Fernando Morientes Biography
Fernando Morientes Sánchez (born April 5 1976 in Cilleros, Cáceres) is a Spain Association football who plays for Valencia CF. He has previously played for Liverpool F.C., AS Monaco, Albacete Balompié, Real Zaragoza and most notably Real Madrid C.F. where he played between 1997 and 2005, and with whom he was a member of the UEFA Champions League-winning team three times between 1998 and 2002 (runner-up in 2004 with Monaco), and the Primera División twice.
Club career
Early career
Morientes was born in Cilleros, a small town in the western province of Cáceres (province), Spain. He began his top-flight career at Albacete Balompié in 1993 at the age of 17. He spent two seasons at the club, scoring five goals in 22 appearances (9 starts and 13 substitute appearances). Morientes transferred to Real Zaragoza in 1995, where he spent another two seasons. In his time at Zaragoza, he managed 28 goals in 66 league appearances.
Real Madrid
Morientes' performances for Zaragoza caught the eye of Spanish giants Real Madrid C.F.. He transferred to the club in the summer of 1997 for approximately €26.6 million. In his début season, Morientes made 33 appearances for the club, scoring 12 goals. He formed a successful strike partnership with Raúl González. Real Madrid also won the UEFA Champions League in this season. In the 1998–99 season, he performed very well, scoring 19 goals in the league and 25 goals in 38 appearances overall. He continued to perform well in the 1999–2000 season, scoring 19 goals and finishing as Real's top scorer in a year where he also helped Real to their second Champions League title in three seasons, scoring in the 3-0 win over Valencia CF in an all-Spanish final. In the next season, Morientes won the first of two La Liga titles with Real Madrid, scoring 10 goals overall which included four in eight appearances in the Champions League as Real lost in the semifinals to eventual winners FC Bayern Munich. He missed the tail-end of the La Liga season due to injury.
In the 2001–02 season in La Liga, Real failed to win the league, losing out to Valencia. However, Morientes continued his scoring form, scoring 18 league goals in only 25 starts, with six substitute appearances. He also scored five goals in Real's 7–0 demolition of Las Palmas, missing out on a double hat trick after missing from the spot late in the match. He finished second in the top scorers list for the season, tied with Patrick Kluivert and behind Diego Tristán. Real were successful in winning the Champions League after beating Bayer Leverkusen. Morientes played in the final and received a third Champions League winners medal.
In the summer of 2002, Real Madrid signed Brazilian superstar Ronaldo from Inter Milan. This fueled rumours that Morientes would soon be leaving the club, with F.C. Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur reportedly interested. Barcelona were reportedly on the verge of signing Morientes for around €22 million, but the move fell through due to Barca's reluctance to match Morientes' wage demands. Eventually, Morientes decided to stay at Madrid, but as predicted he did not feature as much in the side after the arrival of Ronaldo, who was preferred to Morientes in the starting lineup along with Raul. Morientes also had a highly publicised spat with the then Real manager Vicente Del Bosque during a Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund in early 2003. In the January transfer window, despite continuous rumours of moves to Tottenham, Real Zaragoza, A.S. Roma and A.C. Milan, Morientes remained at the club for the remainder of the season. Real would go on to win the league and Morientes earned his second La Liga medal, making a total of 15 appearances (with three starts) and scoring five goals.
It was now clear that Morientes was not part of the first team at Real Madrid. At the start of the 2003–04 season, after extensive but ultimately unsuccessful negotiations regarding a loan deal with Germany's Schalke 04, he was loaned to Ligue 1 side AS Monaco. Here, he performed very well, scoring 10 goals in 28 appearances in the league. However, it was in the Champions League that he really made an impact. Monaco reached the final of the competition, eventually losing in the final to FC Porto. Morientes finished as the top scorer, scoring nine goals. Ironically, Monaco met Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. Morientes scored a vital away goal for Monaco in the first leg, which Real Madrid won 4-2. He was applauded by the Real Madrid fans after he scored. In the second leg, he scored again as Monaco won 3-1, taking the aggregate score to 5-5. Monaco went through on away goals. He also scored in their semifinal victory over Chelsea F.C., but could not prevent Monaco from losing 0-3 in the final to Porto, played, ironically, at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Morientes' form resulted in him winning the 2004 European Striker of the Year award.
