Julio Salinas Explained

Julio Salinas
Fullname:Julio Salinas Fernández
Birth Date:11 September 1962
Birth Place:Bilbao, Spain
Height:1.88 m
Position:Centre-forward
Youthyears1:1974–1981
Youthclubs1:Athletic Bilbao
Years1:1981–1984
Caps1:93
Goals1:60
Years2:1982–1986
Caps2:68
Goals2:13
Years3:1986–1988
Caps3:75
Goals3:31
Years4:1988–1994
Caps4:146
Goals4:60
Years5:1994–1995
Caps5:24
Goals5:12
Years6:1995–1996
Caps6:54
Goals6:24
Years7:1997–1998
Caps7:47
Goals7:34
Years8:1998–2000
Caps8:50
Goals8:12
Totalcaps:557
Totalgoals:246
Nationalyears1:1983–1984
Nationalcaps1:7
Nationalgoals1:3
Nationalyears2:1986–1996
Nationalcaps2:56
Nationalgoals2:22

Julio Salinas Fernández (pronounced as /es/; born 11 September 1962) is a Spanish former footballer who played during the 1980s and 1990s.

A tall, lanky centre-forward with skills, he was best remembered for his spell at Barcelona – having started his career with Athletic Bilbao – while he was also a prolific goalscorer for club and country.

Salinas earned 56 caps for Spain, and represented the nation in three World Cups and two European Championships.

Club career

Athletic and Atlético

Salinas was born in Bilbao, Biscay, joining Athletic Bilbao's youth academy at the age of 11.[1] In 1983–84 he won the second division's Pichichi Trophy award, as he helped the reserves to finish runners-up to Castilla CF.[2] He also played 13 games for the first team over two seasons, scoring his first La Liga goal on 26 March 1983 in a 4–0 home win against RC Celta de Vigo[3] as the Basques captured back-to-back league titles and added the 1984 Copa del Rey.

After two more seasons with Athletic, scoring a total of 12 goals for two-third-place finishes, Salinas moved to Atlético Madrid, where he found the net at an impressive rate (this included a brace on 7 February 1988 in a 7–0 home thrashing of RCD Mallorca).[4]

Barcelona

Salinas signed for FC Barcelona for 1988–89,[5] linking up with several other Basque players, including veteran José Ramón Alexanko, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Begiristain and Jon Andoni Goikoetxea – these would help form the backbone of the legendary Dream Team.[1] He scored 20 league goals in his debut campaign as Barça finished second to Real Madrid, and he also netted in both the 1989 Cup Winners' Cup final against U.C. Sampdoria[1] and in the following year's domestic cup 2–0 victory over Real Madrid.[6]

In the subsequent seasons, Salinas appeared sparingly for the club due to his age and the emergence of attacking players as Hristo Stoichkov, but would still manage to grab some important goals in spite of limited playing time.[7] On 30 January 1994, after coming in as a second-half substitute against Albacete Balompié, he scored both goals in a 2–1 home win, as he only played six games more during the campaign,[8] with Barcelona eventually achieving four league titles in a row.[1]

Late career

Upon leaving Catalonia, Salinas joined Deportivo de La Coruña, helping to a runner-up finish in his only season; although not a regular in the starting lineups he finished with 12 league goals, only surpassed by club great Bebeto.[9] As a late replacement at the Camp Nou on 3 December, he netted in a 1–1 draw after a header from José Luis Ribera.[10]

After the signing of, among others, Russian Dmitry Radchenko, Salinas was deemed surplus to requirements, agreeing to a contract at Sporting de Gijón where he scored 18 times in the 1995–96 campaign, crucial in helping the Asturians to avoid relegation. He was held in high regards in the city during his one-and-a-half-year spell, with the fans often singing: "Bota de oro, Salinas bota de oro!" ("Golden boot, Salinas, golden boot!").[11] [12] [13]

Salinas then had a stint abroad with Yokohama Marinos in Japan, where he again showcased his scoring skills, rejoining his former Barcelona teammate Goikoetxea.[14] [15] He then returned close to home, having spent his last two seasons with Deportivo Alavés where he notably scored in 1999–2000's opener, a 2–1 home defeat of Málaga CF;[16] his team finished sixth, and would go on to reach the following year's UEFA Cup final.[17]

On 19 May 2000, Salinas played his last professional match, scoring in a 2–1 loss at his first team Athletic Bilbao.[18] He retired at nearly 38 with 417 matches and 152 goals, in the Spanish top flight alone.[1]

International career

Salinas represented the Spain national team over a decade, scoring 22 goals.[19] His debut was on 22 January 1986 as he netted in a 2–0 friendly win over the Soviet Union, in Las Palmas.[20] [21]

Salinas went on to represent the country at three FIFA World Cups: 1986 (where he scored against Northern Ireland),[22] 1990 (netting in the second-round loss to Yugoslavia) and 1994, as well as two UEFA European Championships, 1988 and 1996.[19]

