Ivan Morales – Colo Colo’s forceful forward

Among South America’s 10 leagues, Chile are second in the average age of top goal scorers as their average age is 30 years and almost 8 months. Colo Colo’s 22-year-old attacking starlet, Ivan Morales is bucking this trend as after a rough 2020 where he struggled with an ACL injury and the death of his mother, 2021 has seen a massive upturn in his goalscoring exploits as he has scored 55% of his goals across his whole career to this point this year. Morales made his debut as a 17-year-old for Pablo Guede but finally seems to be developing the goalscoring aspect of his game while it is also important to note that penalties may also balloon his goalscoring tally. The 22-year-old earned a callup to Martin Lasarte’s La Roja as he can become a key player for club and country in the next year.

Morales grew up in La Puntilla, the Chilean country side which has given him a humility as well as an appreciation for hard work as there is an element of intense grit to his game and personality. Despite not having to look far for idols in Chilean football, Morales idolises American Basketball player, Lebron James as well as English-Nigerian boxer, Anthony Joshua as the striker is also a massive fan of boxing. He works out intensely with his own personal trainer as his physique and first-touch are crucial facets of his game while he has an unyielding reservoir of energy which will last late into games. He signed his first professional contract with Colo Colo as a 17-year-old spending the money on a refrigerator and food as he still lived with his mother and his sister while he has maintained his relationship with Franco Barraza as his personal trainer for a long time.

Morales constantly drops in between the lines to receive possession in the deeper areas as his first touch allows him to control the ball while his brawny physique allows him to hold-up possession or turn while the 22-year-old has phenomenal close control, weaving past players in tight situations to create a shooting opportunity for himself, create an opportunity for a teammate or win a foul for his side. Away to Universidad de Catolica in the Chilean Primera Division, he received possession from Vicente Pizarro to take a fantastic first touch, work a one-two with a teammate in between the lines before driving to the by-line in the wide areas to have a cut-back blocked. Morales is not only a threat in dropping deep but is a threat in running in behind as well as the timing of his runs is excellent while he can create opportunities with surges into the channels. Away to Santiago Wanderers, he moved to the flank to weave into the centre before being fouled before receiving possession on the left flank to beat his man and cut-back to Leonardo Gil who blasted a strike over the bar.

He then received possession on the flank to receive possession in the deeper areas and use his body to shield the ball from an opposition player, driving the ball into the centre and skipping past a marker with a swift change of direction before earning a foul on the edge of the opposition box. He would show his impeccable first-touch when he received a pass from Pablo Solari in the nine-space to elegantly roll a pass to Bolados with one-touch of the ball. He would receive possession in the nine-space again to hold up the ball and attempt to thread a pass for a teammate in behind which was intercepted before controlling a long ball to the right flank with his chest in the right channel to turn and lob a cross which none of his teammates were able to get on the end of. On the day of his 22nd birthday, he would notch a goal by despatching a penalty at the end of the first half.

His impact on the game would continue as he received possession in the nine-space, playing a one-touch flick to Gabriel Costa who evaded a marker to hammer a strike off the crossbar. He had another flick to Costa from the wide areas to play the Peruvian attacker through in the wide areas to have a cut-back to the near post blocked. The 22-year-old would then receive possession to establish a counter-attack from an opposition free-kick as he skipped past one player, muscled his way past another to cut inside and switch the ball to the opposite flank. This sequence was the perfect microcosm of his multi-faceted skillset especially when holding possession, he has the agility in short spaces to beat markers with deft changes of direction while he has the physique to dominate defenders in physical battles. Despite lacking pace, it is impressive that Morales is a threat running in behind due to the timing of his runs and his physique allowing him to hold off defenders until he can generate a shooting opportunity for himself.

Morales would receive possession in the channels again to beat his marker by cutting inside to cut-back a pass for Gil who tried to thread a pass back to Morales which was intercepted. Morales would get a birthday assist to pair with his birthday goal as he received possession in the channels to thread a pass for Marcos Bolados drove a strike past the keeper at the near post. At home to Palestino in the Copa Chile, he received possession with another exceptional first touch on a high ball to work a pass for Bolados before he received possession in the channels to hold off a marker before cutting back to a teammate at the top of the box. The 22-year-old Chilean striker should have had a goal when he made a perfectly timed run into the wide areas of the box to receive possession with his right foot, skip past a man to angle a shot wide of the far post with his left. He received possession from Pizarro in between the lines to turn and drive at the opposition goal before working a through ball for a teammate to score.

