Fernando Morena Belora (born 2 February 1952) is a Uruguayan former professional
footballer who played as a
striker
Striker or The Strikers may refer to:
People
*A participant in a strike action
*A participant in a hunger strike
*Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant
*Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America
People wi ...
. His most known nicknames were "Nando"(abridged form of Fernando) and "Potrillo" (Colt, although young stallion is a better translation in this case), and he is the all-time top goal scorer in the history of the
Uruguayan Primera División with 230 goals in 244 games.
He scored 268 in his almost 20-year career.
Club career

Fernando Morena started as a professional football player in 1968 with
Racing Club de Montevideo, which he left in 1969, signing for the nearby team;
River Plate from Montevideo where he played until 1972. Morena joined
Peñarol in 1973, in his first run with the club he won four
Uruguayan Primera championships.
He was top scorer in the Uruguayan soccer league six consecutive years between 1973 and 1978, and was top scorer in the
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
in 1974 and 1975.
In 1979 Fernando Morena signed up with the Spanish team
Rayo Vallecano, but spent just one season there before changing to
Valencia in 1980. Morena returned to
Peñarol in 1981 where he helped the team win two more Uruguayan league titles in 1981 and 1982,
they also won the
Copa de Oro
The Copa de Oro (English: ''Gold Cup'', Portuguese: ''Copa Ouro''), or Copa de Oro Nicolás Leoz, was a football cup winners' cup competition contested on 3 occasions by the most recent winners of all CONMEBOL continental competitions. These inclu ...
in 1981, the
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
in 1982, and the
1982 Intercontinental Cup
The 1982 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 12 December 1982 between Peñarol, winners of the 1982 Copa Libertadores, and Aston Villa, winners of the 1981–82 European Cup. The match was played at the National Stadi ...
.
In 1983 Fernando Morena joined Brazilian soccer team
Flamengo and in 1984 he played for
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
of Argentina. He finished his professional career in Peñarol in 1985.
International career
Fernando made his debut for the Uruguay national team on 27 October 1971 against
Chile in a 3–0 win, where he scored his first goal. He was part of the national team that represented Uruguay at the
1974 World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...
. He went on to obtain a total number of 54 international caps, scoring 22 goals which currently ranks him as the joint eighth-highest scorer in the history of the team. On September 4, 1983, Morena suffered a tibia and fibula fracture when playing
Venezuela for the Copa America. He never played for the national team after that incident, though he is still officially considered a part of the Uruguayan team that won the
Copa América
The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...
in
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
.
Coaching career
After retiring, he held several coaching positions in Uruguay, Spain and Chile. His first coaching job was in
River Plate, which was followed by Peñarol,
Real Murcia in Spain,
Huracán Buceo,
Rampla Juniors
Rampla Juniors Fútbol Club, commonly known as Rampla Juniors, is a Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo. The team was actively playing the 2021 season by January 2021. In their home stadium, Rampla won the Uruguayan championship in 1927. ...
,
Colo Colo in Chile and a second run in Peñarol in 2005. In 2009, he was designated as Manager of Institutional Relations at Peñarol.
[Official Peñarol Website]
Career statistics
International
Honours
Club
Peñarol
*
Uruguayan Primera División (6):
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
,
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
,
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
,
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
,
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
,
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
*
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
:
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
*
Intercontinental Cup:
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
Valencia
*
European Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
:
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
International
Uruguay
*
Copa América
The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...
:
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
Individual
*
Uruguayan Primera División top scorer (7): 1973, 1974, 1975,
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
,
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
, 1978, 1982
*
Copa Libertadores top scorer: 1974, 1975, 1982
Records
*He scored 230 goals in Uruguayan championships making him the highest scoring player in the history of Uruguayan league football. He scored a total of 268 goals throughout his football career.
*He holds the Uruguayan domestic record for the most goals scored in a game with 7 goals against Huracán Buceo, it could have been 8 but he missed a penalty in the final minutes of the game.
*He is the highest goalscorer in a
Uruguayan Primera league season with 36 goals in 1978.
*Three times top scorer in the
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
(1974, 1975 and 1982).
*Highest scoring Uruguayan player in the history of the
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
with 37 goals in 77 games.
References
External links
ProfileDaily El Observador. - Referi - España - Morena fue homenajeado en Valencia. - Montevideo, 3 de agosto de 2011.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morena, Fernando
1952 births
Living people
Uruguayan footballers
Uruguayan expatriate footballers
Association football forwards
Footballers from Montevideo
Uruguay international footballers
1974 FIFA World Cup players
1983 Copa América players
Uruguayan Primera División players
Racing Club de Montevideo players
Club Atlético River Plate (Montevideo) players
Peñarol players
La Liga players
Rayo Vallecano players
Valencia CF players
CR Flamengo footballers
Boca Juniors footballers
Argentine Primera División players
Expatriate footballers in Argentina
Expatriate footballers in Brazil
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina
Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil
Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Uruguayan football managers
River Plate Montevideo managers
Peñarol managers
Colo-Colo managers
Real Murcia managers
Rampla Juniors managers
Expatriate football managers in Chile
Copa América-winning players
Copa Libertadores-winning players