Marcelo Salas - TheSportsDB.com

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Name
Marcelo Salas

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Born
1974 (49 years old)

Birth Place

Temuco, Chile

Position
Forward

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Height
173 cm

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Sport

Soccer

Team
_Retired Soccer

2nd Team

League
_No League Soccer

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José Marcelo Salas Melinao (American Spanish: ; born 24 December 1974), nicknamed Matador (due to his goalscoring celebrations), El Fenómeno and Shileno, is a retired Chilean footballer who played as a striker. Salas is considered the best striker in the history of Chile. He stood out during the 1990s and 2000s in clubs such as Universidad de Chile, River Plate , Lazio and Juventus. He was captain of the Chilean national team and the top scorer – scoring 45 goals in total: 37 goals for the Chile national football team (4 in World Cups, 18 in World Cup qualification processes and 15 in friendlies) and 8 goals with the Chile Olympic football team.

He played in Chile, Argentina and Italy, winning titles with each club he joined.

The IFFHS ranked him as the 31st best South American player of the 20th century, the 19th best South American forward of the 20th century and the 3rd best South American forward of the 1990s (integrating the podium with Brazilians players Ronaldo and Romário). He was considered one of the best footballers in the world during the second half of the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century. In 1997 he ranked 3rd as the "best centre forward in the world" (after players Ronaldo and Gabriel Batistuta) and he was ranked 5th in the “Best Centre Forward” category in the RSS Award for the best footballer of the year, in 1998 and 1999. In addition, in 1996 and 1997 he was considered the "best striker in America", where he was part of the Ideal Team of America. He was also awarded as the South American Footballer of the Year in 1997. He was included in "10 highest figures" contest in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In 2013 he was awarded as the "7th best south-American footballer in history" ("Bleacher Report" magazine). He was also chosen within the "10 best scorers in the history of South American football" In 2019, he was included in the "50 great South American footballers of all time", ranking, positioning himself in 27th place.

A powerful and tenacious forward, with good technique, who was well-known for his deft touch with his left foot, as well as his aerial ability, Salas had a prolific goalscoring record throughout his career.

He is considered (along with Leonel Sánchez) the greatest player in the history of Universidad de Chile, and icon for the football team River Plate of Argentina(he's a member of the historic ideal eleven) and one of the greatest foreign players in Lazio's history.

Between 1996 and 2001 he was considered one of the best forwards in the world, constantly compared to Ronaldo and Gabriel Batistuta. He was also occasionally compared to Diego Maradona, Pelé and Gerd Müller. After a friendly match between England and Chile at Wembley Stadium, where Salas scored the two goals, the English press headlined: "Olé, Olé, Olé... Salas is the new Diego Maradona" and after scoring two goals in the first game of the 1998 FIFA World Cup against the Italy national team, the Spanish press headlined: "His header in the dispute with Fabio Cannavaro recalled somehow Pelé's memorable jump over Burgnich in the 1970 World Cup final".

On 16 December 1998 he integrated the Rest of the World National Team in a match played at the Stadio Olimpico against Italy national football team, in celebration of the centenary of Italian Calcio. Salas entered the second half, replacing Gabriel Batistuta.

He played for the Chilean national football team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where he scored four goals in four matches, leading his team to the second round of the competition. Additionally, Salas played for the Chile national football team at two Copa América tournaments, helping his team to reach fourth place in the 1999 edition of the tournament.

On 30 April 1994 at the National Stadium, Salas made his debut for the Chile national football team at age 19, scoring his first international goal in a 3–3 draw with Argentina of Diego Maradona, who was preparing for the World Cup 1994.

In 1995 his team won the Canada Cup, where Salas scored the "goal of the victory" in the final match against Canada (2–1).

During the 1998 World Cup qualification campaign, Salas scored 11 goals. He also scored memorable goals: against Argentina of local, in Quito of visit against Ecuador and of local against Uruguay, including hat-tricks against Colombia and Peru, and a goal in the final match against Bolivia. Against Peru, he became the youngest Chilean footballer to wear the captain's belt, at just 22 years old.

During the training for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, Chile played a friendly match with England in front of about 65,000 people at the legendary Wembley Stadium on 11 February 1998. In a memorable match, Chile won 2–0 with goals of "The Killer". The first, of great invoice, with perfect control, spin and definition, without letting the ball touch the ground after a pass of more than 60 meters. The second, a penalty that he created after brilliantly dribbling the English defender Sol Campbell.

In 1998, Marcelo Salas had an outstanding performance in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, reaching the 16th round of the tournament. He scored 4 goals: two against Italy, one against Austria and one against Brazil positioning himself as the third-best scorer of the World Cup in that year, along with Brazilian striker Ronaldo, being only 1 away from the bronze boot, and 2 from the golden boot.

In 1999, Chile national football team reached the semi-finals of the Copa América, where they won fourth place.

On 15 August 2000, Salas was the great figure in Chile 3–0 victory over Brazil, scoring a great goal and being the most important player of the match, played in the 2002 World Cup qualification.

Due to his injury problems, Salas's appearances for Chile were limited after 2001. He scored four goals in nine matches during the failed 2002 World Cup qualification campaign and during the 2006 World Cup qualification. He surpassed his attacking partner Iván Zamorano as the nation's all-time leading scorer for the second time (he had previously done so in 1998) with his 35th goal against Bolivia.

On 18 November 2007, during a match for the qualification for 2010 World Cup where Chile played against Uruguay, Marcelo Salas scored his last 2 final goals at the majestic Estadio Centenario, the first with a header after Carlos Villanueva center and the second, penalty.