The striker, who struggled in his side’s Euro 2020 opener against
Sweden, has become the whipping boy for disgruntled fans
Álvaro Morata knows better than anyone, which may just be part of the problem. In the days leading up to Spain’s first game at Euro 2020, sitting in the sunshine at their Las Rozas training base, the former
Chelsea player gave a graphic description of how fine the line can be for a striker, particularly one like him. “The ball going in or not can take you from the front page to eating all the shit in Spain,” he told the sports daily AS.
As it turned out, it can end up with both. During a Euro 2020 opening night when
Spain set a tournament record for the number of passes completed, when they took 17 shots on Sweden’s goal but failed to score and were instead held 0-0 by a team that their coach, Luis Enrique, said came to “defend, defend and defend”, Morata found himself whistled by a significant portion of the 12,517 fans at La Cartuja in Seville. He also found himself on the front pages.