Salva Ballesta facts for kids
Salva playing for Levante in 2007
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Salvador Ballesta Vialcho | ||
| Date of birth | 22 May 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Zaragoza, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.84 m | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Sevilla | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1994–1996 | Sevilla B | 36 | (10) |
| 1995–1998 | Sevilla | 49 | (15) |
| 1996 | → Écija (loan) | 17 | (6) |
| 1998–2000 | Racing Santander | 52 | (29) |
| 2000–2001 | Atlético Madrid | 33 | (21) |
| 2001–2005 | Valencia | 24 | (5) |
| 2003 | → Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | → Málaga (loan) | 34 | (18) |
| 2004–2005 | → Atlético Madrid (loan) | 28 | (7) |
| 2005–2009 | Málaga | 87 | (28) |
| 2007 | → Levante (loan) | 14 | (4) |
| 2009–2010 | Albacete | 23 | (5) |
| Total | 403 | (148) | |
| National team | |||
| 1996–1998 | Spain U21 | 9 | (2) |
| 1997 | Spain U23 | 4 | (2) |
| 2000–2004 | Spain | 4 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2013−2015 | Málaga B | ||
| 2017−2018 | Jaén | ||
| 2018−2019 | Móstoles | ||
| 2020−2021 | Algeciras | ||
| 2021–2022 | UCAM Murcia | ||
| 2022 | San Fernando | ||
| 2024 | Estepona | ||
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Salvador Ballesta Vialcho (born on May 22, 1975), known as Salva, is a Spanish former professional footballer. He played as a striker and is now a manager.
Salva was known for scoring many goals and for his hard work on the field. He played for seven different top-level football clubs in Spain. Some of his most famous teams were Atlético Madrid, Valencia, and Málaga. He won one major trophy with Valencia.
He played a total of 235 games in La Liga, Spain's top football league, scoring 86 goals. He also played 126 games in Segunda División, the second division, where he scored 52 goals.
Contents
Playing Career
Club Teams
Salva was born in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. He started his professional career with Sevilla FC. In the 1999–2000 season, he won the Pichichi Trophy. This award is given to the top goal scorer in La Liga. He scored 27 goals for Racing de Santander that season.
After this, he moved to Atlético Madrid, which had just been moved down to the Segunda División. Salva was their top scorer with 21 goals, but the team did not return to the top league that year.
In the summer of 2001, Salva joined Valencia CF. He scored five goals and helped the club win the league title. This was a big win for Valencia, as they hadn't won the league in 31 years! He didn't play as much the next season.
Salva then had a short time playing for Bolton Wanderers in England in 2003. They managed to avoid being moved down from the Premier League.
From 2003 to 2005, he was loaned out twice. First, he played for Málaga CF, where he scored 21 goals. This included a hat-trick (three goals in one game) in a big 5–1 win against FC Barcelona in December 2003. He was then loaned to Atlético Madrid again. After these loans, he officially signed with Málaga.
In early 2007, Salva went on loan to Levante UD, a team struggling in the top league. He played his first game for them in February, scoring the only goal in a win against Real Madrid. Levante stayed in the top league that season. Salva then went back to Málaga and helped them get promoted back to the top division by scoring seven goals.
During the 2008–09 season, Salva had many injuries. However, he still helped his team. In one game against UD Almería, he came off the bench when his team was losing 0–2. He scored two goals, helping Málaga win 3–2. He also scored two goals in a 2–2 draw against his old team, Sevilla. He left Málaga when his contract ended.
In August 2009, Salva, at 34 years old, signed with Albacete Balompié. He mostly played as a backup player. At the end of his first season, he was released and soon retired from playing football.
International Games
Salva played four games for the Spanish national team. His first game was a friendly match against Poland on January 26, 2000. He came into the game in the 70th minute, and Spain won 3–0.
Coaching Career
After he stopped playing, Salva returned to his former team, Málaga, to coach their youth players. On July 11, 2013, he became the new manager for Málaga's reserve team, Atlético Malagueño. He stayed there for two years.
Salva continued to coach in lower leagues for several teams. These included Real Jaén, CD Móstoles URJC, Algeciras CF, UCAM Murcia CF, and San Fernando CD.
Personal Life
Salva is known for his strong opinions and beliefs. He comes from a family with a military background. He has said that he is a Christian.
In February 2013, Salva was considered for an assistant coach job at RC Celta de Vigo. However, he was not chosen for the role, partly because of his strong personal views.
Managerial Statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Málaga B |  |
12 July 2013 | 1 June 2015 | 82 | 50 | 15 | 17 | 149 | 77 | +72 | 60.98 | |
| Jaén | |
26 September 2017 | 22 February 2018 | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 34 | 17 | +17 | 59.09 | |
| Móstoles | |
19 June 2018 | 26 June 2019 | 42 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 43 | 28 | +15 | 54.76 | |
| Algeciras | |
20 January 2020 | 17 June 2021 | 33 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 42.42 | |
| UCAM Murcia | |
9 November 2021 | 20 March 2022 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 24 | 28 | −4 | 23.53 | |
| San Fernando | |
21 September 2022 | 11 December 2022 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 15 | −4 | 25.00 | |
| Estepona | |
9 April 2024 | 18 June 2024 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 25.00 | |
| Total | 212 | 108 | 45 | 59 | 300 | 203 | +97 | 50.94 | — | |||
Honours
Valencia
- La Liga: 2001–02
Spain U21
Individual
- Pichichi Trophy: 1999–2000
- Pichichi Trophy (Segunda División): 2000–01
See also
In Spanish: Salva Ballesta para niños
