 Morientes in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fernando Morientes Sánchez[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1976-04-05)5 April 1976 (age 49)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cilleros, Spain[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Sonseca | |||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Albacete | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Albacete | 22 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Zaragoza | 66 | (28) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2005 | Real Madrid | 183 | (72) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | →Monaco (loan) | 28 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Liverpool | 41 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2009 | Valencia | 66 | (19) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Marseille | 12 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Santa Ana | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 421 | (143) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Spain U18 | 12 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 1995 | Spain U20 | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–1998 | Spain U21 | 16 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Spain U23 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1998–2007 | Spain | 47 | (27) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Huracán (youth) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Real Madrid (youth) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Fuenlabrada | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Fernando Morientes Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation:[feɾˈnandomoˈɾjentesˈsantʃeθ]; born 5 April 1976) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
He played for a number of clubs during his career, includingReal Madrid,Monaco,Liverpool andValencia. InLa Liga, he scored 124 goals in 337 games over 15 seasons. He earned 11 major honours with the first club, including threeChampions League trophies.
Morientes earned 47caps for theSpain national team, representing the country in twoWorld Cups (totalling five goals) andEuro 2004. He later worked briefly as amanager.
Born inCilleros,Cáceres,Extremadura, Morientes moved toSonseca in theProvince of Toledo at the age of four.[3] He began his professional career atAlbacete Balompié, making hisLa Liga debut on 7 November 1993 as a 75th-minutesubstitute forAlejandro in a 2–3 loss againstCD Tenerife at theEstadio Carlos Belmonte,[4] and he made one more appearancethat season, alsofrom the bench.[5]
On 23 October 1994, soon after coming on as a first-half replacement forAlberto Monteagudo, Morientes scored his first professional goal, opening a 2–0 home win overRacing de Santander.[6] He got his first start a week later in a 5–1 loss atRCD Español,[7] and finishedthe campaign with a total of five goals in 20 league games; additionally, he found the net in each leg of a 3–2 aggregate win over holdersReal Zaragoza in thelast 16 of theCopa del Rey.[8]
Morientes signed with Zaragoza in 1995, where he spent another two seasons, often being partnered up front byDani, aReal Madrid youth graduate.[9] He made his debut on 9 September away toReal Betis, scoring the team's goal after 48 minutes but beingsent off seven minutes later for strikingJaime.[10] On 10 January of the following year, he scored his first professionalhat-trick in a 3–2 win atAthletic Bilbao forthe domestic cup;[11] his first such feat in the league followed on 3 February in a 4–1 victory overValencia CF atLa Romareda,[12] and eight days later he scored the first goal atSD Compostela and also received his marching orders with his team winning 2–1 (eventual 3–2 defeat).[13]
Morientes' performances for Zaragoza caught the eye of Spanish giants Real Madrid, which bought the player in the summer of 1997 for approximately€6.6 million. Initially backing up establishedPredrag Mijatović andDavor Šuker, he finished as starter and managed 12 goals inhis first year in 33 matches, squad-best (with the two players who fought with him for a starting berth netting ten apiece, as youth system prodigyRaúl); the team finished fourth in the league, but wonthe season'sUEFA Champions League.
Morientes performed very well in the1998–99 campaign, scoring 19 goals in the league and 25 in 38 appearances overall.[9] He continued to display top football in1999–2000, netting 19 times and finishing as Real's top scorer in a year where he also helped to thecapital side'ssecond Champions League title in three years, scoring in the 3–0 defeat ofValencia CF in an all-Spanishfinal.[14] Inthe next season, he won the first of two league titles with the club and netted ten goals overall, including four in eight appearances in the Champions League in a semi-final exit to eventual winnersFC Bayern Munich; he missed the last weeks due to injury.
In2001–02, Real failed to win the league after losing out to Valencia. Morientes continued his scoring form, however, scoring 18 league goals in only 25 starts, with six substitute appearances. He also netted five in a 7–0 demolition ofUD Las Palmas, missing out on a doublehat-trick after missing from thepenalty spot late in the match.[15] He finished second in the top scorers list, tied withPatrick Kluivert and behindDeportivo de La Coruña'sDiego Tristán,[16] as theMerengues were successful inwinning the Champions League after beatingBayer 04 Leverkusen – he played inthe final and received a third winners medal.[17]
In the summer of 2002, Real Madrid signed Brazilian superstarRonaldo fromInter Milan. This fueled rumours that Morientes would soon be leaving, withFC Barcelona andTottenham Hotspur reportedly interested – the former were reportedly on the verge of signing the player for around €22 million, but the move fell through due to Barça's reluctance to match his wage demands. Eventually, he decided to stay, but as predicted he did not feature as much after the arrival of Ronaldo, who was preferred in the starting lineup along with Raúl. He eventually fell down the pecking order of strikers toGuti andJavier Portillo[18] and, during a February 2003 home win againstBorussia Dortmund – 2–1 in theChampions League second group stage – was involved in a highly publicised spat with managerVicente del Bosque, with the player allegedly insulting the coach after being called to enter the pitch as a third replacement in the dying minutes;[19][20] in the wintertransfer window, despite continuous rumours of moves to Tottenham, Zaragoza,AS Roma andAC Milan, he remained at the club for remainder of the season as the side went on to win the league, with the player making a total of 19 appearances (with three starts) and scoring five goals.
