Marcelo Salas

José Marcelo Salas Melinao (born December 24, 19741 in Temuco), better known as Marcelo Salas, is a football player from Chile. He, with Elías Figueroa and Iván Zamorano have been two of Chile's most recognized soccer players.

Related Topics:
December 24 - 1974 - 1 - Temuco - Football - Chile - Elías Figueroa - Iván Zamorano

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Salas debuted playing for the Universidad de Chile in 1993. In 1996, Salas went on to play with River Plate of the Argentine first division. That year also, he helped his team in Chile win the national championship. In 1998, he participated with Chile in the World Cup, after his run at River Plate was over.

Related Topics:
Universidad de Chile - River Plate - Argentine - Chile - World Cup

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Salas then played in Italy for five years, three with S.S. Lazio (1998-2001) and two with Juventus (2001-03), before coming back to River Plate. With the Chilean national team, he has 35 goals (a national record) in 65 games (as of May 2005).

Related Topics:
S.S. Lazio - Juventus

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In late July 2005, it was confirmed that he would return to his original football team, Universidad de Chile.

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1 Some records suggest 1976 as his birth year, however, most records, including his playing records, indicate that he was born in 1974.

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