Alvaro Morata received death threats after Poland fixture, the striker reveals

Alvaro Morata received death threats after Poland fixture, the striker reveals

Spain’s star forward, Alvaro Morata, said that he and his family received death threats after enduring a poor run of form in front of goal in this Euro 2020 tournament. Despite scoring against Poland, the Juventus forward missed a number of easy chances to put La Roja ahead. The form continued in the 5-0 victory against Slovakia too as Morata missed a penalty and was substituted off before he could score.

Spain boss Luis Enrique has decided to stick with the player despite his poor form, but the 28-year-old has been a target of ire for the Spanish fans: through both social media posts, and whistles and chants from crowds present in matches.

In a recent interview, the forward admitted to consulting a psychologist to help him with his mental health. The Spanish player has three sons with his wife Alice Campello: Alessandro, Leonardo and Edoardo. Thankfully, he admitted that he was doing fine in what was a courageous admission of one’s weakness.

FS Video

Morata speaks out

Alvaro Morata for Spain
Alvaro Morata has not been in his best form for Spain lately.

Morata spoke out about his recent issues on Spanish radio station Cadena Cope:

“I didn’t sleep for nine hours after the match against Poland. I’ve received death threats, insults to my family, that I hope my children die… but I’m fine, maybe a few years ago I would have been upset. I’ve spent a few weeks isolated from everything.”

On facing criticism, he said “Maybe I have not done my job as I should. I understand that people criticise me because I haven’t scored a goal, but I wish people would put themselves in my shoes: to be told that your children should die...”

“What bothers me is that they tell my wife, that they tell my children – they are going through Seville with their dad’s name on their shirts. They tell them everything. I had to put my phone away this week. I didn’t sleep at all these past few days, because of the adrenaline.“

On why he took the penalty and how he felt about the miss: “I’m very proud of myself for taking a penalty after I’d been fouled. I saw that nobody was taking the ball, I picked it up and I took it. I looked to see if anyone wanted to… I took it and missed. The world didn’t come down on me. Everyone misses.“

Thankfully, Alvaro ended the interview on a happier note: “I’m super happy and super motivated with reaching the Round of 16. We talked in training how football has changed, in the last Euros we started better and we arrived in the Round of 16 in another way. It’s football and I’m happy, whoever doesn’t believe it, doesn’t know me.”

Spain came second in Group E after hammering Slovakia 5-0 in their final group match, and now face Croatia in their Euro 2020 Round of 16 tie. They potentially face France or Switzerland next if they manager to overcome the Croatian challenge.

Also Read: Round of 16 ties confirmed after rollercoaster last day