Ríchard Javier Morales Aguirre (born 21 February 1975) is a Uruguayan retired footballer who played as a centre forward.
Nicknamed Chengue, he was mostly known for his tremendous physical strength and volatile temperament.[1] He played professionally in four countries – mainly Spain – his heyday coming at Nacional.
In January 2003, Morales moved to Spain, reuniting with Pablo García at CA Osasuna.[2] After spending his first two and a half seasons as a rarely used attacking option (his first goals came in late April-early March 2004 in two consecutive 1–1 draws, against Real Valladolid and Málaga CF),[3][4] he scored nine La Liga goals in the 2004–05 campaign, being instrumental in the Navarrese side's narrow escape from relegation.
On 5 August 2008 Morales, after a brief return stint with Nacional, agreed to a contract with Clube de Regatas do Flamengo for the rest of the campaign, with the option to renew the contract for another year.[5] However, the following day, after club players were violently attacked by its fans, he decided not to join the Rio de Janeiro team.[6]
On 31 August 2008, Morales signed with Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense. The following 16 February he moved to L.D.U. Quito, but left the squad on 2 April due to his father's poor health;[7] before retiring the following year, he played a few matches for Centro Atlético Fénix.
In the final stages in South Korea and Japan, Morales netted once in the 3–3 draw against Senegal, but he missed a header that would have been his team's fourth goal and taken Uruguay through to the Round of 16.[10] He received a total of 27 caps, scoring six goals.
International goals for Uruguay
Score and results list Uruguay's goal tally first.[11]