Enrique Saura Gil (born 2 August 1954) is a Spanish retired
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, rugb ...
who played as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
In his career, he played mainly for
Castellón and
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, appearing in more than 400 official games with the latter and winning three major titles.
Saura represented
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
at the
1982 World Cup and
Euro 1980
The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was held in Italy. This was the sixth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first European Championship to feature eight teams i ...
.
Club career
Saura was born in
Onda, Castellón
Onda is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Castelló, part of the autonomous community of Valencia. It has 24,859 inhabitants.
The Sitjar dam, located close to Onda, is an important feature for the irrigation of the nearby fields with w ...
,
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...
. During his career, he played exclusively in his native region: after starting at
CD Castellón
Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at '' N ...
he moved to local giants
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...
, where he would be an undisputed starter throughout his ten-year spell. He helped the latter win three titles in one year, most notably the
1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup, while he added 37 goals in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
.
After leaving Valencia at 31, Saura returned to Castellón for a further three
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the L ...
seasons. He then moved to amateurs
CD Onda
Club Deportivo Onda is a Spanish football team based in Onda, Castellón, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1950 it plays in Regional Preferente – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio La Serratella'', with a capacity o ...
, his very first youth club, where he retired at nearly 38.
International career
Saura earned 23 caps for
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
, the first coming on 8 November 1978 in a
friendly with
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. During Valencia's stellar
1979–80 he began being a regular for the national team, and was called up for the squads at both
UEFA Euro 1980
The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was held in Italy. This was the sixth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first European Championship to feature eight teams i ...
and the
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 ...
; in the latter, he scored one of his four international goals, netting in a crucial 2–1 win against
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
after he had been in the pitch for only three minutes.
Saura also represented Spain at the
1976 Summer Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
in
Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
, Canada, as the nation was
eliminated in the first round.
International goals
Honours
;Valencia
*
Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
:
1978–79
*
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
:
1979–80
*
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
:
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – In ...
External links
*
CiberChe biography and stats
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saura, Enrique
1954 births
Living people
People from Onda
Sportspeople from the Province of Castellón
Spanish footballers
Footballers from the Valencian Community
Association football midfielders
La Liga players
Segunda División players
Tercera División players
CD Castellón footballers
Valencia CF players
Spain amateur international footballers
Spain B international footballers
Spain international footballers
UEFA Euro 1980 players
1982 FIFA World Cup players
Footballers at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers of Spain