Morelos red card record, ‘scaring’ Rangers team-mates and Premier League dream
Alfredo Morelos has earned a reputation for being Scottish football’s bad boy after a flurry of red cards in his four years playing for Rangers. And if he gets his wish, he could be coming to the Premier League sometime soon.
The 24-year-old embodies the passion and tenacity that often comes from growing up as a young footballer in Latin America.
What he lacks in temperament and a cool head, the Colombian makes up for with his impressive goalscoring record.
He's hit 94 goals in 182 games for the club and was a key man as they lifted the Premiership title last season, finishing the campaign unbeaten to end their 10-year wait for domestic success.
He even surpassed the great Ally McCoist in becoming the club’s all-time European top goalscorer in European competition after his goal glut in the Europa League.
Rangers have reaped the benefits from gambling on signing the striker, who had impressed for HJK Helsinki in the Finnish Veikkausliga, scoring 46 goals in 62 appearances before his £1million move to Ibrox.
But his goals come at a heavy price with Morelos struggling to keep a lid on his temper.
The 24-year-old has not quite matched Sergio Ramos territory in terms of receiving his marching orders but red cards have been dished out on a frequent basis in his four seasons in Scotland.
Since his debut in August 2017, Morelos has been dismissed seven times as well as receiving 46 yellow cards in all competition — the most of any player in Scotland.
He was sent off on the opening day of the 2018-19 season for kicking out at an opponent, and while it was later rescinded on appeal, it pointed to his fieriness and potential ill-discipline.
The striker has developed a reputation for acts of petulance when getting involved in scraps with his opponents and manager Steven Gerrard had vowed to personally intervene to calm down his antics.
But recent comments about his behaviour went too far when Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh, who was a pundit for Hibernian’s club channel, suggested the striker should be “macheted into small pieces” in a video that emerged on social media after he clashed with Ryan Porteous.
After apologising for the incident and removing the footage from their website, Hibs have been spared punishment by the Scottish FA.
Morelos served a retrospective three-game ban for standing on Porteous but there has been an improvement in his behaviour on the pitch, with a reduction in the number of red cards in the last two years.
But after struggling to keep his star man on the pitch, Gerrard faces another problem in convincing the top goalscorer to stay after trying his luck in the Premier League.
He made comments to a Colombian radio station earlier this discussing his future and admitted it would be a “dream” to ply his trade in England, although recent reports suggest Porto could be his next destination.
"One of my big dreams is to play in the English Premier League,” he told Caracol Radio.
“It is one of the best leagues in the world and there are a lot of important players and important teams.
Don't miss a thing with our football updates!
Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?
Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!
From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox – don't miss a thing.
How do you sign up?
It only takes a matter of seconds.
Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.
And that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top news stories every single morning.
You can find out more information on our email newsletter on this link here.
"So if the opportunity presents itself in my career, I am going to take it. It's a style of football very similar to Scottish football and I would enjoy it."
The 2020-21 season was actually one of Morelos’ worst in terms of goals with only 12 in the league, having been distracted by speculation regarding a potential move to Lille. Despite Gerrard admitting he had his “head turned”, Rangers snubbed offers from the Ligue 1 outfit and he remained at the club, with his contract running to 2023.
In all honesty, his team-mates may have conflicting feelings over his prospective departure.
Gerrard famously revealed the Colombian was "bouncing about the dressing room with no top listening to Sweet Caroline", in the middle of the post-match celebrations after scoring the goal that effectively confirmed Rangers as champions.
Steven Gerrard among those 'admired' by Tottenham as Mourinho replacement hunt continues
While replacing his goals and dressing room dance moves will prove difficult, there is a sense that his Rangers colleagues are “scared” of what he is capable of during games, as Kenny Dalglish remarked in January this year.
"Morelos has ability, and is a top player. Defenders up and down the country are scared of what he could do to them on the field because of the talent he possesses,” he wrote in his Sunday Record column.
"But because he has this fuse – that is live all of the time – he also scares his teammates and manager because they never know what’s going to come next in terms of negative flashpoints.
"Morelos, and every other player, should know by now that there are cameras in every area of the stadiums, and that they are going to get away with nothing.”
But like every footballer, he does have a soft side.
Rangers say video allegedly showing players using sectarian language has "adjoining narrative"
Morelos earned praise from Romelu Lukaku after halting a game when he was through on goal against Antwerp when one of their players, Jeremy Gelin, went down injured — a la Paolo Di Canio.
“Fair play to Morelos from Glasgow Rangers,” Lukaku tweeted.
“Through on goal and stopping for an injury of the opponent. Great sportsmanship.”
So much for the bad boy of Scottish football, perhaps Morelos is a man misunderstood who just enjoys living on the edge. Without players of his ilk, football would be a more boring place.
Source: Read Full Article