Thursday, December 30, 2010

Alvaro Morata - Real Madrid wonderkid earning comparisons to legendary striker Fernando Morientes

The young forward is gradually getting involved at Los Blancos as Jose Mourinho sees massive potential in the player.

Alvaro Borja Morata Martin started his way in football at the age of 13 playing at the Atletico Madrid youth academy. Two years later, he moved to Getafe, where he spent a couple of seasons before his enormous potential was discovered by Real Madrid 's scouts in 2008.

His first year for the Juvenil C, one of the Bernabeu outfit's youth sides, was an immense success as Morata helped the team win two youth titles by contributing 34 goals. This earned him a promotion to Real Madrid Castilla in July 2010.

Morata's debut for the Castilla side came in a friendly match against AD Alcorcon on August 15, and the striker scored the only goal of the match as his side recorded a 1-0 victory. Since then, Morata has been a key part of Castilla's league campaign, and notched his first league goal for the side in a match against RSD Alcala in October.


Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho became increasingly aware of the teenager's potential and invited him to a pre-season tour with the senior side in the United States in the summer, a move indicative of the more important role Mourinho was considering for Morata.

On December 12, the 1.87m-tall forward went on to make his senior Real Madrid debut, coming on to replace Angel Di Maria in the 88th minute of a 3-1 league win over Real Zaragoza.

He was only given a few minutes to play and seemed a bit nervous, but showed some class with several touches on the ball and even came close to a one-on-one chance with the opposition 'keeper.

Shortly after his first taste of top-flight football, he also made a brief Copa del Rey debut as Real Madrid thrashed Levante 8-0, coming on for the last 13 minutes.

Alvaro Morata is a fantastic prospect for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. Despite the abundance of promising young Spanish talent coming through the ranks, Morata offers several qualities that few of his compatriots do.

He is a towering presence in the box and boasts superb aerial ability, as well as excellent finishing, off-the-ball movement and anticipation. He is also remarkably quick and agile.

This has been highlighted by his stand-out performances for the young Spain teams. He has scored a highly impressive nine goals in 13 appearances for the Spain U-17, U-18 and U-19 sides, including two goals in four matches at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup.


The target striker's playing style has been compared to that of former Real Madrid star Fernando Morientes, mostly due to the youngster's aerial prowess, but also thanks to his exceptional composure in front of goal.

Watch Alvaro Morata 's debut appearance in a Real Madrid shirt against Zaragoza:


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