Fernando Morientes
Fernando Morientes in 2005 in the jersey of Liverpool FC
Fernando Morientes Sánchez ( born April 5, 1976 in Cáceres ) is a former Spanish footballer. Most recently, he played at Olympique Marseille.
Career
Clubs
17 years old, played the ball head strong striker in Albacete Balompié in the Primera Division, Spain's top league. Although he graduated in his first season only two league games, but already in the following season (1994 /95) he had made it a regular player. In 20 games this season, scoring five goals, but Albacete had to dismount. Since Morientes further wanted to play first class and the talent had drawn attention to himself, he moved in 1995 to Real Zaragoza.
His dortiger cost could hardly be better: in his first league game get him two goals. In the following two seasons, he went through a good goal tally talked about. In his first season he scored 13 goals in the next season already 15 Through these achievements, he drew the attention of the Spanish top clubs up. The race for the sought-after center forward, at which involved, among others, FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, finally made record champion Real Madrid.
The capital club, coached by German coach Jupp Heynckes, to the young striker could cost around six million euros - an investment in the future, because Morientes should replace long-term Striker Davor Šuker. It quickly succeeded Šuker from the starting eleven to displace, because with twelve goals in 33 matches from which he played only 17 from the beginning, he became the most successful real striker. At the end of the season with the club he scored his first big success, as Real won 1-0 the final of the Champions League against Juventus. In the following season, a small dip in form, the striker went through at Real. Under Heynckes successor to Guus Hiddink, he was often only second choice. This only changed with the change of coach to John Toshack. The Welsh built on Morientes, who justified the trust by scoring 15 goals in 15 games and was behind Raúl 's top scorer of the " Royal ". Real extended the contract with the goalscorer and wrote his transfer fee to 85 million euro fixed. In 2000, he won the Champions League again, this time the FC Valencia was defeated 3-0, Morientes scored the important 1-0. 2001 Real was Spanish football champions, and in 2002 won Morientes for the third time the Champions League, this time Bayer 04 Leverkusen was beaten 2-1. His second championship with Real in the summer of 2003 was his last title win for now.
But Real had a year earlier committed Ronaldo and Morientes was behind Ronaldo and Raúl only striker number 3, which is why he was loaned by the 2002/ 03 season for AS Monaco. Morientes scored the Monegasque his goals in the Champions League final in 2004 ( among others he met in the quarter- final against Real Madrid in both games and thus threw his old club out of the competition ) and was with 9 hits and also top scorer in the Champions League 2003/2004. The Merengues brought Morientes after this impressive season back to Spain. Here he was playing with his friend Raul, however, before he was sold to the winter break for 8.6 million euros for Liverpool only for half a year. In Madrid he did not make it past a reserve player.
But even with Liverpool, under Rafael Benítez, he no longer found his top form and came up with the play can not cope in the Premier League. In one and a half years he scored just eight league goals and he left England again.
In May 2006, Morientes was transferred for a fee of approximately 3.1 million euros back to Spain to Valencia, as he could not convince at Anfield. There he found his way back to his form and goals scored in league and Champions League. In the 2008 /09 season he came into the league only sporadically, usually as Joker, used. After his contract at Valencia had expired, he joined the French top club Olympique Marseille. Beginning of July 2010 was dissolved his contract with Marseille prematurely.
August 31, 2010 Fernando Morientes finished his career.
From 1 July 2012, he is a youth coach at Real Madrid.
National
Morientes was in the squad, the Spaniard for the 1996 Olympic Games, where he but his team was eliminated in the quarterfinals. His first game for the national team of Spain he made against Sweden on 25 March 1998. Within five minutes, he scored two goals in this game. In the 1998 World Cup, he scored twice in the 2002 World Cup even three times. For the Euro 2000 Morientes was not considered by coach José Antonio Camacho. At Euro 2004, however, he was back in the squad and scored the only Stürmertor the otherwise disappointing Spaniards. In total he scored for Spain in 47 games 27 goals, making it the third most successful shooter of the association 's history. For the 2006 World Cup and the 2008 European Championships, he was not called by coach Luis Aragonés.
Achievements / Title
With its clubs
- World Cup: 1998, 2002
- Spanish Super Cup: 1997, 2001
- UEFA Champions League: 1997/ 98, 1999/2000, 2001/ 02
- Spanish Cup: 2000/ 01, 2002 /03
- UEFA Super Cup: 2002, 2005
- FA Cup: 2006
- Spanish Cup: 2008
Individual Achievements / Honors
- UEFA Forward of the Year: 2004
- Scorer in the UEFA Champions League: 2004