Emiliano Sala

Emiliano Sala

Sala playing for Nantes in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Emiliano Raúl Sala Taffarel[1]
Date of birth	(1990-10-31)31 October 1990[2]
Place of birth	Cululú, Argentina
Date of death	21 January 2019(2019-01-21) (aged 28)
Place of death	English Channel, off Alderney, Channel Islands
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
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

Emiliano Raúl Sala Taffarel (Spanish pronunciation: [emiˈljano ˈsala]; 31 October 1990 – 21 January 2019) was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a striker.

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 was killed 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.