Spain striker Alvaro Morata was hailed as a hero and was dubbed as a zero in a matter of minutes. Morata's last minute goal sent the semi-final game into extra time, giving Spain a chance to enter the finals of Euro 2020. But the shootout was a pure heartbreak as Spain crashed out of the tournament, helping Italy book a spot in the finals of European Championship.
Federico Chiesa of Italy had scored a goal for the team in the 60th minute, and even the crowd was convinced that the team would go into finals, until Spain's Alvaro Morata gave a shocker in the 80th minute. This levelled the score to 1-1, giving Spain a chance to enter the finals.
But instant hero Morata could not keep up the pace and missed the next-to-last kick in shootout even as Jorginho converted the penalty kick to give Italy a 4-2 shootout win over Spain. Thus, Italy will face winners between England and Denmark on July 11 at the Wembley Stadium, London in the finals.
Morata was seen looking at Jorginho in disbelief as the latter did what he had failed to do seconds ago. But it will remain a fact that though Morata failed to convert the penalty chances to goals, even for a short time, he rekindled the Spain's finale hopes. "I gave him [Morata] a hug and my thanks – he had allowed us to dream," said Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish football federation.
Morata has a record of most goals [than any other Spain player] at European Championships after his recent successful strike against Italy. With six goals to his credit, Morata has overtaken Fernando Torres who had scored five goals.
Who is Alvaro Morata?
Álvaro Borja Morata Martín is a 28-year-old Spanish professional footballer. He plays as a striker for Serie A club Juventus, on loan from La Liga club Atlético Madrid, and the Spain national team.
Morata was born to Susana Martín and Alfonso Morata in Madrid. Morata is managed by agent Juanma López. He is a well-known forward but is capable of playing as a main striker. He has also played out wide on the wing.
Morata started his career with the senior team of Real Madrid in 2010. He moved to Juventus for €20 million in 2014, following the victory at the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League. He was bought back by Real Madrid for €30 million and Morata won another La Liga and the UEFA Champions League in 2016–17. In 2017, he joined Chelsea for a record fee of around £60 million. He moved to Atlético Madrid in in January 2019 on loan. He joined the club permanently on July 1, 2020. Morata then moved back to Juventus on loan in 2020.
Morata got engaged to his Italian girlfriend Alice Campello in Dec. 10, 2016. The couple got married on June 17, 2017 in Venice. He became a father of twin sons Alessandro and Leonardo on July 29, 2018. In celebration, he changed his kit number at Chelsea from 9 to 29. The couple's third son, Edoardo was born on Sept. 29, 2020.
