Rangers coach Michael Beale has thrown his support behind much-maligned Ibrox striker Alfredo Morelos in emotional comments about the Colombian.
Much like Steven Gerrard has done previously, Beale opened up about the man behind the mystery and all those negative headlines in Scotland.
And much like the Rangers boss, Beale was adamant that the striker is misunderstood and somewhat treated differently from the rest in Scotland
“There are certain players that make you excited to go to work,” Beale told The Beautiful Game podcast [episode 56].
“He’s one of the most misunderstood people playing in football, certainly in Scotland.
“He went from Colombia to Helsinki then to Rangers to a Spanish-speaking coach [Pedro Caixinha] that left quite early in his time here.
“This is a young boy that needs to be a player rather than wants to be. He needs to be because he’s got a foundation back home in Colombia, he’s doing a lot of things that a young 23-year-old should be applauded for.
“He’s the joker in our changing room, he’s the big smiler that is always playing pranks, and the public don’t get to see that.
“He’s obsessed with scoring every day, he’s not a player who wants to keep possession of the ball and be low risk, he wants to be high risk.
“He’s a maverick, and we have to applaud and celebrate these players, certainly here in Scotland where we need to enjoy him while we can.
“There will be a lot of clubs interested in him, you only have to look at his goalscoring record this year.
“What summed him up for me was his goals against Porto and the two goals away at Feyenoord. He’s now scoring against elite, high-level opposition in a European competition, so it’s fantastic. There’s so much positives around this kid.
“Do I think that the boy has made some mistakes in the past? Yes, I do, but there isn’t a 23-year-old that hasn’t.
“There’s young Scottish and British boys playing in Scotland making similar mistakes and not being picked up on it.
“I don’t want to add to the drama and the weight around it, because what we try to do is to continue working with the boy, because he is genuinely a nice young boy and he’s very misunderstood.”
A misunderstood but never underappreciated force at Ibrox
It’s a rousing response when asked about the 28-goal Colombian and echoes just how highly he is valued by people in and around Rangers.
The club appear to have helped cultivate a very positive atmosphere for Morelos within Ibrox and that’s to the credit of Michael Beale and the rest of the first-team staff and players.
Alfredo might get a tough press from those in and around Scotland – not least from our rivals – but the club has done well to combat this in recent weeks.
The aftermath of Alfredo’s red card in the 2-1 win over Celtic has been grotesquely over the top and he’s been used a whipping post for the pain of our rivals.
The comments of Michael Beale and even those of Steven Gerrard reiterate the thoughts of the supporters and praise the positive aspects of the 23-year-old’s character.
For all the bluster coming out of the media – and there is plenty – Rangers are determined to help this passionate and inspirational young man achieve his dreams.
Morelos might be misunderstood outside of Rangers, but he’s never underappreciated within the club.
As an aside, it’s well worth listening to what Michael Beale has to say on the Beautiful Game podcast. Find out more HERE.
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