'Superstitious' Morata's streamline new look

Given that he was with your UEFA.com reporters just under four days ago, it did not take long to spot the difference in Álvaro Morata when he preceded Spain's first Il de Re training session by taking in La Roja's press conference.

Not in terms of confidence. Not the fact he is injury free, free of the the dead leg from training earlier in the week which meant he missed the shock defeat by Georgia. No, the difference in the striker for this defence of Spain's UEFA European Championship crown was ... his hair. Or its absence.

In a squad where hairstyles – Sergio Ramos's ever-changing moods, Gerard Piqué's adventures with tonsorial fashion – are not unusual, the 23-year-old Morata's dramatic new look was back to basics.

It is what has always been called a zero cut. A full shave of the skull with a zero guard on the machine produces the look. This was football superstition. And he had a henchman: a former Real Madrid team-mate. "Two years ago Sergio [Ramos] shaved my head for me and it brought me luck," said the Juventus forward. "Footballers, we're all superstitious. So we've done it again."

Here is how to interpret what influenced Morata and Ramos's decision. When they were at Madrid the two cooked up this idea in 2014 to kick-start Morata's career. In less than five weeks after the head shave, Morata scored against Rayo Vallecano, Real Sociedad, Almería, Schalke and once for Spain Under-21s.

What is more, he thinks it had a double effect. "Sergio was the barber and he started scoring too!" Morata added, totally straight-faced. It is true. After his barbershop work, Spain's vice-captain, who will take the armband against the Czech Republic if Iker Casillas does not start, hit the net freely too.

Goals against Real Valladolid, Osasuna, Valencia and those historic strikes against Bayern München and Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League sealed this superstitious pact. Whether or not it had an effect on Spain's first training session here on Il de Re is a touch hard to prove.

But Morata scored freely, his last effort a deft chip over his erstwhile team-mate Casillas, and stood out wonderfully. It was an evening when the French fans were thrilled to find that Spain's players kicked dozens of footballs into the crowd at the end of the session just to say: "Hi! Hola! Salut!" Morata? He just kicked the ball into the net.