Julio Salinas Fernández (; born 11 September 1962) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played during the 1980s and 1990s.
A centre-forward with skills, he was best remembered for his spell with Barcelona – having started out at Athletic Bilbao – while he was also a prolific goalscorer for club and country. He also spent one year of his 19-year career in Japan with Yokohama Marinos.
Salinas earned 56 caps for Spain, and represented the nation in three World Cups and two European Championships.
Club career Athletic and Atlético Salinas was born in Bilbao, Biscay, joining Athletic Bilbao's youth academy at the age of 11. In 1983–84, he won the Segunda División's Pichichi Trophy award as he helped the reserves to finish runners-up to Castilla. He also played 13 games for the first team over two seasons, scoring his first La Liga goal on 26 March 1983 in a 4–0 home win against Celta de Vigo as the Basques captured back-to-back league titles and added the 1984 Copa del Rey.
After two more seasons with Athletic, scoring a total of 12 goals for two-third-place finishes, Salinas moved to Atlético Madrid, where he found the net at an impressive rate (this included a brace on 7 February 1988 in a 7–0 home thrashing of Mallorca).
Barcelona Salinas signed for Barcelona for 1988–89, linking up with several other Basque players, including veteran José Ramón Alexanko, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Begiristain and Jon Andoni Goikoetxea – these would help form the backbone of the legendary Dream Team. He scored 20 league goals in his debut campaign as Barça finished second to Real Madrid, and he also netted in both the 1989 Cup Winners' Cup final against Sampdoria and in the following year's domestic cup 2–0 victory over Real Madrid.
In the subsequent seasons, Salinas appeared sparingly for the club due to his age and the signing of attacking players as Hristo Stoichkov, but would still manage to grab some important goals in spite of limited playing time. On 30 January 1994, after coming in as a second-half substitute against Albacete, he scored both goals in a 2–1 home win, as he only played six games more during the campaign, with Barcelona eventually achieving four league titles in a row.
Later career Upon leaving Catalonia, Salinas joined Deportivo de La Coruña, helping to a runner-up finish in his only season; although not a regular in the starting lineups he finished with 12 league goals, only surpassed by club great Bebeto. As a late replacement at the Camp Nou on 3 December, he netted in a 1–1 draw after a header from José Luis Ribera.
After the signing of, among others, Russian Dmitry Radchenko, Salinas was deemed surplus to requirements, agreeing to a contract at Sporting de Gijón where he scored 18 times in the 1995–96 campaign, crucial in helping the Asturians to avoid relegation. He was held in high regards in the city during his one-and-a-half-year spell, with the fans often singing: "Bota de oro, Salinas bota de oro!" ("Golden boot, Salinas, golden boot!").
Salinas then had a stint abroad with Yokohama Marinos in Japan, where he again showcased his scoring skills, rejoining his former Barcelona teammate Goikoetxea. He then returned close to home, having spent his last two seasons with Alavés where he scored in 1999–2000's opener, a 2–1 home defeat of Málaga; his team finished sixth, and would go on to reach the following year's UEFA Cup final.
On 19 May 2000, Salinas played his last professional match, scoring in a 2–1 loss at his first team Athletic Bilbao. He retired at nearly 38 with 417 matches and 152 goals, in the Spanish top flight alone.
International career Salinas represented the Spain national team over a decade, scoring 22 goals. His debut was on 22 January 1986 as he netted in a 2–0 friendly win over the Soviet Union, in Las Palmas.
Salinas went on to represent the country at three FIFA World Cups: 1986 (where he scored against Northern Ireland), 1990 (netting in the second-round loss to Yugoslavia) and 1994, as well as two UEFA European Championships, 1988 and 1996.
In the 1994 World Cup quarter-final against Italy, after he had found the net in a 2–2 draw against South Korea, Salinas missed the chance to put Spain into the last-four stage. With 1–1 and less than ten minutes to go, he marred a fast-break, with only goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca to beat; Roberto Baggio sealed the 2–1 final result minutes later, and the Spaniard was ultimately more remembered for this miss rather than the massive number of goals scored during an 18-year professional career.
Post-retirement Immediately after retiring, Salinas began working as a sports commentator, first for RTVE and then on laSexta.
Personal life Salinas' younger brother, Patxi, was also a professional footballer (centre-back), and played for Athletic Bilbao and Celta. Both made their top division debut in the 1982–83 season.
They held the record for combined appearances in the Spanish top tier by siblings with 849 matches (occasions where they both played as teammates or opponents counted for each), 86 more than the next pair, Quini and Jesús Castro.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAthletic Bilbao1982–83La Liga716340001741983–84602221001031984–85288104101140141985–86274620033369Total68132412714410330Atlético Madrid1986–87La Liga381562–3147181987–88371652––4218Total753111400318936Barcelona1988–89La Liga372054–7249261989–90341572–4145181990–91331144–8245171991–9217720–522491992–9318555–3026101993–947242–10124Total1466027170028720184Deportivo1994–95La Liga241244–403216Sporting Gijón1995–96La Liga381844––42221996–9716620 186Total54246400006028Yokohama Marinos1997J1 League26212253–3326199821130031–2414Total47342284–5740Alavés1998–99La Liga22400––2241999–200028820––308Total50122000005212Career total46418676431553912594246
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSpain19861051987201988811989411990511991001992101993871994127199540199620Total5622
Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Salinas goal. + List of international goals scored by Julio SalinasNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 22 January 1986 Estadio Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain 1–0 2–0 Friendly2 19 February 1986 Manuel Martínez Valero, Elche, Spain 2–0 3–0 Friendly3 26 March 1986 Ramón de Carranza, Cádiz, Spain 3–0 3–0 Friendly4 7 June 1986 Tres de Marzo, Zapopan, Mexico 2–0 2–1 1986 FIFA World Cup5 24 September 1986 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain 1–0 3–1 Friendly6 24 February 1988 La Rosaleda, Málaga, Spain 1–0 1–2 Friendly7 11 October 1989 Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary 1–0 2–2 1990 World Cup qualification8 26 June 1990 Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona, Italy 1–1 1–2 1990 FIFA World Cup9 28 April 1993 Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain 1–1 3–1 1994 World Cup qualification10 2–111 22 September 1993 Qemal Stafa, Tirana, Albania 1–0 5–1 1994 World Cup qualification12 3–013 4–114 13 October 1993 Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland 2–0 3–1 1994 World Cup qualification15 3–016 19 January 1994 Balaídos, Vigo, Spain 1–0 2–2 Friendly17 2 June 1994 Ratina Stadion, Tampere, Finland 2–0 2–1 Friendly18 10 June 1994 Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Canada 1–0 2–0 Friendly19 17 June 1994 Cotton Bowl, Dallas, United States 1–0 2–2 1994 FIFA World Cup20 12 October 1994 City Stadium of Skopje, Skopje, Macedonia 1–0 2–0 Euro 1996 qualifying21 2–022 17 December 1994 Constant Vanden Stock, Brussels, Belgium 3–1 4–1 Euro 1996 qualifying
Honours Athletic Bilbao La Liga: 1982–83, 1983–84 Copa del Rey: 1983–84 Supercopa de España: 1984 (automatically awarded after winning the double)
Barcelona La Liga: 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94 Copa del Rey: 1989–90 Supercopa de España: 1991, 1992 European Cup: 1991–92 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1988–89 European Super Cup: 1992
Deportivo Copa del Rey: 1994–95
Spain Under-21 UEFA Under-21 European Championship runner-up: 1984
Individual Pichichi Trophy: 1983–84 (Segunda División)
See also List of FC Barcelona players (100+ appearances) List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)
References
External links