Football Player's Biography 7: Álvaro Morata

Full name	Álvaro Borja Morata Martín
Date of birth	23 October 1992 (1992-10-23) (age 18)
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1¹⁄₂ in)
Playing position	Striker

Álvaro Borja Morata Martín (born 23 October 1992 in Madrid) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Real Madrid Castilla.

Club career

Signed by Real Madrid on 2008 from Getafe CF youth teams, he started playing in the Juvenil C team. On November 2009 he started to alternate games between all Juvenil squads (A, B and C) and Real Madrid C.^[1] On July 2010, after a successful season with the Juvenil A team winning two youth titles and scoring 34 goals,^[2] he was promoted to Real Madrid Castilla. Later that month, Real Madrid's first team coach, José Mourinho, took the player alongside four teammates to a preseason tour in United States.^[3]
On 15 August 2010 Morata made his debut with Real Madrid Castilla in a friendly match against AD Alcorcón scoring the only goal in the 1–0 victory.^[4] His league debut came on 29 August, in a 3–2 win over Coruxo,^[5] and he scored 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 Real Madrid first team when he was brought on as a substitute for Ángel di María in the 88th minute in Real Madrid's 3–1 win against Real Zaragoza. Ten days later Morata made his debut in Copa del Rey when he was brought on as a substitute in the 77th minute. On January 2011, after 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 the Castilla".^[6] In this period Morata attached a string of five goals in four matches with the reserves,^[7] while Emmanuel Adebayor was being signed to fit the missing striker in the first team. On 13 February he scored the first hat-trick of his career, in a 7–1 victory over Deportivo B.

International career

Morata was called for the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, he played four matches and scored two goals.^[9] The RFEF called Morata for the Japan International Tournament U-19.^[10] The team placed second after Japan.^[11]

Playing style

Good in the air and at holding up the ball, with clinical finishing ability and excellent movement, Morata has been compared to legendary Spaniard and former Real Madrid talisman Fernando Morientes due to his style.^[12]