A lot of active footballers have died over the years due to one reason or the other. The likes of Marc-Vivien Foe, Sam Okwaraji and Cheick Tiote collapsed due to cardiac arrest and died afterwards. India’s Peter Biaksangzuala died after he landed in an awkward position while doing a somersault to celebrate his goal. Former Arsenal star Jose Antonio Reyes died in a fatal car accident. And of course, there is the story of Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane crash incident.
Speaking of plane crash incidents, they aren’t that new to the football world, as there have been a number of recorded cases. One of the most memorable is the Munich Air Crash of 1958, which resulted in the death of Manchester United players, fans and journalists- a total of 23 people. There is also the 1993 plane crash that claimed the lives of the entire Zambia national football team members, who were travelling by air to Senegal for a football game. Now let’s go back to the topic of the day.
Emiliano Raul Sala was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for various clubs like Bordeaux, Orleans, Caen and Nantes, but is mostly remembered for his time at Nantes.
He joined Nantes from Bordeaux on 20 July 2015 on a five-year contract. The first game he played for Nantes ended in a 1-0 victory over Guingamp in the opening day of the 2015-2019 Ligue 1 season. His first goal for the club came on 5 December 2015 when he scored in a 1-1 draw with Ajaccio. In January 2016, it was reported that English club Wolverhampton Wanderers were interested in the Argentine player but Nantes rejected their bid.
In his first season, Sala scored six goals and emerged the club's top scorer. Also, in his second season, he emerged the top scorer after scoring 12 goals for the club. In his third season, he scored 12 goals again and became the club's top scorer for three consecutive seasons.
But when the 2018-2019 season resumed, Nantes' new manager Miguel Cardoso preferred Kalifa Koulibaly over the Argentine striker. With the situation of things, Turkish club Galatasaray made a bid to sign Sala but it never went through. However, Sala became a regular player for Nantes again under Cardoso, who was later sacked in October 2018.
Vahid Halilhodzic replaced Cardoso and in his first game under this new manager, Salah scored three goals in Nantes' 4-0 win over Toulouse, thus becoming the first Nantes player to score a hattrick in a Ligue 1 game since Mamadou Diallo in February 2006. That year, Sala was voted Ligue 1 Player of the Month of October, having scored four goals in three games during the month.
Sala's good form attracted interest from Premier League club Cardiff City who signed him in January 2019 on a three and a half year contract. But sadly, while on his way to his new club, he got involved in a plane crash and was declared missing on January 21. He was found dead some days later.
You must be logged in to post a comment.