José Luis Morales (footballer, born 1987)

José Luis Morales Nogales (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse lwis moˈɾales]; born 23 July 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for La Liga club Villarreal.

Not to be confused with José Luis Morales (footballer, born 1973).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Morales and the second or maternal family name is Nogales.
José Luis Morales
Morales with Levante in 2016
Personal information
Full name José Luis Morales Nogales
Date of birth (1987-07-23) 23 July 1987[1]
Place of birth Madrid, Spain[1]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger, forward
Team information
Current team
 Villarreal
Number 15
Youth career
1992–2006 Brunete
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2010 Parla 69 (17)
2010–2011 Fuenlabrada 36 (20)
2011–2013 Levante B 79 (22)
2013–2022 Levante 294 (66)
2013–2014 → Eibar (loan) 38 (3)
2022– Villarreal 32 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 02:25, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

A late bloomer, he only reached La Liga at the age of 27, with Levante, and spent most of his career with the club while appearing in 311 competitive matches and scoring 69 goals. He also won the 2016–17 Segunda División.[2][3]

Club career

Early career

Born in Madrid, Morales only played amateur football well into his 20s. At 10 or 11 years of age, he had unsuccessful trials with Real Madrid.[4] An ADC Brunete youth graduate, he made his senior debut in the Tercera División with AD Parla.[5]

Morales signed with CF Fuenlabrada also in the fourth division – and the Community of Madrid – in 2010. He scored a career-best 20 goals in his only season, in an eighth-place finish.[6]

Levante

On 1 July 2011, Morales joined Levante UD, being assigned to the reserves in the fourth tier[7] and promoting in his first season, with the player contributing 14 goals in 41 matches.[8][9] On 17 April 2013, he agreed to a new two-year deal and was promoted to the main squad.[10]

Morales was loaned to Segunda División club SD Eibar on 30 July 2013.[11] He played his first game as a professional on 18 August 2013, starting in a 2–1 away win against Real Jaén.[12]

Morales scored his first professional goal on 27 October 2013, the second in the 2–0 victory at FC Barcelona B.[13] He added a further two in 40 competitive appearances during the campaign, helping the Basques to a first-ever promotion to La Liga.[14]

Back to Levante, Morales made his top-flight debut on 30 August 2014, starting in a 3–0 away loss to Athletic Bilbao.[15][2] He scored his first goal in the competition on 4 October, in a 3–3 draw at former side Eibar.[16]

On 29 May 2015, Morales renewed his contract with the Valencians, signing until 2019.[17] He scored 12 times in 2018–19, adding five assists for the 15th-placed team.[18]

Morales netted 13 goals in 2020–21, establishing himself as Levante's all-time scorer in the top division.[19] He repeated the feat the following season (with seven assists), but was not able to prevent relegation.[20]

Villarreal

On 24 June 2022, Villarreal CF announced the signing of Morales on a two-year deal.[21] On 6 October, he scored a second-half hat-trick as a substitute in the 5–0 home win over FK Austria Wien in the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League.[22]

Honours

Eibar

Levante

References
  1. "José Luis Morales". Eurosport. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  2. Picó, Diego (8 February 2021). "Morales: debut y Maradona en San Mamés con el Levante" [Morales: debut and Maradona at San Mamés with Levante]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  3. Feehely, Alan (2 June 2022). "Jose Luis Morales expected to leave relegated Levante for Villarreal". Football España. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  4. ""I had trials at Real Madrid at 11 and they rejected me"". Diario AS. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  5. Sancho de Rosa, Luis (13 January 2021). "Del Mudo al Comandante: la historia de José Luis Morales" [From the Mute One to the Commander: the story of José Luis Morales]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  6. "Morales regresa a Fuenlabrada, donde surgió el flechazo con el Levante" [Morales returns to Fuenlabrada, where the crush with Levante began] (in Spanish). EFE. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  7. "Juanma Fernández y José Luis Morales, nuevas incorporaciones para el Levante UD B" [Juanma Fernández and José Luis Morales, new additions to Levante UD B] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 1 July 2011. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  8. "Morales firma su contrato de renovación con el Levante UD" [Morales signs his contract extension with Levante UD] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  9. Álvarez, Fernando (16 January 2021). "El día que Morales dejó el Fuenlabrada por el filial del Levante por menos de 1.200 euros" [The day Morales left Fuenlabrada for Levante's reserves for less than 1.200 euros]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  10. "El canterano Morales, primer 'fichaje' del Levante para la próxima temporada" [Youth player Morales, first Levante 'signing' for next season]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). 17 April 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  11. "Morales jugará cedido en Eibar" [Morales will play on loan at Eibar]. Marca (in Spanish). 30 July 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  12. "El Jaén muere en la orilla" [Jaén die on the shore]. Marca (in Spanish). 18 August 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  13. "El Eibar se aprovecha de cierta apatía del filial azulgrana" [Eibar take advantage of somewhat lethargic azulgrana reserves]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 October 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  14. Rodríguez, M.Á. (31 March 2019). "Morales y el Eibar, amores que matan" [Morales and Eibar, love that can kill you]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  15. "Bilbao claim first win of season". ESPN FC. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  16. Aldunate, Ramiro (4 October 2014). "En Ipurua, hasta el rabo todo es toro" [At Ipurua, it is not over until it is over]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  17. "Morales renueva y amplía su contrato para las próximas tres temporadas y lo celebra adquiriendo su abono del Levante UD" [Morales renews and extends his contract for the following three seasons and celebrates it by acquiring his Levante UD subscription] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  18. "Morales comanda al Levante en Primera" [Morales in charge of Levante in Primera]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 13 May 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  19. Sancho de Rosa, Luis (12 May 2021). "El mejor Morales acecha el récord de Koné" [The best Morales stalks Koné's record]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  20. "José Luis Morales, a un paso de oficializar su fichaje por el Villarreal" [José Luis Morales, about to make his signing for Villarreal official] (in Spanish). Revista Poble. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  21. "Comandante groguet" [Yellow commander] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  22. Hoyos, Silvia (6 October 2022). "Goals and highlights: Villarreal 5–0 Austria Vienna in Conference League". Vavel. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  23. Garitaonandia, José Francisco (26 February 2020). "Morales: "Ir cedido al Eibar fue la mejor decisión de mi vida"" [Morales: "To go on loan to Eibar was the best decision I ever made"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  24. Molins, José (20 May 2017). "La profesionalidad de un campeón" [The professionalism of champions]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
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