COVID slows Morales’ spectacular streak

From November 24, 2018, and by penalty, José Luis Morales had not missed any LaLiga match. Until last weekend, in the tough defeat against Villarreal. The attacker from Madrid was positive in the pre-match tests and stopped his spectacular record of 119 uninterrupted matches in the domestic competition. Only COVID has been able to stop the ‘Commander’.

At 34, Morales is only surpassed by Iñaki Williams (215) and Juan Antonio Larrañaga (202) as outfield players who have added the most continuous matches in the last 40 years in the First Division. The rest of the list are goalkeepers: Andoni Zubizarreta (184), Alberto Lopez (151), Diego López (121) and Paco buyo (119).

119 matches corresponding to all the League matches played in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Precisely in the first meeting of 2022, to close the first round, Morales had to restart the account and, due to the circumstances of his discharge, his return to the team is still unknown. The next three meetings (Mallorca, Cádiz and Getafe) seem essential to fight for the dream of permanence and the ‘Commander’ could miss a key section of the season. After more than three uninterrupted years of absence, his discharge can be called a whim of fate in one of the most delicate moments of the entity in recent times.

What’s more, to get used to the idea, Morales has only missed three games due to injury in his career. It was on loan to Eibar in 2014 and with the only joint that has caused him problems in his career: his ankle.

However, this time, as happened on November 24, 2018 (by penalty), his absence is due to a greater cause. Only the pandemic, and in its sixth wave, has been able to stop José Luis Morales. Without a return date, Levante is playing its future without one of its banners after 119 games, three uninterrupted years, pulling the bandwagon.