In the 1994 World Cup quarter-final against Italy, after he had found the net in a 2–2 draw against South Korea, Salinas missed the chance to put Spain into the last-four stage. With 1–1 and less than ten minutes to go, he marred a fast-break, with only goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca to beat; Roberto Baggio sealed the 2–1 final result minutes later, and the Spaniard was ultimately more remembered for this miss rather than the massive number of goals scored during an 18-year professional career.[23]

Post-retirement

Immediately after retiring, Salinas began working as a sports commentator, first for RTVE and then on laSexta.[24]

Personal life

Salinas' younger brother, Patxi, was also a professional footballer (centre-back), and played for Athletic Bilbao and Celta. Both made their top division debut in the 1982–83 season.[25]

They held the record for combined appearances in the Spanish top tier by siblings with 849 matches (occasions where they both played as teammates or opponents counted for each), 86 more than the next pair, Quini and Jesús Castro.[26]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[27]
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Athletic Bilbao1982–83La Liga71634000174
1983–8460222100103
1984–8528810410114014
1985–86274620033369
Total681324127144!10330
Atlético Madrid1986–87La Liga381562colspan="2"-314718
1987–88371652colspan="2"-colspan="2"-4218
Total753111400318936
Barcelona1988–89La Liga372054colspan="2"-724926
1989–90341572colspan="2"-414518
1990–91331144colspan="2"-824517
1991–9217720colspan="2"-52249
1992–9318555colspan="2"-302610
1993–947242colspan="2"-10124
Total14660271700287!20184
Deportivo1994–95La Liga241244colspan="2"-403216
Sporting Gijón1995–96La Liga381844colspan="2"-colspan="2"-4222
1996–9716620186
Total54246400006028
Yokohama Marinos1997J1 League26212253colspan="2"-3326
199821130031colspan="2"-2414
Total47342284colspan="2"-5740
Alavés1998–99La Liga22400colspan="2"-colspan="2"-224
1999–200028820colspan="2"-colspan="2"-308
Total50122000005212
Career total46418676431553912594246

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[28]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain1986105
198720
198881
198941
199051
199100
199210
199387
1994127
199540
199620
Total5622

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Salinas goal.[29] [28]

List of international goals scored by Julio Salinas
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 22 January 1986 Estadio Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain 1–0 2–0 Friendly
2 19 February 1986 Manuel Martínez Valero, Elche, Spain 2–0 3–0 Friendly
3 26 March 1986 Ramón de Carranza, Cádiz, Spain 3–0 3–0 Friendly
4 7 June 1986 Tres de Marzo, Zapopan, Mexico 2–0 2–1 1986 FIFA World Cup
5 24 September 1986 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain 1–0 3–1 Friendly
6 24 February 1988 La Rosaleda, Málaga, Spain 1–0 1–2 Friendly
7 11 October 1989 Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary 1–0 2–2 1990 World Cup qualification
8 26 June 1990 Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona, Italy 1–1 1–2 1990 FIFA World Cup
9 28 April 1993 Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain 1–1 3–1 1994 World Cup qualification
10 2–1
11 22 September 1993 Qemal Stafa, Tirana, Albania 1–0 5–1 1994 World Cup qualification
12 3–0
13 4–1
14 13 October 1993 Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland 2–0 3–1 1994 World Cup qualification
15 3–0
16 19 January 1994 Balaídos, Vigo, Spain 1–0 2–2 Friendly
17 2 June 1994 Ratina Stadion, Tampere, Finland 2–0 2–1 Friendly
18 10 June 1994 Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Canada 1–0 2–0 Friendly
19 17 June 1994 Cotton Bowl, Dallas, United States 1–0 2–2 1994 FIFA World Cup
20 12 October 1994 1–0 2–0 Euro 1996 qualifying
21 2–0
22 17 December 1994 Constant Vanden Stock, Brussels, Belgium 3–1 4–1 Euro 1996 qualifying

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

1982–83, 1983–84

1983–84

1984 (automatically awarded after winning the double)[30]

Barcelona

1991–92[1]

1988–89[1]