At the start of the2003–04 season, it was evident Morientes was not part of Real's plans. After extensive but ultimately unsuccessful negotiations regarding a loan deal with Germany'sFC Schalke 04, he was loaned toLigue 1 sideAS Monaco FC,[21] where he performed very well, netting ten times from 28 appearances in the league. It was in theChampions League, however, that he really made an impact, finishing as top scorer at nine goals:[22] Monaco met Real Madrid in the quarter-finals,[23] where he scored a vital away goal in the first leg (4–2 away loss); in the second match, he again found the net as his team won 3–1, taking the aggregate score to 5–5 (away goals rule victory).[24] He also scored in both games of the last-four win againstChelsea,[25][26] but could not prevent a 3–0 defeat inthe final toFC Porto, played at theArena AufSchalke inGelsenkirchen.[27]
After returning to Real Madrid at the start of the2004–05 campaign, Morientes' hopes of forcing his way into the squad were further dampened with the arrival ofMichael Owen fromLiverpool.[28] He featured in 13 scoreless league matches (all as a substitute), and was transferred to Liverpool in January 2005 for a fee of €9.3 million.[29] During his time at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium he played 272 games in all competitions, scoring 100 goals.[30]
Morientes made his debut for Liverpool on 15 January 2005 againstManchester United, starting in a 0–1 home loss tothe rivals –BBC Sport described his performance as "quiet".[31] He scored his first goal for the club on 1 February, equalising with a 20-yard strike in a 2–1 win atCharlton Athletic,[32] and he followed it four days later with his first goal atAnfield to open a 3–1 win overFulham after nine minutes.[33] He wascup-tied for theChampions League campaign,[34] and did not feature in the victory against Milan in thefinal of the competition.[9]
On 10 August 2005, Morientes scored in each half of a 3–1 away win againstPFC CSKA Sofia in the first leg of the third qualifying round for the season's Champions League.[35] His form in the league was inconsistent, but on 10 December he netted a five-minute brace in a 2–0 home defeat ofMiddlesbrough, their seventh in a row.[36] On 21 March 2006, he scored in a 7–0 rout ofBirmingham City inthe quarter-finals of theFA Cup, finishingSteven Gerrard'scross three minutes after entering in place ofPeter Crouch.[37] Liverpool went on to win the tournament, and the player replacedHarry Kewell early in the second half ofthe final againstWest Ham United.[38]
Morientes totalled 12 goals in 61 appearances, also winning the2005 UEFA Super Cup and playing on the losing side in the2005 Football League Cup final and the2005 FIFA Club World Championship final.[39] He ultimately failed to live up to his reputation.[40]
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Morientes joined Valencia in late May 2006 for a fee reported to be around£3 million.[41] Here, he started to regain his form, scoring on his league debut – a 2–1 home win against Betis[42]– and alsonetting a hat-trick in his firstChampions League appearance againstOlympiacos FC.[43] He linked up well withDavid Villa[44] and scored 12 goals in 24 games, and was also team-top scorer in the Champions League with seven; his good form throughoutthe season also earned him a recall to the national side.[45]
For2007–08, Morientes and Villa were joined in the strike force byNikola Žigić andJavier Arizmendi. The campaign, however, was disappointing, as theChe wereknocked out of the Champions League after finishing fourth in the group, and managerQuique Sánchez Flores was dismissed following a poor run of form. He picked up an injury in December 2007 that ruled him out for almost three months, and he made his return to the side againstSevilla FC on 15 March 2008;[46][47] he also came off the bench to score the third and final goal in Valencia's 3–1 victory overGetafe CF inthe final of theCopa del Rey the following month.[48]
Morientes missed out on a further few league games after he was hospitalised in April with abdominal pains and fever.[49] He was released from hospital in time for the final two matches of the season, but played no part in either.