After returning to Real Madrid at the start of the 2004–05 season, Morientes' hopes of forcing his way into the Real squad were further dampened with the arrival of Michael Owen from Liverpool. It was clear that Morientes was surplus to Real's requirements. As a result, he was transferred to Liverpool F.C. in January 2005 for a fee of £6.3m, after making only 13 substitute appearances for Real in the first half of the season.
During his time at Real Madrid, Morientes made a total of 182 league appearances, with 112 starts and 70 appearances as a substitute. He scored 82 league goals.
In the 2001–02 season in La Liga, Real failed to win the league, losing out to Valencia. However, Morientes continued his scoring form, scoring 18 league goals in only 25 starts, with six substitute appearances. He also scored five goals in Real's 7–0 demolition of Las Palmas, missing out on a double hat trick after missing from the spot late in the match. He finished second in the top scorers list for the season, tied with Patrick Kluivert and behind Diego Tristán. Real were successful in winning the Champions League after beating Bayer Leverkusen. Morientes played in the final and received a third Champions League winners medal.
In the summer of 2002, Real Madrid signed Brazilian superstar Ronaldo from Inter Milan. This fueled rumours that Morientes would soon be leaving the club, with F.C. Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur reportedly interested. Barcelona were reportedly on the verge of signing Morientes for around €22 million, but the move fell through due to Barca's reluctance to match Morientes' wage demands. Eventually, Morientes decided to stay at Madrid, but as predicted he did not feature as much in the side after the arrival of Ronaldo, who was preferred to Morientes in the starting lineup along with Raul. Morientes also had a highly publicised spat with the then Real manager Vicente Del Bosque during a Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund in early 2003. In the January transfer window, despite continuous rumours of moves to Tottenham, Real Zaragoza, A.S. Roma and A.C. Milan, Morientes remained at the club for the remainder of the season. Real would go on to win the league and Morientes earned his second La Liga medal, making a total of 15 appearances (with three starts) and scoring five goals.
It was now clear that Morientes was not part of the first team at Real Madrid. At the start of the 2003–04 season, after extensive but ultimately unsuccessful negotiations regarding a loan deal with Germany's Schalke 04, he was loaned to Ligue 1 side AS Monaco. Here, he performed very well, scoring 10 goals in 28 appearances in the league. However, it was in the Champions League that he really made an impact. Monaco reached the final of the competition, eventually losing in the final to FC Porto. Morientes finished as the top scorer, scoring nine goals. Ironically, Monaco met Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. Morientes scored a vital away goal for Monaco in the first leg, which Real Madrid won 4-2. He was applauded by the Real Madrid fans after he scored. In the second leg, he scored again as Monaco won 3-1, taking the aggregate score to 5-5. Monaco went through on away goals. He also scored in their semifinal victory over Chelsea F.C., but could not prevent Monaco from losing 0-3 in the final to Porto, played, ironically, at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Morientes' form resulted in him winning the 2004 European Striker of the Year award.
After returning to Real Madrid at the start of the 2004–05 season, Morientes' hopes of forcing his way into the Real squad were further dampened with the arrival of Michael Owen from Liverpool. It was clear that Morientes was surplus to Real's requirements. As a result, he was transferred to Liverpool F.C. in January 2005 for a fee of £6.3m, after making only 13 substitute appearances for Real in the first half of the season.
During his time at Real Madrid, Morientes made a total of 182 league appearances, with 112 starts and 70 appearances as a substitute. He scored 82 league goals.
Liverpool
Morientes made his debut for the club against rivals Manchester United F.C. and scored his first Liverpool goal on February 1 2005 against Charlton Athletic F.C.. He was cup-tied for Liverpool's Champions League campaign and did not feature in their victory against AC Milan in the final of the competition.