1992

Deportivo

Individual

1983–84 (Segunda División)[2]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Julio Salinas: el futbolista incomprendido. Julio Salinas: the misunderstood footballer. Diario AS. Alfonso. Herrán. es. 12 July 2016. 19 September 2018.
  2. News: Julio Salinas, "Pichichi" ficticio. Julio Salinas, fictional "Pichichi". Mundo Deportivo. es. 28 May 1984. 21 March 2014.
  3. News: El Athletic, sin problemas. Athletic, no problems. Mundo Deportivo. es. 27 March 1983. 21 March 2014.
  4. News: El Mallorca "no estuvo" en Madrid. Mallorca "were not" in Madrid. Mundo Deportivo. Jesús. Alcaide. es. 8 February 1988. 21 March 2014.
  5. News: Los jugadores del Atlético de Madrid Julio Salinas y Eusebio se comprometieron con el Barcelona. Atlético de Madrid players Julio Salinas and Eusebio committed to Barcelona. El País. es. 21 May 1988. 10 October 2018.
  6. Web site: Spain – Cup 1990. RSSSF. Carles. Lozano Ferrer. 21 March 2014.
  7. Book: Martín, Pedro. El gran libro de los récords: 200 historias del fútbol español. The great book of records: 200 stories of Spanish football. es. 2016. 9788494425653. 19 September 2018.
  8. News: Sale Julio Salinas y lo arregla todo. Julio Salinas comes on and takes care of everything. Mundo Deportivo. Andrés. Astruells. es. 31 January 1994. 21 March 2014.
  9. News: Los máximos goleadores vascos en la historia de La Liga. Top Basque scorers in La Liga history. El Español. es. 19 August 2022. 5 April 2023.
  10. News: Algo se ha parado en el Barça. Something has stopped in Barça. Mundo Deportivo. Santi. Nolla. es. 4 December 1994. 21 March 2014.
  11. News: "Ojalá marque el gol de la victoria". Hopefully i will score the winning goal. Mundo Deportivo. es. 15 December 1995. 21 March 2014.
  12. News: 'Hat trick' de Julio Salinas. Hat trick from Julio Salinas. Mundo Deportivo. José Luis. Calleja. es. 1 April 1996. 21 March 2014.
  13. News: El Sporting le enseña la 'manita' al Betis. Sporting show 'open hand' to Betis. Mundo Deportivo. Jesús. Gómez. es. 22 April 1996. 21 March 2014.
  14. News: La J-League habla español. The J-League speaks Spanish. Mundo Deportivo. es. 21 March 1998. 23 February 2021.
  15. Web site: https://www.fcbarcelona.jp/club/news/2012-2013/the-people-of-barca-in-the-history-of-japan. ja:日本サッカー史におけるバルサ. Barça in Japanese football history. FC Barcelona. ja. 1 December 2012. 18 March 2018.
  16. News: Salinas castiga al Málaga. Salinas punishes Málaga. El País. Eduardo. Ortiz de Arri. es. 30 August 1999. 19 September 2018.
  17. Web site: What the heck happened to Alaves after 2001?. FourFourTwo. Robert. O'Connor. 18 May 2016. 5 April 2023.
  18. News: Un final insospechado. Unsuspecting ending. Mundo Deportivo. Nika. Cuenca. es. 20 May 2000. 21 March 2014.
  19. News: Julio Salinas: "Sufrí mucho por el fallo contra Italia". Julio Salinas: "I suffered a lot because of my miss against Italy". Mundo Deportivo. Pepe. Gil-Vernet. es. 15 April 2020. 5 April 2023.
  20. News: Muñoz selecciona a Chendo y a Julio Salinas contra la URSS. Muñoz selects Chendo and Julio Salinas against USSR. El País. es. 18 January 1986. 18 December 2015.
  21. News: 2–0: España venció a la URSS en un partido jugado a gran velocidad por ambos equipos. 2–0: Spain defeated USSR in match where both teams displayed great speed. ABC. Héctor. Del Mar. es. 23 January 1986. 18 December 2015.
  22. News: Del utillero falangista al positivo de Calderé: nuestro Mundial 86 en diez episodios. From the falangista kit man to Calderé's positive: our 86 World Cup in ten episodes. El Confidencial. Alfredo. Pascual. es. 21 May 2016. 28 September 2017.
  23. News: En memoria de los 'nadies' y los 'malditos'. Here's to the 'nobodies' and the 'damned'. El Mundo. Ángel. González. es. 12 July 2010. 13 April 2017.
  24. Web site: La Sexta ficha a Salinas, Kiko, Chapi Ferrer y Maceda. La Sexta signs Salinas, Kiko, Chapi Ferrer and Maceda. Info Periodistas. es. 29 August 2006. 17 September 2013.
  25. News: La 'vendetta' de los hermanos Salinas. The Salinas brothers' 'vendetta'. El País. Mario. Díaz. es. 15 October 1995. 17 September 2013.
  26. Web site: Hermanos de Primera. Top-class brothers. Cuadernos de Fútbol. Vidal. Viñarás de Blas. es. 1 February 2017. 29 March 2023.
  27. Web site: Julio Salinas. Footballdatabase. 18 December 2015.
  28. Web site: Julio Salinas. European Football. 19 September 2018.
  29. Web site: Julio Salinas – Goals in International Matches. RSSSF. Emilio. Pla Díaz. 18 October 2010.
  30. Web site: Athletic Bilbao mostra que é possível resistir e, vez ou outra, ser feliz.... Athletic Bilbao show it's possible to resist, and win, now and then.... Universo Online. Julio. Gomes. pt. 18 January 2021. 5 April 2023.