Fernando Morientes

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Morientes was born in Cilleros, Cáceres, Extremadura, and moved to Sonseca in the Province of Toledo at the age of four. He began his professional career at Albacete Balompié, making his La Liga debut on 7 November 1993. He signed with Zaragoza in 1995, where he spent another two seasons. Morientes's performances for Zaragoza caught the eye of Real Madrid, which bought the player in the summer of 1997 for approximately €6.6 million. He finished as starter and managed 12 goals in his 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 prodigy Raúl). He helped Real Madrid win the UEFA Champions League in 1998, 2000, and 2002. He was loaned to Monaco for the 2003–04 season, scoring nine goals in the Champions League and helping eliminate Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. He transferred to Liverpool in January 2005 for €9.3 million, then joined Valencia in late May 2006.

In Their Own Story

In 2001–02, 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 of UD Las Palmas, missing out on a double hat-trick after missing from the penalty spot late in the match. He finished second in the top scorers list, tied with Patrick Kluivert and behind Deportivo de La Coruña's Diego Tristán, as the Merengues were successful in winning the Champions League after beating Bayer 04 Leverkusen – he played in the final and received a third winners medal.

Reader's Guide

Morientes played as a striker. At Real Madrid, he initially backed up Predrag Mijatović and Davor Šuker but became a starter. He scored 100 goals in 272 games in all competitions for Real Madrid. At Monaco, he was top scorer in the 2003–04 Champions League with nine goals. At Liverpool, he scored 12 goals in 61 appearances and won the 2005 UEFA Super Cup. At Valencia, he linked up well with David Villa and scored 12 goals in 24 league games in his first season.

Did You Know?

• Morientes scored his first professional hat-trick in a 3–2 win at Athletic Bilbao for the domestic cup on 10 January 1996.
• He scored five goals in a 7–0 demolition of UD Las Palmas in 2001–02, missing out on a double hat-trick after missing from the penalty spot.
• Morientes scored in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid while on loan at Monaco in 2004.
• He was cup-tied for Liverpool's 2005 Champions League campaign and did not feature in the final.