“He’s Scottie Pippen” – 30 YO Spanish Star’s Performance Against Erling Haaland’s Team Prompts Norwegian Legend to Draw Parallels to 6x-NBA Champion

For Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Haaland, it was heartbreak at the Euro 2024 qualifiers. Norway crashed out to European giants Spain, who booked their place in the tournament next year. While Haaland was left biting the dust, Spain’s 30-year-old captain and striker drew all the plaudits.

La Roja beat Norway 1-0 shortly after their 2-0 win over Scotland as both Spain and Scotland qualified for the Euros as 1st and 2nd in Group A respectively. Barcelona youngster Gavi was on target for Spain on the night, giving the Spanish side the 3 points, effectively sealing their qualification. However, Spain’s captain Alvaro Morata was at the heart of the victory, with an ESPN FC pundit even claiming he’s almost like former NBA All-Star Scottie Pippen.

ESPN FC pundit likens Alvaro Morata to Scottie Pippen

It’s safe to say that Alvaro Morata has been there and done that. Despite not reaching numbers similar to the goal machine that is Erling Haaland, he is still one of the most intelligent and experienced strikers in the world at the moment. He also instantly makes players around him better, with his gameplay and ability to bring teammates into the game whilst not being the main star in the Spain side.

This was further echoed by ESPN FC pundit and ex-Norway player Jan Aage Fjortoft, who compared Morata to 6-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen. Speaking on the ESPN FC podcast, Fjortoft said, “For me, he’s Scotty Pippen, he’s Scotty Pippen. He’s always playing with a superstar and we we tend to forget how good he really is you know he’s some somewhere in the shadow but that’s why I so enjoyed watching him yesterday.”

“Sometimes also with his body language, then again it doesn’t look like he’s in there like he doesn’t look like he exploding, but what a striker! There’s not many strikers of his generation around who knows his football as good as Morata.”

Spain’s captain on the night, the 30-year-old journeyman Alvaro Morata has played for several clubs across Europe including Real Madrid, Juventus, Chelsea, and now Atletico Madrid. In the span of his career, he has scored 24 goals in 72 games for Chelsea, 31 goals in 95 games for Real Madrid, 59 goals in 185 games for Juventus and his current record at Atletico stands at 44 goals in 115 games for the Madrid club.

Additionally, Morata has been a central figure in Spain’s qualification for Euro 2024 after igniting La Roja’s comeback spell after their loss to Scotland in matchday 2 of the qualifiers.

Also read: After Allegedly Losing Ballon d’Or to Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland Eclipsed by Julian Alvarez, Says Ex-Argentina Star

Morata sparks Spain’s comeback to qualify for Euro 2024 as Gavi seals qualification

Spain started their 2024 Euro qualifiers in poor fashion after losing 2-0 to Scotland on matchday 2, having beaten Norway 3-0 on matchday 1. However, Morata has been central to Spain’s cause with 4 goals in the qualifiers. The Atletico striker showed his quality in matchday 5 as he netted a hat-trick against Georgia as Spain emphatically beat Georgia 7-1.

Earlier this month on October 13, Morata bagged the crucial goal against Scotland as La Roja won the game 2-0. Morata headed the ball into the Scottish net after a delightful cross was played into the box. Morata is also Spain’s highest goal scorer in the qualifiers so far. A goal from Gavi against Norway was enough to seal Spain’s spot in the tournament next year after the ball ricocheted around the box until the youngster hit the back of the net.

For Spain, all eyes will turn to Germany next year as Norway and Haaland have to pick up the pieces.

Watch this story:- Soccer Stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Make a Huge Assist for Esports Space