Oleg Anatolyevich Salenko (; born 25 October 1969) is a Russian former footballer who played as a forward. He scored a record five goals in a group-stage match in the 1994 World Cup, helping him earn the Golden Boot as joint-top tournament goalscorer.
Club career
Salenko was born to a Ukrainian father and a Russian mother in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Russian SFSR, which was then part of the Soviet Union. He played for Zenit Leningrad, Dynamo Kyiv, Logroñés, Córdoba, Valencia, Rangers and İstanbulspor during his club career, that lasted from 1986 to 2000.
Eventually, he faded from the international football scene and finally had to end his career prematurely, at the age of 31, for injury reasons. Salenko returned to playing professional football in the 2000–01 season and signed for Pogoń Szczecin. He retired after playing a single game due to his physical conditioning.
International career Salenko played for the Soviet Union under-20 team at the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship, becoming the tournament top scorer with 5 goals. He played a total of only nine international matches, including the Ukraine 1–3 Hungary friendly, which was the first international game for the Ukraine national football team to be recognised by FIFA. He also had eight appearances for Russia and scored six goals, all of them at the World Cup in which he was joint top scorer. His last international appearance was 6–1 win against Cameroon when he scored five times.
As of 2024, he is the only player to win the Golden Boot at both the U-20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup.
1994 FIFA World Cup Salenko set a World Cup record by scoring five goals in one game in Russia's 6–1 win against Cameroon on 28 June 1994. He finished the 1994 World Cup with six goals, having scored from the penalty spot against Sweden in the previous match and shared the Golden Boot with Bulgarian Hristo Stoichkov after being knocked out in the first round and having played only three matches while Bulgaria played a total of seven matches and achieved a fourth-place finish.Salenko is the only player ever to win the Golden Boot award while playing for a team eliminated from the World Cup finals at the group stage.
Beach football In 2003, Salenko was appointed as manager of the Ukraine national beach soccer team. His team played three games, the only win being over USA 6–5, and losing the other two to Brazil and Spain. The tournament took place at the end of July in Portugal under the name Mundialito.List of matches of the national team in Ukrainian After the tournament, he was dismissed. He was later taking part of FFU assisting staff, but later stopped being involved in football to focus on his business.
Personal life He is the father of Ukrainian footballer Roman Salenko, who made his debut with Dynamo Kyiv, the second team Oleg played for, in November 2024.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague cupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsZenit Leningrad1986Soviet Top League1133150—1941987Soviet Top League1002022001421988Soviet Top League2671022—299Total47106194006215Dynamo Kyiv1989Soviet Top League2635000613741990Soviet Top League21458—4230141991Soviet Top League281434—8339211992Vyshcha Liha16741—41249Total912817130022713048Logroñés1992–93La Liga16700——1671993–94La Liga311665——3721Total47236500005328Valencia1994–95La Liga25763——3110Rangers1995–96Scottish Premier Division167002120208İstanbulspor1995–96Süper Lig1511———15111996–97Süper Lig1000——101997–98Süper Lig2000—0020Total18110000001811Córdoba1999–2000Segunda División3020——50Pogoń Szczecin2000–01Ekstraklasa1000——10Career total248863722115247320120
International Appearances and goals by national team and year National teamYearAppsGoalsUkraine199210Total10Russia199310199476Total86Career total96 International goals Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first.
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 24 June 1994 Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, United States 1–0 1–3 1994 FIFA World Cup 2. 28 June 1994 Stanford Stadium, Stanford, United States 1–0 6–11994 FIFA World Cup 3. 2–0 4. 3–0 5. 4–1 6. 5–1
Honours Dynamo Kyiv Soviet Top League: 1990 Soviet Cup: 1990
Rangers Scottish Football League Premier Division: 1996
Individual FIFA World Youth Championship Golden Shoe: 1989 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 1994 Oleh Blokhin club
See also List of FIFA World Cup top goalscorers
References
External links
RSSSF Player profile