Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Juventus' Alvaro Morata plans to celebrate vs. Real's rivals Barca

Juventus forward Alvaro Morata says he would be delighted to get the chance to celebrate scoring against Barcelona in the Champions League final after drawing criticism for his long face after earning the Bianconeri their place in Berlin.

Morata's two semifinal goals against Real Madrid took Juventus to their first final since 2003, upsetting the holders who sold the 22-year-old to the Old Lady last summer.

Real still have an option to buy him back over the next three years and, out of respect for his past and possible future with the Los Blancos, Morata did not celebrate either of his two most important goals for Juve.

It would be a different story in the final, though, insists the Spain forward.

"It wasn't hard at all for me not to celebrate either in Turin or at the Bernabeu," Morata told Canal+, in quotes reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I didn't celebrate and I never would if it were to happen a thousand more times. It's obvious that it was a weird situation because I could feel such great emotion inside me for the crucial goal which made it 1-1, but at the same time there was a strange, bittersweet taste.

"It was hard for me to play these two games and they are the most painful goals that I scored. I'd like to thank the Madrid fans for the support they always gave me and I just wish I could have scored those goals against another side, but unfortunately football and life can be like this at times."

Morata admitted it was a heart-breaking decision to leave Real, but one he does not regret it.

"People said I was crazy to go and I had to listen to a lot of criticism, but my father, my mother and my agent told me that I could be successful away from Madrid, and they were right," added the 22-year-old, who found his way into the Real first-team repeatedly blocked and was restricted to 51 appearances, in which he scored nine goals, for the Spaniards.

"Sometimes football can be unfair to you, but it can also make you very happy. It would be disrespectful for me towards Juve now to think about going back [to Madrid]."

The final will be a different story as Morata prepares for his personal El Clasico.

"Fortunately the final's going to be completely different on an emotional level," Morata said. "Barca are a great side, but so too are we. I would totally celebrate against Barca, are you kidding?"

^ Back to Top ^