Although Morientes came to Liverpool with a very good reputation, his transfer to Merseyside was followed by a large dip in form. He scored only three goals in the 2004-05 in English football season. He was often played in a deep-lying striker's position instead of his favoured target man role, and failed to adapt to this new role, as well as the faster style of the FA Premiership. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he was sold to Valencia CF. During his time at Liverpool, he managed only 12 goals in 61 appearances, although he was part of the squad that won the 2006 FA Cup and 2005 UEFA Super Cup. The signing of Morientes is often mentioned among a number of unsuccesful transfer decisions by current Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, and has also been included in various lists of the worst transfers in the history of the Premier League.
Although Morientes came to Liverpool with a very good reputation, his transfer to Merseyside was followed by a large dip in form. He scored only three goals in the 2004-05 in English football season. He was often played in a deep-lying striker's position instead of his favoured target man role, and failed to adapt to this new role, as well as the faster style of the FA Premiership. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he was sold to Valencia CF. During his time at Liverpool, he managed only 12 goals in 61 appearances, although he was part of the squad that won the 2006 FA Cup and 2005 UEFA Super Cup. The signing of Morientes is often mentioned among a number of unsuccesful transfer decisions by current Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, and has also been included in various lists of the worst transfers in the history of the Premier League.
Valencia
After a difficult season and a half at Liverpool, Morientes transferred to Valencia C.F in July 2006, for a fee reported to be around £3 million. Here he started to regain his form, scoring on his league debut and also scoring a hattrick in his first Champions League game against Olympiakos. He linked up well with fellow Spanish international David Villa and scored 18 league goals in 28 games in the league, and was also Valencia's top scorer in the Champions League with seven goals. His good form in the 2006–07 season also earned him a recall to the national side.
In the 2007–08 season, Morientes and Villa were joined in the strike force by Nikola Zigic and Javier Arizmendi. The 2007–08 season was dissapointing for Valencia; they were knocked out of the Champions League after finishing 4th in their group, and manager Quique Sanchez Flores was sacked following a poor run of form. Morientes picked up an injury in December 2007 that ruled him out for almost 3 months. He made his return to the team against Sevilla F.C on March 15 2008. He came off the bench to score the third and final goal in Valencia's 3-1 win over Getafe in the final of the Copa del Rey on April 16 2008
Morientes missed out on another few league games after he was hospitalised in April with abdominal pains and fever. He was released from hospital in time for the final two league games of the season, but played no part in either.
In his first two seasons at Valencia, Morientes has scored 27 goals in 39 starts and 18 substitute appearances, for an overall record of 27 goals in 57 games. He has missed a number of matches throughout the two years through a number of injuries.
Having begun the 2008-09 season as an unused substitute in Valencia's first league game and only coming on as a substitute in the second, Morientes was handed his first start in a UEFA Cup match against Maritimo. He scored the only goal of the game, a solo effort at the 12-minute mark.
In the 2007–08 season, Morientes and Villa were joined in the strike force by Nikola Zigic and Javier Arizmendi. The 2007–08 season was dissapointing for Valencia; they were knocked out of the Champions League after finishing 4th in their group, and manager Quique Sanchez Flores was sacked following a poor run of form. Morientes picked up an injury in December 2007 that ruled him out for almost 3 months. He made his return to the team against Sevilla F.C on March 15 2008. He came off the bench to score the third and final goal in Valencia's 3-1 win over Getafe in the final of the Copa del Rey on April 16 2008
Morientes missed out on another few league games after he was hospitalised in April with abdominal pains and fever. He was released from hospital in time for the final two league games of the season, but played no part in either.
In his first two seasons at Valencia, Morientes has scored 27 goals in 39 starts and 18 substitute appearances, for an overall record of 27 goals in 57 games. He has missed a number of matches throughout the two years through a number of injuries.
