Real Madrid central defender, Pepe, also known as La Liga’s most carded player has found himself in yet another fight with players of Levante, in their most recent match. Apparently the Levante side and Pepe perceived the reff as biased and giving preferential treatment to Real Madrid. Apparently, Pepe made arrogant gestures and smirks towards Levante players resulting from these calls. Levante’s Sergio Ballesteros had enough and the issue was addressed in the locker room after the match. It’s not confirmed who threw the first punch, Levante claiming it was Pepe, and the Real Madrid side accused Levante of being sore losers. Prior to this flare up, Cristiano Ronaldo took an elbow to the eye resulting in a bad cut and stitches, but still managed to score the first goal shortly after. To make matters worse, the entire game was played in torrential down pour.
Now for some good news! Like most large clubs, there is something called the youth team, many players like Lionel Messi grew up with his team Barcelona by initially being recruited into Barcelona Youth, then advancing to the 2nd team and finally, through displaying exemplary skills when given the opportunity to play even 5 minutes for the 1st team, they are then given a spot to become a substitute or permanent player and make a name for themselves. This was the case for young Alvaro Morata, at only 20 years old he grew up in the Real Madrid youth system, and during the Levante match, Morata came in as a substitute and in 2 minutes netted the winning goal for Real Madrid. It’s a proud moment for a youth player, because it provided not just proof of his own skill, but his potential to one day become the next Zidane or Gutti and all the other famous players who got their chance like Morata, with a little luck and a lot of talent. After his goal, the 20 year old received a celebration overload from his teammates, all excited to see the young player make a name for himself, and ultimately win the game. In a post-match interview, Morata expressed his delight and praised his coach, “It was very sweet,” he said. “I had been close to scoring my first official senior goal in other games and I managed it today. I had chances to leave but I am at the best club in the world, with the best coach in the world. Mourinho gives me advice and help, I try to absorb them to become a better player.”
Morata celebtating his goal with teammates