio Ramos was sent off (2–0 home success).[13] On 2 March 2013, Morata played the full 90 minutes in El Clásico against FC Barcelona, providing the assist as Karim Benzema scored the opener in an eventual 2–1 home win. He also had a couple of chances to net himself during the match.[14]

In the 2013–14 season, Morata became a regular member of the first team squad under new coach Carlo Ancelotti. On 18 March 2014 he scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League, closing the scoreline in a 3–1 win over FC Schalke 04 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for the round-of-16.[15] On 17 May, in the last game of the league campaign, he netted two late goals against RCD Espanyol to help to a 3–1 home success and tally eight in the competition;[16] he also featured in the club's victory in the final of the Champions League against Atlético Madrid, playing the last ten minutes of regulation time and extra time after replacing Benzema.[17]

Juventus

On 19 July 2014 Juventus F.C. announced that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of Morata, who signed a five-year deal for the fee of €20 million,[18][19] with Real Madrid having the option to buy him back in the future.[20] He made his debut in Serie A on 13 September, replacing Fernando Llorente for the final minute of a 2–0 home win against Udinese Calcio;[21] two weeks later he again came on in place of his fellow Spaniard, and headed his first goal for his new club as it won 3–0 at Atalanta BC.[22]

On 5 October 2014, against A.S. Roma, Morata came on as a substitute and was sent off for a foul on Kostas Manolas, who himself received his marching orders for retaliating. Juve won the home fixture 3–2.[23] On 9 November he scored twice to help to a 7–0 home demolition of Parma FC, with Llorente – whom he replaced after 71 minutes – adding a further two to the scoreline.[24]

On 28 January 2015, Morata played the last 13 minutes of the Coppa Italia fixture also against Parma, and scored the game's only goal at the Stadio Ennio Tardini to qualify his team to the semi-finals.[25]

International career

Morata was called by the Spanish under-17 team for the 2009 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria, playing four matches and scoring two goals for the third-placed side.[26] Subsequently he represented the under-19s at the Japan International Tournament,[27] helping to a second-place finish after the hosts.[28]

Morata was selected by Spain to the squad that appeared in the 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Romania, helping the national team win the tournament with six goals, the highest in the competition.[29] He made his debut with the under-21s at the 2013 European Championships in Israel, being essential in the first two group games against Russia and Germany by netting the solitary goal in each contest, respectively in the 82nd and 86th minutes;[30][31] he closed out a perfect group stage for both team and player with his third, against the Netherlands (3–0)[32]– eventually he was crowned the competition's top scorer, and it also ended in conquest.[33]

On 7 November 2014, Morata was called up to full side manager Vicente del Bosque's squad for matches against Belarus and Germany.[34] He made his debut against the former on the 15th, replacing Isco for the last ten minutes of a 3–0 win in Huelva for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers.[35]

Club statistics

As of 26 January 2015[36]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Real Madrid Castilla 2010–11 28 15 — — 28 15
2011–12 37 18 — — 37 18
2012–13 18 12 — — 18 12
Total 83 45 — — 83 45
Real Madrid 2010–11 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
2011–12 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2012–13 12 2 2 0 1 0 15 2
2013–14 23 8 6 0 5 1 34 9
Total 37 10 9 0 6 1 52 11
Juventus 2014–15 15 4 3 2 5 0 22 6
Total 15 4 3 2 5 0 23 6
Career totals 135 59 11 2 11 1 158 62

Honours

Club

Real Madrid
Real Madrid Castilla
Juventus

Country

Spain U21
Spain U19
Spain U17

Individual

References

  1. ^ http://www.realmadrid.com/en/football/squad/alvaro-borja-morata-martin-2
  2. ^ Morata, el recogepelotas atlético que admiraba a Raúl (Morata, the ball boy who admired Raúl); El País, 13 December 2010 Template:Es icon
  3. ^ Un año inolvidable para Morata (An unforgettable year for Morata); Real Madrid, 7 December 2009 Template:Es icon
  4. ^ Una generación para la historia (A generation to make history); Marca, 26 June 2010 Template:Es icon
  5. ^ At the gates of the first team; Real Madrid, 30 July 2010
  6. ^ El Alcorcón cae ante un buen Real Madrid Castilla (Alcorcón loses against a good Real Madrid Castilla); Marca, 15 August 2010 Template:Es icon
  7. ^ 3–2: Primeros tres puntos para el Castilla (3–2: First three points for Castilla); Real Madrid, 29 August 2010 Template:Es icon
  8. ^ Madrid claim Zaragoza triumph; ESPN Soccernet, 12 December 2010
  9. ^ "No tengo esperanzas de que se fiche un delantero" ("I have no hopes about signing a new striker"); Diario AS, 15 January 2011 Template:Es icon
  10. ^ Especial Real Madrid: Estas son las joyas de La Fábrica que persigue la Premier (Real Madrid special: These are the jewels of "La Fábrica" chased by the Premier League); Goal.com, 5 February 2011 Template:Es icon
  11. ^ Morata hace un 'hat trick' en el 7–1 del Castilla (Morata does a hat trick in Castilla's 7–1); Marca, 13 February 2011 Template:Es icon
  12. ^ Morata earns Madrid the win; ESPN Soccernet, 11 November 2012
  13. ^ Real claim derby spoils; ESPN FC, 17 February 2013
  14. ^ Ramos heads late winner; ESPN FC, 2 March 2013
  15. ^ "Cristiano Ronaldo double completes Real Madrid's thrashing of Schalke". The Guardian. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  16. ^ "Real Madrid 3–1 Espanyol". BBC Sport. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  17. ^ "Real Madrid 4–1 Atlético Madrid". BBC Sport. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  18. ^ "Morata signs for Juventus". Juventus F.C. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  19. ^ "Agreement with Real Madrid for the definitive acquisition of the player Alvaro Morata" (PDF). Juventus F.C. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  20. ^ "Official announcement: Morata". Real Madrid. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  21. ^ "Juventus 2–0 Udinese: Tevez and Marchisio seal comfortable win". Goal.com. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  22. ^ "Atalanta 0–3 Juventus". BBC Sport. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  23. ^ Sheringham, Sam (5 October 2014). "Juventus 3–2 Roma". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  24. ^ "Juventus put seven past Parma as Llorente, Tevez, Morata net braces". ESPN FC. 9 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  25. ^ "A la salud de Morata" (in Spanish). Marca. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ Álvaro Morata – FIFA competition record (archived)
  27. ^ Convocatoria Torneo Internacional de Japón Sub-19 (Japan U19 International Tournament callup); Royal Spanish Football Federation, 7 August 2010 Template:Es icon
  28. ^ La Sub-19 gana y se adjudica el segundo puesto (U19 win and finish second); Royal Spanish Football Federation, 24 August 2010 Template:Es icon
  29. ^ Spain's Morata takes U19 scoring plaudits UEFA.com, 1 August 2011
  30. ^ Morata late show gives Spain winning start; UEFA.com, 6 June 2013
  31. ^ Morata sends Spain through as Germany crash out; UEFA.com, 9 June 2013
  32. ^ Spain beat Netherlands to top Group B; UEFA.com, 12 June 2013
  33. ^ Morata wins Golden Boot in Spanish clean sweep; UEFA.com, 18 June 2013
  34. ^ "Chelsea's Diego Costa left out of Spain squad to play Belarus and Germany". The Guardian. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  35. ^ Hunter, Graham (15 November 2014). "Much-changed Spain dominate Belarus". UEFA.com. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  36. ^ "Morata". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  37. ^ "Thiago leads all-star squad dominated by Spain". UEFA.com. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
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