Having begun the 2008-09 season as an unused substitute in Valencia's first league game and only coming on as a substitute in the second, Morientes was handed his first start in a UEFA Cup match against Maritimo. He scored the only goal of the game, a solo effort at the 12-minute mark.
International career
Morientes has been a reliable performer for Spain national football team since 1998, when he scored twice in the first five minutes of his debut against Sweden national football team. As of March 25 2007, Morientes is third on the Spanish all-time topscorer's list with 27 goals in 47 appearances, behind former Real Madrid C.F. teammates Raúl González (44 goals in 102 caps) and defender Fernando Hierro (who took the majority of Spain's free kicks and penalty kicks during his international career) (29 goals in 89 caps), although his goals-to-games ratio is higher than both Raúl and Hierro. He has scored five goals in the two World Cups he has featured in, with two goals in 1998 and three in 2002. Morientes, together with Emilio Butragueño, Raúl Gonzalez and Fernando Hierro are Spain's top 4 goal scorers.
Morientes was picked in the Spanish squad for the Football World Cup 1998 and Football World Cup 2002 Football World Cup, where he scored two and three goals respectively.
In the 2002 World Cup, Morientes and Raúl played together up front, and both showed impressive form in the tournament. During the knock-out round match against South Korea, Morientes had his goal disallowed by the referee on the grounds that the ball went out of play. Replays showed that the ball was still in play, but unfortunately Morientes was subsequently booked for complaining, and Spain lost the match on penalties.
He was a surprise omission at 2000 European Football Championship, but played at 2004 European Football Championship where he scored one of only two goals that Spain could manage.
Morientes played for the Spanish squad during the qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, due to his poor form for Liverpool in 2005–06 (he scored only five goals), he was not chosen by Spanish national team coach Luis Aragonés in the final squad for the tournament, although he was part of a 31-man initial squad named by Aragonés.
Following his return to form after moving to Valencia, Morientes was recalled to the national side. He scored his 27th goal for Spain in a 2008 European Football Championship qualifier against Denmark national football team on March 24 2007. However, he was injured in a qualifying game following the match against Denmark, and missed out on the next qualifying fixtures.
He has not been called up to recent international squads due to injures although in qualifying he and David Villa were the strikers Spain used. In May 2008, the Spanish squad for Euro 2008 was announced. Morientes, along with Valencia teammates Ruben Baraja, Joaquín Sánchez and Vicente Rodriguez, failed to make the squad, as did his close friend and Real Madrid captain Raúl.
Morientes was picked in the Spanish squad for the Football World Cup 1998 and Football World Cup 2002 Football World Cup, where he scored two and three goals respectively.
In the 2002 World Cup, Morientes and Raúl played together up front, and both showed impressive form in the tournament. During the knock-out round match against South Korea, Morientes had his goal disallowed by the referee on the grounds that the ball went out of play. Replays showed that the ball was still in play, but unfortunately Morientes was subsequently booked for complaining, and Spain lost the match on penalties.
He was a surprise omission at 2000 European Football Championship, but played at 2004 European Football Championship where he scored one of only two goals that Spain could manage.
Morientes played for the Spanish squad during the qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, due to his poor form for Liverpool in 2005–06 (he scored only five goals), he was not chosen by Spanish national team coach Luis Aragonés in the final squad for the tournament, although he was part of a 31-man initial squad named by Aragonés.
Following his return to form after moving to Valencia, Morientes was recalled to the national side. He scored his 27th goal for Spain in a 2008 European Football Championship qualifier against Denmark national football team on March 24 2007. However, he was injured in a qualifying game following the match against Denmark, and missed out on the next qualifying fixtures.
He has not been called up to recent international squads due to injures although in qualifying he and David Villa were the strikers Spain used. In May 2008, the Spanish squad for Euro 2008 was announced. Morientes, along with Valencia teammates Ruben Baraja, Joaquín Sánchez and Vicente Rodriguez, failed to make the squad, as did his close friend and Real Madrid captain Raúl.
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