Having begun thefollowing campaign as an unused substitute in Valencia's first league game, and only coming on from the bench in the second, Morientes was handed his first start in aUEFA Cupmatch againstC.S. Marítimo, and he scored the only goal in Portugal through a solo effort at the 12-minute mark.[50] His increasing age and the form of Villa andJuan Mata, however, led to only a handful of appearances in the league; as they were ousted in theround of 32, he still finished as their top scorer in European competition at three goals in seven matches.[51]
.jpg)
On 27 July 2009, Morientes agreed to a deal at France'sOlympique de Marseille on afree transfer for one year, reuniting with former Monaco bossDidier Deschamps.[52] During hisonly season he was the fourth of five strikers in the squad,[53] his soleLigue 1 goal coming on 26 September in what his first start, opening a 3–2 loss atValenciennes FC.[54]
Morientes was released on 1 July 2010, by mutual consent.[55] On 31 August, the 34-year-old announced his retirement from football.[56]
Morientes started his career as manager withHuracán Valencia CF, taking charge of its youth academy.[57] In 2012 he returned to Real Madrid, being appointed at theJuvenil B team in theyouth academy.[58]
In January 2015, at 38, Morientes returned to playing, signing withDAV Santa Ana in theMadrid regional championships.[59] In June, he became manager ofCF Fuenlabrada, but was sacked the following 17 February with the team 11th inSegunda División B.[60]
Morientes was a reliable performer for theSpain national team since 1998, scoring a brace in the first five minutes of his debut againstSweden on 25 March[61] and adding a further two in each of his next two games, againstNorthern Ireland[62] andBulgaria respectively. He ranked fourth on the Spanish all-time topscorer's list with 27 goals in 47 appearances, behind former Real Madrid teammate Raúl, former Valencia teammate Villa and former MadridcaptainFernando Hierro (who took the majority of Spain'sfree kicks and penalties), although his goals-to-games ratio was higher than Raúl and Hierro.[63]
Morientes netted five goals in the twoFIFA World Cups he featured in, with two goals in1998[64] and three in2002. In the latter edition he and Raúl played together up front, and both showed impressive form in the tournament; during the quarter-final match againstSouth Korea the former scored a goal inextra-time that was disallowed, although replays suggested the goal was legitimate – Spain eventually lost the match on penalties.[65][66]
After being a surprise omission atUEFA Euro 2000, with coachJosé Antonio Camacho later admitting after being ousted in the quarter-finals that he had made a mistake by pickingIsmael Urzaiz instead,[67] Morientes was selected forEuro 2004 in Portugal,[68] where he scored one of only two goals that the side could manage,[69] in a subsequent group-stage exit. He also played for the nation during the2006 World Cup qualifiers; however, due to his poor club form for Liverpool, he was not chosen by national team coachLuis Aragonés in the final squad for the tournament, although he was part of an initial 31-man list.[70]
Following his return to form after moving to Valencia, Morientes was recalled to the national side. He scored his 27th goal for Spain in aEuro 2008 qualifier againstDenmark on 24 March 2007. Injured four days later againstIceland in another qualifying fixture, he was not recalled again.[71]
Morientes was regarded one of the top strikers of his generation, forming a notable and highly successful partnership with Raúl at Real Madrid. A quick, creative and hard-working player, he excelled in the air and was an accurate finisher with his head and with his feet, both inside and outside the area; he was also an accuratefree kick taker,[72][73] and was capable of playing off another striker.[74][75][76]
In his later career, as he lost his pace, Morientes often played in asupporting role, using his strength and control to hold up the ball for teammates.[72]
Morientes was featured in theEA Sports'FIFA video game series: he was on the cover for the Spanish edition ofFIFA 99, and also appeared inFIFA Football 2005.[77]
Morientes competed in the third season ofMask Singer: Adivina quién canta as "Gorila", being declared joint winner withAna Torroja as "Ratita".[78]
Morientes married his childhood sweetheart Victoria López on 23 December 1999, inToledo. They fathered son Fernando, and daughters Gabriela, Lucía and Martina.[79][80]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Albacete | 1993–94[81] | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | ||
| 1994–95[81] | La Liga | 20 | 5 | 6 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 27 | 7 | ||
| Total | 22 | 5 | 8 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 8 | |||
| Zaragoza | 1995–96[81] | La Liga | 29 | 13 | 3 | 3 | — | 5[d] | 2 | 2[e] | 0 | 39 | 18 | |
| 1996–97[81] | La Liga | 37 | 15 | 3 | 1 | — | – | – | 40 | 16 | ||||
| Total | 66 | 28 | 6 | 4 | — | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 79 | 34 | |||
| Real Madrid | 1997–98[81] | La Liga | 33 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | 10[f] | 4 | – | 45 | 16 | ||
