Míchel Salgado facts for kids
Salgado playing in a legends match in 2018
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Miguel Ángel Salgado Fernández | ||
| Date of birth | 22 October 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | As Neves, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.74 m | ||
| Playing position | Right-back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Saudi Arabia (under-15) | ||
| 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 | |||
| 2016–2017 | Galicia | ||
| 2022 | Pafos (interim) | ||
| 2023 | Pafos (interim) | ||
| 2024– | Saudi Arabia (under-15) | ||
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Miguel Ángel "Míchel" Salgado Fernández (born on October 22, 1975) is a Spanish former professional footballer. He played as a right-back, which is a defensive player on the side of the field.
He was known for his strong tackles and his ability to attack from the defense. After playing very well for Celta, he spent ten years with Real Madrid. His former teammate, Steve McManaman, once said Salgado was a very tough and determined player, even during practice. Salgado also played for three seasons in England with Blackburn Rovers.
Salgado played 341 matches in La Liga, Spain's top football league, and scored seven goals. He also played for the Spanish national team for eight years. He played in more than 50 international matches, including one World Cup and one European Championship.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Celta
Míchel Salgado was born in As Neves, a town in Galicia, Spain. He started his professional football journey with his hometown club, RC Celta de Vigo. His first match in La Liga was on January 22, 1995. It was an away game against Real Madrid, which Celta lost 4–0.
Before becoming a regular player for Celta, he was loaned for one season to UD Salamanca in the Segunda División, a lower league. After returning to Celta, he became the main player in his position.
While at Celta, Salgado was involved in an incident with Atlético Madrid's Juninho Paulista in February 1998. After a strong challenge, Juninho was unable to play for six months. This meant he missed the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
In the 1998–99 season, Salgado scored three goals, which was his best scoring record. He helped his team finish fifth in the league. This result allowed them to qualify for the UEFA Cup.
Playing for Real Madrid
In 1999, Real Madrid bought Salgado for €11,000,000 (about 11 million Euros). In his first season, he played in 29 league games. He also helped the club win the UEFA Champions League, which is a very important European club competition.
Salgado was a regular starter for Real Madrid for his first seven years. However, in the 2006–07 season, he started to play less. Another player, Sergio Ramos, took his place as the main right-back.
He played only 16 matches when Real Madrid won their 30th national title. This was mainly because of injuries. In the next two seasons, he played very few games, only 17 appearances. He was sent off in the last game of the 2008–09 season. This game was a 2–1 loss against CA Osasuna on May 31, 2009.
Salgado left Real Madrid in August 2009.
Time with Blackburn Rovers
On August 19, 2009, Salgado moved to Blackburn Rovers, a team in the Premier League in England. He signed a two-year contract after impressing manager Sam Allardyce during a trial. He said he was happy to play for his new club and planned to finish his career there.
Salgado played his first official game for Blackburn on September 12, 2009. He came on as a substitute in a 3–1 home win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. On October 27, he scored his only goal for Blackburn. It was in a 5–2 victory over Peterborough United in the Football League Cup.
On January 27, 2011, Salgado, who was 35 years old, agreed to extend his contract. He was a first-choice player at the start of the 2011–12 season. However, he then got an injury.
In December 2011, Blackburn manager Steve Kean said that Salgado was not being picked to play. This was because his contract said he would get a new deal if he played nine more matches. The club could not afford to offer him a new contract.
Futsal and Later Years
When he was 40 years old, Salgado came out of retirement to play futsal in India's Premier Futsal league. He joined Kochi 5s as a special player. Later, he became part of Heritage Sports Holdings. This company owned the football clubs Gibraltar United F.C. and UD Los Barrios.
Salgado played football again in April 2018. He started a game for Independiente F.C. in Panama. The game was a 1–1 draw against C.D. Plaza Amador.
After retiring, Salgado settled in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In 2020, he helped to start Fursan Hispania FC, which began as a football academy.
On February 5, 2021, Salgado was named the director of football for Pafos FC, a team in the Cypriot First Division. He also worked as their caretaker manager (temporary coach) on two occasions.
International Career
Salgado played his first game for the Spanish national team on September 5, 1998. This was a surprising 3–2 loss against Cyprus during the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers. He played a total of 53 matches for Spain.
He was part of Spain's teams for Euro 2000 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, due to injuries, Salgado missed the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
He also played for the Galician regional team. Later, he coached this team alongside Deportivo de La Coruña's Fran.
On September 4, 2018, Salgado was named assistant manager for the Egyptian national team. In June 2024, he became the head coach of the Saudi Arabia under-15 national team.
Personal Life
Míchel Salgado married Malula Sanz on July 5, 2000. Malula is the daughter of Lorenzo Sanz, who used to be the president of Real Madrid. They have three children: a daughter named Malu (born 2003) and two sons, Miguel (born 2005) and Alán (born 2009). Malu is a singer, and her brothers also play football.
Salgado is also related to other former Real Madrid players, Fernando Sanz and Paco Sanz. He is also related to basketball player Lorenzo Sanz Durán. Salgado enjoys playing chess in his free time.
Honours and Achievements
Real Madrid
- La Liga:
- 2000–01
- 2002–03
- 2006–07
- 2007–08
- Supercopa de España:
- 2001
- 2003
- 2008
- UEFA Champions League:
- 1999–2000
- 2001–02
- Intercontinental Cup:
- 2002
- UEFA Super Cup:
- 2002
Spain U21
See also
In Spanish: Míchel Salgado para niños
