Emiliano Sala
Emiliano Raúl Sala Taffarel (Spanish pronunciation: [emiˈljano ˈsala]; 31 October 1990 – 21 January 2019) was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a striker.
|
Sala playing for Nantes in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Emiliano Raúl Sala Taffarel | ||
| Date of birth | 31 October 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Cululú, Argentina | ||
| Date of death | 21 January 2019 (aged 28) | ||
| Place of death | English Channel, off Alderney, Channel Islands | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–2005 | Club San Martín de Progreso | ||
| 2005–2007 | Proyecto Crecer | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2008 | Soledad B | 6 | (1) |
| 2009 | Crato | 1 | (2) |
| 2010–2015 | Bordeaux | 11 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | → Orléans (loan) | 37 | (19) |
| 2013–2014 | → Niort (loan) | 37 | (18) |
| 2015 | → Caen (loan) | 13 | (5) |
| 2015–2019 | Nantes | 120 | (42) |
| 2019 | Cardiff City | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 225 | (88) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
After playing youth football in Argentina and following a short spell in Portugal's regional leagues, Sala began his professional career in France with Bordeaux, making his professional debut in February 2012. After struggling to break into the first team, he was loaned out to Championnat National side Orléans and Ligue 2 side Niort in consecutive seasons. He enjoyed prolific spells with both clubs, scoring 39 goals between them, before returning to Bordeaux. After initially being promised an increased role after his successful loans, Sala fell out of favour again, and instead, joined fellow Ligue 1 side Caen on loan.
In 2015, he signed for Nantes on a permanent basis. With Nantes, he made more than 100 appearances in Ligue 1, and achieved a successful goalscoring record, finishing as the club's top goalscorer for three consecutive seasons. His form prompted a move to Cardiff City in January 2019, for a club record fee of £15 million (€18 million).
Sala died in a plane crash off Alderney on 21 January 2019. He was a passenger aboard a Piper Malibu light aircraft flying from Nantes to Cardiff. An initial three-day search that covered 4,400 square kilometres (1,700 sq mi) across the English Channel failed to locate the crash site. Two subsequent private searches were launched, resulting in the discovery of the wreckage on 3 February 2019; Sala's body was recovered four days later.