Morales adds another dimension to his side’s attacking moves because he is not just able to receive possession in the wide areas and channels but also in the wider areas of the opposition box where he can use his dribbling ability to generate shooting opportunities for himself or crossing as well as cut-back opportunities for teammates. He would use his dribbling ability to create another shooting opportunity for himself as he received possession on the break from an opposition corner in his own half to skip past a man and drive to the top of the opposition box and send a tame shot straight at the goalkeeper. He would finish the game by dropping deep to lay-off for a teammate to create another breaking situation for his side.

Away to Melpilla in the Chilean Primera Division, Morales began the game by regaining possession to drive to the by-line and have a cross blocked while he continued to show industrious hold-up play and an extensive passing range as he received possession in the channels, had the strength to shield the ball and work passes to create opportunities. He received possession in behind on the right channel to swivel and play the ball into the centre. However, despite all his hard work, the service to him was poor as he constantly had to choose between dropping deep to be involved in play or being isolated in the nine-space as his side failed to register a shot on target. However, in the second-half with some brilliant substitutions as Colo Colo were 2-0 down, Morales would flick-on a pass to Solari who cut inside and pulled one back. The 22-year-old’s hold-up play, and chance creation continued to be exceptional as he received possession and held-up the ball to drive into the box and cut-back for a teammate to have a shot blocked before regaining possession to have another cut-back for a teammate who had a shot blocked.

Morales managed to notch a goal from the penalty spot as he had a second consecutive game where he had a goal and an assist as at that point of the game, he only had one shot on target which was the penalty. His next shot on target would be quite special when he received possession in the left channel, to flick the ball off his right foot and drive in between two players as he surged into the box to smash a strike off the crossbar and into the goal from a tight angle. The 22-year-old finished an astonishing performance with an 83% pass succession rate in the final third, 4 chances created and 1 assist, 2 shots and 2 goals as well as 3/3 takeons in another all-action performance.

At home to Curico Unido, he continued in the same vein of form, receiving possession in behind from Gil to surge into the box as he was tackled before getting his shot away as there was the opportunity to shoot, moments before he lost possession. Morales would then receive possession from Bolados to have another opportunity to get in behind to cut past his marker before poking the ball past the keeper to put his side in the lead. It was a similar opportunity to the one he missed against Palestino as he made a phenomenally timed run in behind to receive possession before using a brilliant dribble to create a higher quality shooting opportunity for himself before calmly applying the finish the second time. The 22-year-old’s ability as an all-round striker is fantastic as he received possession in the right channel to lay-off a pass for a teammate to have a shot on goal.

Away to Union Espanola in the Chilean Primera Division, Morales took a brilliant first touch to control a lobbed pass before spreading the ball to Bolados on the right flank as he received possession in the centre to hold onto possession before being fouled. An area of improvement for Morales is being more proficient aerially in the opposition box as at almost six feet tall with his size, he tends to miss high quality aerial opportunities. He had an opportunity where he moved into the box to position himself on his centre-back’s blind-side as he moved into the pocket of space in between the centre-back and fullback as the cross was being played to head over the bar from point blank range. The striker would create an opportunity, receiving possession on the break to cut past his fullback and loft an accurate cross into the box for Costa to head straight at the keeper. His movement and timing were fantastic, but he struggled to guide the header past the keeper.

Morales movement and timing of his runs are one of his strengths as he works hard to make himself available in the perfect position at the perfect time to get on the end of a delivery. The 22-year-old loves to hold his runs, moving into the box at a light canter while keeping an eye on the defensive line and his teammate in the wide areas before suddenly exploding into the perfect area to get on the end of a delivery. In one sequence, he jogged into the box from the right flank slowly before exploding into a yard of space between the two centre-backs as the delivery was played over his head. Morales was in the perfect pocket of space in the box to receive possession and have a dangerous opportunity. The 22-year-old would then lay-off a pass to Costa on the left flank for the Peruvian attacker to drive the ball into the opposition half on the counter before he created his own shooting opportunity, receiving possession from a throw-in to hold off his marker and fire a strike at goal.

