Spain striker Alvaro Morata’s wife, Alice Campello, revealed that her husband received death threats following his penalty miss in the 5-3 shootout loss to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League final last week.
An entertaining game at the Allianz Arena saw reigning European champions Spain lead 2-1 at the break, thanks to efforts from Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Oyarzabal interespered between Nuno Mendes’ equaliser.
Portugal hit back after the break, with captain Cristiano Ronaldo making it 2-2 just after the hour mark. There would be no more goals as a shootout ensued following a goalless 30 minutes of extra time.
Morata produced the only miss of the shootout as his weak effort was kept out by Diogo Costa before Neves sealed the Selecao’s win, making them the first multiple Nations League champions.
Following his miss, Morata – who has had past battles with mental health – received hateful messages and death threats, as reported by GOAL, who quoted his wife posting on Instagram:
In another post, Campello wrote:
Morata and Co. were looking to become the first back-to-back Nations League winners but were thwarted by Roberto Martinez’s Portugal. It’s pertinent to note that La Roja won that tournament with a 5-4 shootout victory over Croatia in Rotterdam.
Alvaro Morata had a rather quiet Nations League campaign for Spain, scoring once in six games. That lone strike came in a 3-0 home win over Serbia in October.
Morata played just nine minutes in the aforementioned shootout loss to Portugal in Munich. Overall, the 32-year-old has 37 goals and eight assists in 86 games for his nation.
The former AC Milan man had a goal and an assist in seven games in La Roja’s victorious UEFA Euro 2024 triumph last year. The goal came in a 3-0 group-stage win over Croatia, while the assist was in the 2-1 semi-final win over France.
Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.
Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.
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