Personal Information
Full Name | Fernando Morientes Sánchez |
Date of Birth | April 5, 1976 |
Nationality | Spanish |
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) |
Role | Striker |
Past Team(s) |
Fernando Morientes: A Brief Biography
Fernando Morientes Sanchez is a former Spanish footballer who was born on 5th April, 1976 in Caceres, Spain. He is a right footed centre forward who played for teams such as Real Madrid, Liverpool, Marseille in his professional career. He also represented Spain International team.
Background
Morientes started his career at Albacete Balompie by making his La Liga debut in November 1993 against CD Tenerife.
During this year Morientes made his appearance for the Spain U18 team also. In October 1994, Morientes scored his first professional goal against Racing de Santander in a 2-0 home win.
In 1995, Morientes moved to Real Zaragoza and played for 2 seasons. There he played upfront with Real Madrid youth graduate Dani.
After 2 years at Zaragoza Morientes moved to Real Madrid on a free transfer. He scored 12 goals for them in the first season.
His fine performances in club level earned him a place in the National team.
Debut
Morientes made his debut for Spain International team against Sweden in March 1998. He scored 2 goals in the first 5 minutes of the match.
Rise to Glory
Morientes came to limelight after his great career for Real Madrid where he scored 82 goals in 8 seasons winning 3 Champions League, 2 Spanish Cup and 2 Intercontinental cups. He was also the top scorer of the 2003-04 Champions League season.
He then moved to Liverpool in 2005 for a reported transfer fee of 8.3 million pounds. He made his debut for Liverpool in January 2005 against rivals Manchester United. Liverpool lost the match 0-1 at home.
He scored his first goal for Liverpool in February against Charlton Athletic in a 2-1 win at home.
He played 2 seasons for Liverpool and won FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and finished as runner in 2005 League Cup and 2005 FIFA Club World Cup Championship.
He then moved to Valencia in May 2006 for a reported fee of 4.50 million pounds. He scored on his league debut against Real Betis in 2-1 home win. He scored 12 goals in 24 matches that season.
He got frequently injured during his stint with Valencia and got limited opportunities which pushed him to move away from the team.
In 2009, he moved to Olympique de Marseille on a free transfer for 1 season. He scored just 1 goal in the whole season and was released after a mutual consent.
Low Points
He could not make huge impact in his career as a striker after his term in Real Madrid. He also could not succeed highly in International level for Spain.
Club Career
Morientes started his career at Albacete and played there for 2 seasons. He then moved to Real Zaragoza and played for 2 seasons.
Morientes was then bought by Real Madrid and he played 8 seasons for the club. He won 3 Champions League with Real Madrid.
He then made a move to English Premier League Club Liverpool in 2005 and played 2 seasons.
In 2006, Morientes moved to Valencia and played for 4 seasons. He then played 1 season for Olympique de Marseille.
Retirement
Morientes announced his retirement from Professional Football in August, 2010. He then started his career as a manager of Huracan Valencia FC Youth team.
In 2012, he returned to Real Madrid to manage the B team for 2 years. He then signed for Santa Ana as a player but managed to play only 3 matches and later took up the role of manager of Fuenlabrada. He was later sacked from the team after the poor performance of the team.