The Chilean striker then received possession on the right half-space to turn and loft an accurate pass onto Bolados’ chest in behind his marker for his strike partner to have a crossing opportunity. His hold-up play would lead to his side having a shot on goal when he received possession from a throw-in to chest the ball with a marker on his back and flick a pass over the outstretched boot for another defender for a teammate to cut-back for an attacker to have a shot on goal. The striker would finish the game with a shot of his own, latching onto a Solari lobbed pass to outmuscle his marker as he surged into the opposition box to have a clear-cut goalscoring opportunity before he tripped while trying to have a shot on goal as his opportunity was wasted.

Colo Colo would face Union Espanola again, at home this time in the Copa Chile, as the attacker would start the game by receiving possession with his back to goal from a throw-in as he attempted to flick a pass through for a teammate as he lost possession before reacting quickly to regain possession and work a pass for a teammate into the channels to move into space and receive a cross at the near post to volley the ball wide. He would receive possession on the left flank to cut inside and play a fantastic cross into the box which nobody was able to get on the end of. Morales would regain possession from an opposition back-pass to take a brilliant first-touch to drive the ball into the opposition box and have a shot blocked.

The 22-year-old would latch onto a Cruz through ball for Morales to get in behind and have another shot on goal before receiving possession in between the lines and spreading the ball to Solari in the wide areas to make a run into the box for a cross that was blocked. Morales would finally get his goal, receiving possession in between the lines to turn and work a pass to a teammate before moving into space for Solari to cross for the 22-year-old striker to tap in an opportunity. The striker would then receive possession on the right flank to cut inside and have a shot at goal saved with his weaker left foot. He would finish the game with a subtle flick-on for Arriagada making a run in behind.

At home to Deportivo Antofagasta, Morales was so good at holding up possession as he can receive possession in the wide areas, dribble into the centre and lay-off passes while being strong physically. The 22-year-old would open the scoring with another tap-in as he moved onto the end of a Costa cross as he battled physically up front but was unyielding in his determination to be a nuisance to the opposition back-line. Away to Union La Calera, he had a header saved at the near post as Morales needs to improve in the air in the opposition box, especially battling to win headers when crosses are played into his zone while being calmer with his finishing in the air. He received possession to forcefully bundle an opposition centre-back out of his way, surge into the box and have a shot from a tight angle saved. Morales would then receive possession on the left flank to cut inside and switch the ball to Solari on the opposite flank before the Argentine attacker tried to play the ball back to him for his pass to be intercepted. He would create an opportunity when he received possession on the left to drive the ball forward to cut-back and cross to Arriagada who tapped the opportunity wide.

Morales is one of many young multi-faceted attackers on the South American continent as he can drop deep to receive possession, make runs in behind while being able to create his own opportunites as well as finishing high quality opportunities from inside the box. In the wide areas, his crossing is exceptional as he has the dribbling ability to cut past his man and play unerringly accurate deliveries to attackers in the centre. His first-touch in the deeper-areas is exceptional as this allows him to use his body to manoeuvre out of challenges while he has the dribbling ability to beat his first marker and generate shooting opportunities for himself or create opportunities for teammates. When he makes runs in behind, he has the strength and dribbling ability to beat his man and create a higher quality opportunity for himself. His movement in the box is exceptional as he knows how to position himself on the blind-side of his centre-back, time his runs into space to receive possession and have high quality opportunities on goal. His heading will need to improve as he has the size and physical stature to bully defenders and score goals in the air while his will also need to fine-tune and become a much cleaner with his finishing on the ground.

Morales’ current contract expires in 2022 while his release clause is a meagre $5 million which will make him an option for MLS clubs as well as Liga MX sides. He has just received a callup to La Roja as he seems to be one of the building blocks for the future with his all-round play as well as his goalscoring repertoire. Ligue 1 clubs as well as Portuguese Primera Liga as well as mid-table La Liga sides should be interesting in acquiring the 22-year-old in the next few transfer windows. Morales is certainly on an upward trajectory as he will be an intriguing option for teams in the next few transfer windows as he continues to improve and develop his game.