Álvaro Borja Morata Martín (born 23 October 1992 in Madrid) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Real Madrid as a striker.
Morata signed for local and national giants Real Madrid in 2008 from neighbouring Getafe CF, finishing his formation two years later, but starting appearing for Real Madrid C still as a junior. In July 2010, after a successful season with the Juvenil A where he won two youth titles and scored 34 goals, he was promoted to the B team; later that month, first team coach José Mourinho took the player alongside four teammates to a preseason tour in United States.
On 15 August 2010, Morata made his debut with Castilla in a friendly match with AD Alcorcón, scoring the only goal of the game. His third division debut came on the 29th in a 3–2 win against Coruxo FC, and he netted his first official goal in a 1–1 draw against RSD Alcalá, on 31 October.
On 12 December 2010 Morata made his debut for the first team, when he was brought on as a substitute for Ángel di María in the 88th minute of a 3–1 La Liga win at Real Zaragoza. Ten days later he made his debut in the Copa del Rey, also coming from the bench in the last minutes. In January 2011, after Gonzalo Higuaín's injury, Spanish media appointed him to be his replacement in the main squad. However, Mourinho discarded this option saying that "he's not prepared to be in the starting lineup of Real Madrid. He needs to grow up and finish his formation with Castilla"; in this period of time Morata scored five goals in four matches with the reserves, while Emmanuel Adebayor was being signed to fit the missing striker in the first team.
On 13 February 2011 Morata scored the first hat-trick of his career, in a 7–1 victory against Deportivo de La Coruña B. He finished his first season as a senior with 14 league goals (squad best alongside Joselu), but Castilla failed to promote in the playoffs.
Morata was called by the Spanish under-17 team for the 2009 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria, playing four matches and scoring two goals for the third-placed team. Subsequently, he represented the under-19s at the Japan International Tournament, helping the national team finish second after the hosts.
Morata was selected by Spain to the squad that appeared in the 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship in Romania, helping the national team win the tournament with six goals, the highest in the competition.
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