'A good striker' with a bad perception: The curious career of Alvaro Morata - Inside Europe
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Updated 31/12/2021 at 17:29 GMT
With the help of friends Agustin Galan and Paolo Pegoraro from Eurosport Spain and Eurosport Italy respectively as well as his own insight, Pete Sharland tries to pieces together what is happening with Alvaro Morata. The Juventus forward is being linked with a move to Barcelona, which would put him in illustrious company, as well as turn a few heads.
Alvaro Morata Inside Europe
Image credit: Eurosport
How many players do you think have played for Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid AND Barcelona?
That was the question that came to mind when news emerged that Spanish striker Alvaro Morata was being courted by Barcelona for a January transfer move.
Surely there can’t be that many? In fact our research brought up three names. German midfielder Bernd Schuster, Spanish left-back Miquel Soler and Mexico women's right-back Kenti Robles. There may be other names we’ve missed, particularly pre-war, but those are the ones we found. Not an exhaustive list.
But Morata could be the fourth on our list should a move to Barcelona materialise. It’s a very odd move, one that has certainly caught a lot of people off-guard. In order to get a better picture of the move, and talk a bit about Morata in general, we got in touch with Agustin Galan and Paolo Pegoraro from our offices in Spain and Italy respectively to help.
A surprise move that might be tricky
Of course the thing on everyone’s mind (apart from our above query) is how on earth are Barcelona affording this? Well, coming from a club that engineered the Arthur-Miralem Pjanic swap deal it’s no surprise that there is some degree of gymnastics involved.
“It would require some kind of financial engineering (if not magic),” says Galan, who points out that they will struggle to register Ferran Torres, who they just signed from Manchester City, because of La Liga’s financial fair play rules.
“The league’s financial fair play system is very strict and the board will have to manage the situation with Ousmane Dembele very carefully (even letting him go for free) in order to add Ferran to their squad.
“Only they know if Morata can be a Barcelona player or not.”
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Ferran Torres celebrates scoring for Spain in the UEFA Nations League.
Image credit: Getty Images
There are reports that a new contract for Morata and Atletico will have to be agreed in order for him to then sign for Barcelona on an 18-month contract.
Galan added that the Eurosport Spain office was “extremely surprised with the variety of names linked to Barcelona, given the disastrous financial situation the club is facing.”
That sentiment is echoed by Pegoraro who says he is “totally surprised" as Morata is a key player at Juventus.
"Morata is a starter of [Max] Allegri's squad, no doubt. The best striker, by far. Especially after Cristiano Ronaldo left the club.”
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Alvaro Morata
Image credit: Other Agency
But Galan does say that Morata’s previous ties won’t be an issue.
“Morata said when he signed for Atletico that they were the club of his childhood, the same thing he said several years ago at Real Madrid,” Galan says.
“It's not common to find a player playing for the Big Three in Spain, but nobody will be surprised if he signs for Barcelona.”
How should we perceive Morata?
Morata is one of the more curious players of the modern-day era. At the age of 29 he has played for four of the biggest clubs in the world, a couple of them more than once. The total amount clubs have spent on him is close to £200 million. But this is a guy who has only had four double-digit goal seasons in top-flight football and never had more than 15 league goals in a season.
So as he enters his 30s what should we feel about Morata?
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Álvaro Morata (Juventus)
Image credit: Getty Images
“He's a good striker without a doubt,” Galan says. “But the perception of him is not the best among the Spanish fans.
“Even with the national team he has received some boos, he's not a fan favourite and the press is ruthless when he misses a chance. If he returns to La Liga, he will have much more pressure on his shoulders than in Italy with Juve's shirt.”
Pegoraro agrees saying that the opinion in Italy is probably that Morata has been “good but maybe not good enough for Juventus".
"People expected more goals from him after Ronaldo left. But again, he is and remains the best striker on this Juventus team,” he said.
As far as Morata’s time in England is concerned it’s largely on par with the rest of his career. There were flashes and moments (that early header against Manchester United promised so much) but ultimately there was more frustration than anything else.
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Alvaro Morata of Juventus celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A match between Bologna FC and Juventus at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on December 18, 2021 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Image credit: Getty Images
One theory regarding Morata, which has been suggested by a number of people who cover and have interviewed the forward, is that he is almost too nice, too intelligent or too sensitive. He is almost inside his own head too much and watching Morata it seems like a fairly apt conclusion.
When Morata feels good and he’s playing well he is legitimately a top 10 striker in the world. When he’s over-thinking and off his game he is way down the rankings. There are few players who oscillate so wildly as Morata does.
But yet still Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez wants him and sees him as a key piece to his puzzle at Camp Nou.
As Galan points out Spanish paper AS published a report “in which they explain that Xavi called Morata because he is very interested in his game without the ball.
“Spain manager Luis Enrique has praised his game several times with the national team, so it seems that he fits Barcelona philosophy as well.
“He also knows the likes of Ferran, Ansu Fati, Gavi and Pedri very well so he could fit in with them in more naturally than Memphis Depay or Dembele, for example.”
Perhaps after all of this Morata will be a success at Barcelona. Perhaps, along with some of the players Galan pointed out, Morata can be a key figure in Barcelona’s rebuilding. And maybe, just maybe, he can write a firm narrative for his career in the second alf of his time in football.
It will be interesting to watch.
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