Sergio Morgado
Spanish footballer (born 1963)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sergio Elías Morgado Rodríguez (born 16 September 1963), also known simply as Sergio, is a Spanish former footballer who played as a centre back.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sergio Elías Morgado Rodríguez | ||
| Date of birth | 16 September 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Badajoz, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Badajoz | |||
| Atlético Madrid | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1986 | Atlético Madrid B | 73 | (3) |
| 1985–1990 | Atlético Madrid | 105 | (0) |
| 1990–1993 | Español | 53 | (0) |
| 1993–1995 | Badajoz | 32 | (0) |
| Total | 263 | (3) | |
| International career | |||
| 1985–1986 | Spain U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 1987 | Spain U23 | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He played 158 games in La Liga for Atlético Madrid and Español over eight consecutive seasons. In Segunda División, he added 105 games and 3 goals for Atlético Madrileño and Badajoz at the start and end of his career.
In the 2000s, Morgado worked as a director of football at Espanyol and Albacete.
Club career
Born in Badajoz in Extremadura, Morgado came through the youth ranks of Atlético Madrid after arriving from CD Badajoz.[1] He made his debut for the reserve team in the Segunda División on 6 February 1983 in a 1–0 win at their Barcelona equivalents.[2] In June, his team won the division's Copa de la Liga, and he played every minute of the 3–2 aggregate win over Deportivo de La Coruña.[3][4]
On 6 November 1985, Morgado made his first-team debut in a 1–0 home win over Bangor City in the first round first leg of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.[5] His first La Liga game was on 1 December in a goalless draw away to Real Zaragoza.[6] His only goal of 136 total games for the main squad came on 29 May 1986, in a 2–0 win at the Vicente Calderón Stadium against Sestao River in the second leg of the first round of the Copa de la Liga.[7] He played the full 120 minutes of the 1987 Copa del Rey final, which his team lost on penalties to Real Sociedad.[8]
In July 1990, Morgado was linked with a move to Español, and said he would look forward to playing under their new manager Luis Aragonés, who had promoted him to the Atlético first team.[9] He signed a three-year deal and was presented on the same day as Juan Carlos Núñez Benicio.[1] He was a regular starter in his first season, sidelined by a knee injury in his second, and in his third season he was dropped by manager Novoa before being reinstated by Juanjo Díaz for the final five games.[10] In his final game on 29 June 1993, the Pericos were relegated after losing a playoff to Racing Santander.[11]
Morgado returned to his hometown club Badajoz in 1993, with the club in the Segunda División. He made his debut on 2 September in a Copa del Rey third-round game away to Peña Deportiva (3–0 win), followed by a 2–0 home win over Toledo three days later on his league bow.[12]
International career
Morgado played four games for Spain at under-21 level, starting on 11 June 1985 in a 1–0 win away to Iceland in a European qualifier.[13] In late 1987, he played in defeats to Sweden and France for the under-23 team as they failed to qualify for the Olympic tournament.[14][15]
Post-playing career
In April 2001, Morgado returned to the renamed Espanyol on a three-year deal, as technical secretary.[16] He arrived the following month as sporting director after his contract expired at Badajoz.[17] He and manager Javier Clemente were fired in November 2003, with the latter defending their signings by pointing to the club's economic crisis.[18]
In July 2009, Morgado was hired as director of football at Albacete, instantly appointing Pepe Murcia as manager.[19] His two-year contract was terminated in February 2010, as the club sought to reinstate Antonio López Alfaro.[20]
Personal life
Morgado's son César Morgado is also a footballer in the same position. Born in 1993 while his father was playing in the city of Barcelona, he represented several third-tier clubs, including Badajoz.[12]