Carlos Arnoldo Salcido Flores (; born 2 April 1980) is a Mexican former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He started his career as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

and played most of it as

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, then converted to

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

and ended it as

. He won the 2012 Olympic gold medal. After emerging through

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

's youth system, he went on to be a mainstay for

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

, acting as vice-captain for the Dutch team and was the first player from Mexico to be champion in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

. Salcido also played a season for

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

before returning to Mexico with

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

. In 2014 he returned to Guadalajara, winning the league title with the club in 2017. Internationally, Salcido represented the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

in three World Cups:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and three Gold Cups:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, He was a member of Mexico's team that won the gold medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He made his first national team appearance at the age of 24 in 2004. In 2014, after the World Cup in Brazil, Salcido officially retired from the national team. Salcido served as the first president of the Liga de Balompié Mexicano. In 2024 he began his career as a manager, his first position was at the head of Halcones FC, a team that participates in the

Liga Premier de México Liga Premier is a professional association football league in Mexico and the third level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Segunda División de México (1950–2017). It has 52 participating clubs, divided into two division ...

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

Club career

Guadalajara

Carlos Salcido began his football career at his nearby home town team Chivas. He progressed through the ranks having successful seasons with the youth teams until he was called up to the national team in 2001, making his official debut in the

Primera División de México Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divi ...

on 22 July 2001 in a 1–1 draw against La Piedad in 2001. Salcido disappeared from Chivas' first squad until 2003, when he regained trust as a good defender. He would go on to play five half-seasons registering two goals in 105 matches. Salcido was a 2005 and 2006

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

Semifinalist with Guadalajara and a Runner-Up in Primera División (First Division), losing against Pumas in penalty shoot-outs in 2004. Salcido made his final league appearance for Guadalajara on 1 April 2006 against

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

in a 3–2 win.

PSV Eindhoven

In June and July following the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, press speculation linked Salcido to several clubs in Europe, with one report claiming that he had agreed to sign for

FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...

club

Arsenal F.C. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...

However, these speculations proved false as he signed a four-year contract with Dutch champions

on 10 July 2006. Salcido was a first team regular in the

under Coach

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. Koeman scor ...

, starting 33 of 34 league games in his first season at the club, which saw PSV crowned Dutch champions. On 18 November 2006, he scored his first goal in Europe, a spectacular long-distance goal in a match against Excelsior Rotterdam that ended 4–0. Salcido also appeared in the

2006–07 UEFA Champions League The 2006–07 UEFA Champions League was the 15th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since it was rebranded from the European Cup, and the 52nd season overall. The final was contested by Milan ...

. In total Salcido played 48 Eredivisie and Champions League games that season, finishing 46 of them. For the 2007–08 season, Salcido was awarded the number 3 shirt, previously worn by

Michael Reiziger Michael John Reiziger (; born 3 May 1973) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played mainly as a right back. Reiziger currently manages the Netherlands U21 team. After making a name for himself at Ajax, with whom he won one Champio ...

. He was also named the team Vice-Captain after Timmy Simons was promoted to team Captain following the departure of former captain Phillip Cocu. In his second season at PSV Salcido played 33 games in the Dutch League, and 6 games in the Champions League, Salcido was crowned champion for the second straight year with PSV. In his

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

season with the club he played 28 games in the Dutch League scoring two goals. In 2009–10 Salcido played 27 Eredivisie matches and 9

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

matches. Salcido was a substitute for the beginning of the

2010–11 Eredivisie The 2010–11 Eredivisie is the 55th season of Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. It began on 6 August 2010 with the first matches of the season and ended on 29 May 2011 with the last matches of the European competition and relegation pl ...

and the Europa League, where he did not appear in any matches but was soon transferred to

of England.

Fulham

After a good performance with Mexico at the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, it was reported that

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

wanted to sign Salcido. On 26 August 2010 it was announced that

had agreed a £3.6 million deal with PSV to sign the player but the deal was still subject to the player agreeing terms. The deal was then finalised the next day. He made his debut against Blackburn Rovers on 18 September 2010. He contributed an assist in the 56th minute, when his cross pass fell to American player Clint Dempsey, who headed it into the net from 8 yards to level the game at 1–1. He played all 90 minutes. He left the club in August 2011 on loan to club Tigres UANL.

Tigres UANL

On 17 August 2011, it was announced that Salcido was transferred to Mexican side

on a season-long loan. After a robbery at his home in

Claygate Claygate is an affluent suburban village in Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It is the only civil parishes in England, civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge. Adjoining Esher and Hinchley Wood to the west and north respectively, ...

, London, Salcido requested to be transferred back to Mexico due to his family feeling unsettled. In his first season back in Mexico, Salcido helped Tigres win their third league title, and their first title in over thirty years. On 7 March 2012, Fulham confirmed that Salcido had joined Tigres on a permanent basis.

