Oleg Salenko

Oleg Salenko

Salenko in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Oleg Anatolyevich Salenko
Date of birth	(1969-10-25) 25 October 1969
Place of birth	Leningrad, Soviet Union
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Smena Leningrad
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1986–1988	Zenit Leningrad	47	(10)
1989–1992	Dynamo Kiev	91	(28)
1993–1994	Logroñés	47	(23)
1994–1995	Valencia	25	(7)
1995	Rangers	16	(7)
1996–1998	İstanbulspor	18	(11)
1999–2000	Córdoba	3	(0)
2000–2001	Pogoń Szczecin	1	(0)
Total		248	(86)
International career
1984–1991	USSR U-20	4	(5)
1992	Ukraine	1	(0)
1993–1994	Russia	8	(6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Anatolyevich and the family name is Salenko.

Oleg Anatolyevich Salenko (Russian: Олег Анатольевич Саленко; Ukrainian: Олег Анатолійович Саленко; Oleh Anatoliyovich Salenko born 25 October 1969 in Leningrad, Russia) is a retired Russian footballer, who played as a striker. He scored a record five goals in a group stage match in the 1994 World Cup, helping him earn the Golden Boot as joint-top tournament goalscorer.

Club career

Salenko played at Zenit Leningrad, Dynamo Kyiv, Logroñés, Córdoba, Valencia, Rangers and İstanbulspor in a club career that lasted from 1986 to 2000.

Eventually, he faded from the international soccer scene and finally had to end his career prematurely for health reasons stemming from injuries. Salenko returned to playing professional football in the 2000–01 season and signed for Pogoń Szczecin. He retired after playing a single game however due to his physical conditioning.

International career

Salenko set a World Cup record by scoring five goals in one game, for Russia against Cameroon on 28 June 1994. Salenko finished the 1994 World Cup with six goals (scoring his sixth goal from the penalty spot against Sweden), sharing the Golden Boot with Hristo Stoichkov, a remarkable feat since Russia was knocked out in the first round, and Stoichkov's Bulgaria played another four games in the tournament. This mirrored Salenko's achievement in the 1989 U-20 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, where he was top scorer when he scored 6 goals in the tournament. He is the only player to win the Golden Boot at both the U-20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup.

Salenko played a total of only nine international matches, one of them for Ukraine (the very first one), and he never scored in an international game before or after the 1994 World Cup. In fact, after the match against Cameroon, he never appeared in another international. He remains the sole player ever to win the Golden Boot award on a team eliminated from World Cup contention at the group stage.

Beach football

In 2003, Salenko was appointed as manager of the Ukraine national beach football team. His team played three games, the only win being over USA 6–5, and losing the other two to Brazil and Spain. The tournament took place at the end of July in Portugal under the name Mundialito. After the tournament, he was dismissed. He is now currently a part of FFU assisting staff.

Career statistics

International

Ukraine national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1992	1	0
Total	1	0

External links

• Salenko.html Oleg Salenko at National-Football-Teams.com
• RSSSF
• Player profile (Russian)