Salva Ballesta

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Salva
Salva Ballesta 29abr2007.jpg
Salva playing for Levante
Personal information
Full name Salvador Ballesta Vialcho
Date of birth 22 May 1975 (1975-05-22) (age 36)
Place of birth Zaragoza, Spain
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
Sevilla
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1994–1995 Sevilla B 33 (6)
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 (5)
2009–2010 Albacete 23 (5)
Total 400 (145)
National team
1996–1998 Spain U21 9 (2)
1997 Spain U23 4 (2)
2000–2004 Spain 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Ballesta and the second or maternal family name is Vialcho.

Salvador Ballesta Vialcho, aka Salva (born 22 May 1975), is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a striker.

A goal-poacher noted for his flair and workrate, he played for seven different top division clubs, most notably Atlético Madrid, Valencia - with whom he won his sole team trophy - and Málaga.

Over the course of 11 La Liga seasons, Salva amassed totals of 235 games and 87 goals, adding 126/52 in Segunda División.

Contents

[edit] Club career

Salva was born in Zaragoza, Aragon. After making his professional debuts with Sevilla FC, he won the Pichichi Trophy in the 1999–2000 season, scoring 27 goals to lead La Liga's scoring charts for Racing de Santander. He then moved to Segunda División with Atlético de Madrid (freshly relegated) and proceeded to lead the side with 21 league goals, although the Colchoneros did not return to the top level.

In the 2001 summer, Salva joined Valencia CF, netting five goals to help the side become league champion after a 31-year drought. He was rarely used in the following season, and was subsequently briefly part of the Bolton Wanderers side which avoided Premier League relegation in 2003.[1] He had another two loan stints from 2003–05, with Málaga CF (18 league goals[2]) and Atlético Madrid, being subsequently released and signing with the former.[3]

In January 2007, Salva joined top flight strugglers Levante UD on loan from Málaga (then in the second division). On February 4, he played his first league match for the club in an away win against Real Madrid, scoring the game's only goal.[4] After the season's end, with the Valencian managing to retain their status, he returned to Málaga, and scored seven league goals to help the Andalusia outfit achieve top division promotion.

As he spent most of 2008–09 hampered by recurrent injuries, Salva was still able to contribute, notably coming from the bench against neighbours UD Almería and helping turn the score from 0–2 to a 3–2 home win with two goals, on 9 February 2009. On March 15, he added another brace against another neighbouring club, in a 2–2 home draw against former club Sevilla. When the season ended, he was released after his contract expired.

In the dying hours of the 2009 August transfer window, Salva signed a 1+1 contract with Albacete Balompié, aged 34. However, at the end of his first season, where he appeared almost exclusively as a backup, the 35-year old was one of 14 players who were not given a contract extension, being released[5] and retiring shortly after, at the age of 35; subsequently, he re-joined former team Málaga as a youth coach, alongside former club teammate Francesc Arnau.[6]

[edit] International career

Salva played four international matches with Spain, the first one in a friendly home match against Poland, on 26 January 2000 (3–0), subbing in for Ismael Urzaiz with 20 minutes remaining.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

Valencia

[edit] Country

Spain U21

[edit] Individual

Racing Santander
Atlético Madrid

[edit] Personal

Off the pitch, Salva is notorious for his outspoken personality[7] and his political beliefs, far to the right of most of his peers' and routinely characterized as overtly nationalistic,[8][9] ultraconservative, militaristic[10] and at times even fascist,[11] as well as his aggressive demeanor towards fellow players at the opposite side of the political spectrum.[12]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bolton find solution in Ballesta; UEFA.com, 30 January 2003
  2. ^ Salva's Spanish goal; UEFA.com, 18 March 2004
  3. ^ Málaga make Salva signing; UEFA.com, 14 July 2005
  4. ^ "Tactical formation". Football-Lineups. http://www.football-lineups.com/wiki/_match3606.php. Retrieved 7 February 2007. 
  5. ^ El Albacete da la baja a 14 jugadores, entre ellos a Salva (Albacete releases 14 players, Salva included); Diario AS, 23 June 2010 (Spanish)
  6. ^ El Málaga cuenta con Arnau y Salva como entrenadores de cantera para La Academia (Málaga counts with Arnau and Salva as youth team coaches for the Academy); La Opinión de Málaga, 23 March 2011 (Spanish)
  7. ^ Declaraciones de Salva Ballesta tras los atentados (Salva Ballesta statements after 11-M terrorist attempts) (Spanish)
  8. ^ Salva Ballesta ataca de nuevo: ‘Que Viva España, hijos de puta’ (Salva Ballesta strikes again: ‘Long Live Spain, sons of bitches’); Pandeblog (Spanish)
  9. ^ Salva Ballesta y la ‘españolidad’ (Salva Ballesta and ‘Spanishness’); Pandeblog (Spanish)
  10. ^ Entrevista al futbolista Salva Ballesta: “Se están devaluando las Fuerzas Armadas y creo que los Altos Mandos deberían dar un taconazo” (Interview with footballer Salva Ballesta: “The Spanish Armed Forces are being devalued and the high hierarchies should take a stand”); Tortuga, 1 June 2006 (Spanish)
  11. ^ Perlas fascistas del futbolista Salva Ballesta, denunciado por el Barça por injuriar a Oleguer (Fascist highlights by footballer Salva Ballesta, sued for insulting Oleguer); Kaosenlared, 13 March 2007 (Spanish)
  12. ^ Salva Ballesta dice que respeta más a una caca de perro que a Oleguer Presas (Salva Ballesta says he has more respect for dog shit than Oleguer Presas); Pandeblog (Spanish)

[edit] External links
Spain
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salva_Ballesta&oldid=469706649"
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