Emiliano Sala: Born in Argentina, forged in France, and tragically taken on his way to Wales

Emiliano Sala: Born in Argentina, forged in France, and tragically taken on his way to Wales
It was time for Emiliano Sala to finally taste the limelight when life was snatched from his grasp, aged just 28.The Argentinian was flying from Nantes to Cardiff on January 21 when the light aircraft he was aboard ran in to trouble over the English channel close to Guernsey.5

Sala was on his way to starting a new life when it was cruelly snatched from him

It was supposed to be a flight taking him to a new life as a Premier League striker – having become a history maker just days earlier.Cardiff had never before paid so much for a single player, with 15million spent on Sala with the belief he was their saviour – the man to fire them to top flight survival.Sala, who was unmarried, had only completed the details of his transfer two days earlier before returning to France to bid farewell to his Nantes team-mates.The initial search for the missing striker and the pilot Dave Ibbotson was called off on January 24, but, following calls for it to continue from the likes of Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona, a private one, funded by online donations, was launched.5

The search for the aircraft restarted after a successful crowdfunding campaign

It lead to the discovery of the Piper PA-46 Malibu aircraft and a body, which was formally identified as Sala on Thursday.The move to Cardiff had been reward for a player who was enjoying the best form of his career.Born in Santa Fe, in northeastern Argentina, in 1990, to parents Horacio and Mercedes, his father a van driver, Sala dreamed of following in the footsteps of Gabriel Batistuta.The Independiente fan played at youth level for Club Proyecto Crecer, a footballing academy aimed at developing young players with the potential to play in Europe. Despite eventually heading to France and signing for Bordeaux in 2010, it would be two years before Sala, a player always looking to strike on the counter attack, made his senior debut in February 2012.A series of loan spells followed, Sala playing for Orleans, Niort and Caen, where he demonstrated his eye for goal.It was his performances for Caen which persuaded Nantes to sign him in the summer of 2015, and it was in Brittany where his career began to flourish.Sala scored 42 goals for the Canaries, and was enjoying his best season yet this campaign, having bagged 12 goals in 16 Ligue 1 appearances to stand ahead of Paris St Germain’s superstar forward Neymar, third in the league’s scoring charts.5

Sala established himself as one of Ligue 1’s best strikers over the past couple of years

A hat-trick against Toulouse in October was the first by any Nantes player in Ligue 1 since Mamadou Diallo’s 2006 treble, and his goals accounted for almost half of Nantes’ tally of 26.Building a reputation as a skilled finisher, especially from headers and off set-pieces, Cardiff were convinced Sala – a keen guitarist and renowned bookworm, losing himself in crime and drama fiction not to mention Chinese philosophy – could be the answer to their own woes in front of goal.Cardiff’s deal to sign Sala was worth in the region of 15million, breaking the previous record of 11million paid for Gary Medel in 2013.getty5

Cardiff fans will never see their record signing in action

In order to gain his signature the Bluebirds had to fend off a late big-money bid from China, but Sala was keen to play in the Premier League.He never got the chance, his career cut short just as it looked set to reach its peak.5

Tributes have been paid to Sala, who died aged just 28

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