Fernando Morientes remains the benchmark for loanees out to haunt their parent club, and Nicolas Jackson will be motivated to hurt Chelsea on Wednesday night.
A loyal and productive servant of Real Madrid after joining in 1997, Morientes eventually succumbed to Florentino Pérez’s Galáctico hunt and was forced to watch on as ’R9’ Ronaldo stole his minutes. Disgruntled, Madrid sanctioned Morientes’s departure late in the 2003 summer transfer window, supposedly keeping him well out of harm’s way by striking a loan deal with Monaco.
Little did Los Blancos know that a vengeful Morientes would await their superstars in the Champions League quarterfinals. The striker scored Monaco’s second away goal in the first leg before completing his devilish masterplan in the return fixture at the Stade Louis II. Madrid were 5–2 up on aggregate before Morientes teed up Ludovic Giuly and scored at the start of the second half to inspire Monaco’s triumph on away goals.
Wednesday’s occasion in Munich doesn’t boast quite the same significance, nor have the narratives aligned for Jackson to sink his former club, but UEFA rules, which haven’t changed since the days of Morientes, mean the striker can face his parent club.