Return to Guadalajara

On 20 May 2014,

officially announced the signing of Salcido. After his participation at the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

, Salcido made his debut for

in a pre-season friendly match 9 July 2014 at the

StubHub Center Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills, in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dign ...

in Carson, California. Against

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

, the match ended in a 2–1 win for Guadalajara, with Salcido playing the entire match. Salcido made his first league appearance for Guadalajara 20 July 2014 in a match against

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

and played for the entire match. Following the departure of captain

Omar Bravo Omar Bravo Tordecillas (born 4 March 1980) is a Mexican football manager and former footballer who played as a striker. Bravo spent the majority of his playing career with Guadalajara, where he made over 400 appearances and scored 160 goals ac ...

, Salcedo was named main captain of the club for the 2016–17 season. On 24 November 2016, he scored his first goal for his second stint with Guadalajara from a penalty against

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

América. In April 2017, Guadalajara won the Clausura Copa MX

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against Monarcas Morelia. The following month, they disputed Clausura championship against Tigres UANL, as Guadalajara would go on to win the title, finishing an eleven-year-long drought of league titles. As a result, Guadalajara won their first

Double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

since the 1969–70 season.

Veracruz

In January 2019, he officially joined

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. On 4 February he made his debut against his former club Guadalajara in a 0–0 draw. He played his final match in the Liga MX on 23 November against his former club Guadalajara in a 1–3 loss.

International career

Salcido debuted with Mexico 8 September 2004 in a 2006 world cup qualifying match against

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, he soon established himself with the number 3 shirt as the national sides first choice left back. He has gone on to appear in several international competitions with Mexico. In 2005, he played in the

Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six Continental football championships, continental champions ...

in Germany, helping the

to a fourth-place finish, where he appeared as a starter in all five matches. During a semi-final match against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, Salcido scored a goal in extra time. He recovered the ball in the Mexican area, dribbled it past three defenders while going the entire length of the pitch, then scored after the shot fooled keeper Germán Lux when it bounced off Fabricio Coloccini. Salcido was included in the 24-man squad selected on 2 April 2006, by head coach Ricardo Lavolpe, to play for the

in the

. Salcido played all four matches during the

in Germany. Salcido was called up by former Mexico national footballer now manager

Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who played as a Forward (association football), forward. A prolific goalscorer known for ...

for the 2007 Gold Cup. He announced that he would not participate in the 2007 Copa America with the team because he needed rest. He played in the final of the Gold Cup, where Mexico finished runner-up against rivals the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He was included in the tournament's All-Tournament Team. Salcido played all four games at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Salcido was one of the three over age players selected for the

. He won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

with the Olympic team. Salcido's inclusion into Mexico's

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

roster was a surprise to the player and to analysts alike. He made his only start during the knockout stage against the Netherlands replacing the suspended José Juan Vázquez. Salcido announced his retirement from international football on 29 August 2014.

Post playing career

In October 2017, the creation of the ''Asociación Mexicana de Futbolistas'' (Mexican Footballers Association) was announced, with Salcido serving as co-president alongside

Oribe Peralta Oribe Peralta Morones (born 12 January 1984) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is an Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament, Olympic ...

. In May 2020, he was named as the first president of the Liga de Balompié Mexicano. Following various issues that plagued the first season, he resigned in January 2021. A month following his departure, he presented a project for a new football league, named Liga Top. In July 2024, he began his career as a manager when he was named the new coach of Halcones F.C., a team that plays in the third tier of Mexican football. Salcido parted ways with Halcones in November.

Career statistics

Club

''Updated 29 August 2014'' 1.Salcido was an unused substitute in 4

and 2 Europa League matches.

International

International goals

''Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.''

Honours

PSV *

: 2006–07, 2007–08 *

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

UANL *

Mexican Primera División Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divi ...

: Apertura 2011 *

Copa MX Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

: Clausura 2014 Guadalajara *

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

: Clausura 2017 *

: Apertura 2015, Clausura 2017 * Supercopa MX:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Mexico Olympic *

Olympic Gold Medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Mexico *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

Individual *

Best Full-back:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

– 05 *

Special Recognition Award: Clausura 2007 *

All-Tournament Team:

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salcido, Carlos 1980 births Living people People from Ocotlán, Jalisco Footballers from Jalisco Mexican expatriate men's footballers Mexican men's footballers Men's association football defenders Mexico men's international footballers 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players Liga MX players C.D. Guadalajara footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Eredivisie players PSV Eindhoven players Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Fulham F.C. players Mexican expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Premier League players Tigres UANL footballers FIFA Men's Century Club Olympic footballers for Mexico Olympic gold medalists for Mexico Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Indigenous Mexicans CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players 21st-century Mexican sportsmen