Fernando Morientes Football player Date of Birth: 05.04.1976 Country: Spain

Biography of Fernando Morientes

Fernando Morientes is a Spanish football player who is known for his skills as a forward. He achieved a significant milestone in the season by scoring a mega-trick, scoring 5 goals against Las Palmas in a match won by his club, Real Madrid, with a score of 7-0. This accomplishment could have been even more significant if he had converted a penalty kick in the 88th minute.

It had been nearly ten years since Real Madrid scored seven goals in a match. The last time this happened was in the 91/92 season, with Espanyol being the victim. Fernando Hierro, the author of a poker, was the main goal scorer. Overall, there have been nine instances when Real Madrid demonstrated such prolific scoring in league matches. Three of these cases occurred during the period when the club was led by Quinta del Buitre, with Sporting, Castellon, and Sevilla being on the receiving end of seven goals.

Morientes achieved something that no one had accomplished in the league for six years. The last player to score a penta-trick was Croatian Alen Peternac from Valladolid in 1996. The last Real Madrid player to achieve this feat was Ferenc Puskas, who scored five goals against Elche in 1961. In total, four other Real Madrid players, including Pepillo, Miguel Munoz, Alsua, and Alday, had also achieved this feat in the past. No one had scored more than five goals until Morientes' performance. If he had converted the penalty kick at the end of the match, he would have become the sole record holder for his club and equaled the record of three players from the past - Sarra, Mundo, and Cesar - who had scored six goals in a single match.

After scoring a penta-trick, the 25-year-old Morientes came close to the symbolic "100 Club" of Spanish league goals, needing only three more goals. By the end of the season, he surpassed this milestone. Among active players, he currently ranks third in the league's top scorers' table, trailing his teammate Raul and Rivaldo. It is worth noting that Raul did not participate in the match against Las Palmas due to an injury, which partly explains Morientes' phenomenal performance. All the attention was focused on him, as it was the duty of his teammates, especially Luis Figo, to provide him with assists. Figo assisted Morientes three times in the match. In the previous season, Morientes scored a total of 18 goals, which was his second-best individual performance. He had scored 19 goals for Real Madrid in the 98/99 season.

Morientes described the match against Las Palmas as the best in his career, as he had only scored five goals in youth football and had never scored a hat-trick for Real Madrid before. Interestingly, only one of his five goals was scored with his foot, while the other four were headers. This reminded fans of Carlos Santillana, the leader of Real Madrid's attack in the 70s and early 80s, who was known for his aerial prowess.

For Las Palmas, this defeat was not their biggest in history. The record was set during the 58/59 season when they lost 10-1 to Real Madrid. Interestingly, before the 25th round (the round in which they played against Real Madrid), Las Palmas had the best defensive record in the league in terms of goals conceded. Their goalkeeper, Nacho Gonzalez, was leading the candidates for the Zamora Trophy, which is awarded to the goalkeeper with the best ratio of goals conceded to matches played. However, after conceding seven goals to Morientes, his chances of winning the trophy decreased significantly. Despite this, he managed to save Morientes' penalty kick, showcasing his high skill level.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was supposed to be Morientes' tournament. He entered the competition in excellent form, displacing Diego Tristan from the starting lineup, whom coach Camacho initially favored. He had a great understanding with Raul and had scored three goals before the quarter-finals against South Korea. However, the events of that quarter-final match are still well-remembered, and there is no need to dwell on them. It is worth mentioning that one of the two goals correctly disallowed by referee Gamboa belonged to Morientes. In extra time, Morientes hit the post with a shot that came agonizingly close to being a golden goal. Whether Gamboa would have allowed that goal had the ball gone into the net remains a question.

Overall, Fernando Morientes has had a remarkable career, achieving significant milestones and leaving a lasting impact on Spanish football.