| 1998–99[81] | La Liga | 33 | 19 | 5 | 6 | — | 4[f] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 43 | 25 | ||
| 1999–2000[81] | La Liga | 29 | 12 | 5 | 0 | — | 14[f] | 6 | 3[g] | 1 | 51 | 19 | ||
| 2000–01[81] | La Liga | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[f] | 4 | 1[h] | 0 | 32 | 10 | ||
| 2001–02[81] | La Liga | 33 | 18 | 5 | 0 | — | 11[f] | 3 | 2[i] | 0 | 51 | 21 | ||
| 2002–03[81] | La Liga | 19 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | 7[f] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 6 | ||
| 2003–04[81] | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05[81] | La Liga | 13 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 6[f] | 2 | – | 21 | 3 | |||
| Total | 183 | 72 | 22 | 8 | — | 61 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 272 | 100 | |||
| Monaco (loan) | 2003–04[82] | Ligue 1 | 28 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12[f] | 9 | – | 42 | 22 | |
| Liverpool | 2004–05[82] | Premier League | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | – | 15 | 3 | ||
| 2005–06[82] | Premier League | 28 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10[f] | 3 | 2[j] | 0 | 46 | 9 | |
| Total | 41 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 12 | ||
| Valencia | 2006–07[81] | La Liga | 24 | 12 | 3 | 0 | — | 10[f] | 7 | – | 37 | 19 | ||
| 2007–08[81] | La Liga | 22 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | 8[f] | 1 | – | 31 | 8 | |||
| 2008–09[81] | La Liga | 20 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 7[k] | 3 | 1[i] | 1 | 34 | 7 | ||
| Total | 66 | 19 | 10 | 3 | — | 25 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 102 | 34 | |||
| Marseille | 2009–10[82] | Ligue 1 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[f] | 0 | – | 19 | 1 | |
| Santa Ana | 2014–15 | Preferente | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | – | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 421 | 143 | 55 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 115 | 44 | 12 | 2 | 606 | 211 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 1998 | 6 | 7 |
| 1999 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 4 | 3 | |
| 2002 | 11 | 5 | |
| 2003 | 3 | 3 | |
| 2004 | 8 | 4 | |
| 2005 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 3 | 1 | |
| Total | 47 | 27 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 March 1998 | Balaídos,Vigo, Spain |  Sweden | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 2–0 | |||||
| 3 | 3 June 1998 | El Sardinero,Santander, Spain |  Northern Ireland | 3–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 4–1 | |||||
| 5 | 24 June 1998 | Félix Bollaert,Lens, France |  Bulgaria | 3–0 | 6–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup |
| 6 | 4–1 | |||||
| 7 | 5 September 1998 | Antonis Papadopoulos,Larnaca, Cyprus |  Cyprus | 2–3 | 2–3 | Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 8 | 18 August 1999 | Polish Army,Warsaw, Poland |  Poland | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 9 | 10 October 1999 | Carlos Belmonte,Albacete, Spain |  Israel | 1–0 | 3–0 | Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 10 | 28 March 2001 | Mestalla,Valencia, Spain |  France | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 11 | 1 September 2001 | Mestalla, Valencia, Spain |  Austria | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2002 World Cup qualification |
| 12 | 3–0 | |||||
| 13 | 13 February 2002 | Lluís Companys,Barcelona, Spain |  Portugal | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 14 | 17 April 2002 | Windsor Park,Belfast, Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland | 5–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 15 | 7 June 2002 | Jeonju World Cup,Jeonju, South Korea |  Paraguay | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup |
| 16 | 2–1 | |||||
| 17 | 16 June 2002 | Suwon World Cup,Suwon, South Korea |  Republic of Ireland | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup |
| 18 | 30 April 2003 | Vicente Calderón,Madrid, Spain |  Ecuador | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 19 | 3–0 | |||||
| 20 | 4–0 | |||||
| 21 | 31 March 2004 | El Molinón,Gijón, Spain |  Denmark | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 22 | 5 June 2004 | Alfonso Pérez,Getafe, Spain |  Andorra | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 23 | 16 June 2004 | Bessa,Porto, Portugal |  Greece | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2004 |
| 24 | 18 August 2004 | Gran Canaria,Las Palmas, Spain |  Venezuela | 1–0 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 25 | 3 September 2005 | El Sardinero, Santander, Spain |  Canada | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 26 | 12 November 2005 | Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain |  Slovakia | 5–1 | 5–1 | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 27 | 24 March 2007 | Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain | Denmark | 1–0 | 2–1 | Euro 2008 qualifying |
Real Madrid
Monaco
Liverpool
Valencia
Marseille
Spain U21
Individual
Spain squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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