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Míchel Salgado
Míchel Salgado 2018.jpg
Salgado playing in a legends match in 2018
Personal information
Full name Miguel Ángel Salgado Fernández
Date of birth (1975-10-22) 22 October 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth As Neves, Spain
Height 1.74 m
Playing position Right-back
Youth career
1990–1992 Cristo Victoria
1992–1994 Celta
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1995 Celta B 20 (1)
1995–1999 Celta 92 (3)
1996–1997 → Salamanca (loan) 36 (1)
1999–2009 Real Madrid 251 (4)
2009–2012 Blackburn Rovers 66 (0)
2018 Independiente 1 (0)
Total 466 (9)
National team
1994 Spain U18 7 (0)
1995 Spain U19 2 (0)
1995 Spain U20 5 (1)
1996–1998 Spain U21 10 (0)
1998–2006 Spain 53 (0)
2005 Galicia 1 (0)
Teams managed
2016– Galicia
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Miguel Ángel "Míchel" Salgado Fernández (born 22 October 1975) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a right-back.

Nicknamed Il Due ("two" in Italian), he was known for his combative tackling and attacking play. After excellent displays at Celta, he spent an entire decade at Real Madrid, where former teammate Steve McManaman attested to his aggressive style by describing him as "the hardest person in the world....a genuine psychopath, even in training." He also played three seasons in England with Blackburn Rovers.

Salgado, who played 341 La Liga matches and scored seven goals, represented the Spain national team over eight years, collecting more than 50 caps and appearing in one World Cup and one European Championship.

Club career

Celta

Born in As Neves, Province of Pontevedra, Galicia, Salgado began his professional career with hometown's RC Celta de Vigo, making his La Liga debut on 22 January 1995 in a 0–4 away loss against Real Madrid. He was loaned for a season to UD Salamanca in the Segunda División, and after his return became the first-choice in his position.

Whilst at Celta, Salgado was involved in an incident with Atlético Madrid's Juninho Paulista in February 1998: after a dangerous challenge, the Brazilian was sidelined for six months and missed that year's FIFA World Cup.

Salgado scored a career-best three goals in the 1998–99 campaign, helping his team to finish fifth and qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Real Madrid

In 1999, Salgado was purchased by Real Madrid for 11,000,000, playing 29 league games in his first season while also helping the club win the UEFA Champions League. He was the capital side's starter during his first seven years, but was relegated to the bench by former Sevilla FC youngster Sergio Ramos in 2006–07.

Despedida de Míchel Salgado
Real Madrid fans show their appreciation of Salgado's ten years service to the club

Salgado was still able to contribute 16 matches to the Merengues' 30th national title, mainly due to injuries to Pepe, with Ramos being relocated to centre back. In the following two campaigns he featured very rarely (only 17 appearances), being sent off in the final game of 2008–09, a 1–2 loss at CA Osasuna on 31 May 2009 as Madrid slumped to a fifth consecutive league defeat.

Salgado was released in early August 2009, with the team already midway into pre-season.

Blackburn Rovers

Aged nearly 34, Salgado moved to Blackburn Rovers of the Premier League on 19 August 2009, signing a two-year deal after impressing manager Sam Allardyce whilst on trial. He went on to say he was happy to be playing for his new club, intending to retire at Ewood Park.

Salgado made his competitive debut on 12 September 2009, against Wolverhampton Wanderers as a late substitute (3–1 home win). On 27 October he scored his first goal for his new team, in a 5–2 victory over Peterborough United in the Football League Cup.

On 27 January 2011, 35-year-old Salgado agreed to a contract extension. He was first choice in the first games of the 2011–12 season, until picking up an injury.

Blackburn manager Steve Kean revealed in December 2011 that Salgado was being omitted from the squad as his contract stated that the player was entitled to a new deal if he played nine more matches in the campaign, the club not being able to afford fresh terms.

Futsal and later years

Míchel Salgado in Tehran
Salgado in a charity match in Tehran in 2015

Aged 40, Salgado came out of retirement to join Kochi 5s in India's Premier Futsal as a marquee player. He later was part of the board of Heritage Sports Holdings, which owned the football clubs Gibraltar United F.C. and UD Los Barrios.

Salgado came out of retirement again in April 2018, starting for Independiente F.C. in a 1–1 draw against C.D. Plaza Amador in the quarter-finals of the Panamanian Clausura tournament. On 5 February 2021, he was appointed director of football of Cypriot First Division side Pafos FC.

International career

Salgado won the first of his 53 caps for Spain on 5 September 1998, in an infamous 3–2 loss in Cyprus for the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers. He was part of the nation's squads at Euro 2000 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, starting in the former tournament and being backup in the latter to Real Madrid teammate Ramos.

Due to last-minute injuries, Salgado missed out on the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. He also represented the Galician autonomous team, which he later coached alongside Deportivo de La Coruña's Fran.

On 4 September 2018, Salgado was named assistant manager to the Egyptian national team.

Personal life

Salgado is married to Malula Sanz, daughter of former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz. He is an avid chess fan.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Celta B 1993–94 Segunda División B 20 1 0 0 0 0 20 1
Celta 1994−95 La Liga 14 0 1 0 0 0 15 0
1995−96 18 0 5 0 0 0 23 0
1997−98 25 0 5 0 0 0 30 0
1998−99 35 3 2 0 7 0 44 3
Total 92 3 13 0 7 0 112 3
Salamanca (loan) 1996–97 Segunda División 36 1 2 0 0 0 38 1
Real Madrid 1999−2000 La Liga 29 0 0 0 17 0 46 0
2000−01 27 1 0 0 11 0 38 1
2001−02 35 0 1 0 14 0 50 0
2002−03 35 0 0 0 16 1 51 1
2003−04 35 1 1 0 10 0 46 1
2004−05 30 2 0 0 9 0 39 2
2005−06 27 0 1 0 5 0 33 0
2006−07 16 0 0 0 1 0 17 0
2007−08 8 0 3 0 2 0 13 0
2008−09 9 0 0 0 1 0 10 0
Total 251 4 6 0 86 1 343 5
Blackburn 2009–10 Premier League 21 0 1 0 4 1 26 1
2010–11 36 0 2 0 0 0 38 0
2011–12 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Total 66 0 3 0 4 1 73 1
Independiente 2017–18 Panamanian Football League 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Career total 466 9 24 0 4 1 93 1 587 11

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Spain 1998 3 0
1999 9 0
2000 5 0
2001 0 0
2002 5 0
2003 10 0
2004 8 0
2005 8 0
2006 5 0
Total 53 0

Honours

Real Madrid

Spain U21

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Míchel Salgado para niños

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