Salas outshone by under-fire Owen

By Tim Vickery

Salas has seen happier days

In Michael Owen's most vivid memories of his international debut there must surely be a place for Marcelo Salas.

A magnificent performance from the Chilean matador gave his side a 2-0 win at Wembley back in February 1998.

Salas' running volley was one of the finest goals ever seen at the old stadium, and he also bamboozled Sol Campbell into conceding a penalty, which he stroked home in style.

Seven years on, Owen has gone on to fulfil the promise he displayed on that cold Wembley night.

He is currently under attack for having fallen below his own high standards, but he must be well aware that at the age of 25 he has plenty of time to get back on track.

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The same is not true of Salas.

The squat Chilean with the golden left foot is only 30. But as the recent pair of World Cup qualifiers made very clear, his best days seem a long time ago.

Salas' display at Wembley confirmed the impression he had made in the France 98 qualifiers, and at club level with Universidad de Chile and River Plate.

Later that year he proved he was indeed the genuine article in the World Cup, and then his early form with Lazio made him one of the most feared marksmen in the game.

In his native land his life story even gave rise to a bizarre self-help book written by a university professor.

According to the sub-title, Salas was "born a loser, and transformed himself into a winner by power of will and sense of personal responsibility".

He was "an architect of his own destiny", who, it was claimed, had based his rise on following "the seven secrets of success".

In what really should be a source of shame for Chilean academia, the book even investigates "the influence of the signs of the zodiac on the life of Salas".

He was born under the same sign, we are told, as Mao Tse Tung, President Nixon, Isaac Newton, David Bowie and Elvis Presley.

Last year in Chile I picked up the book in a bargain basement. Posterity has not treated it kindly.

Salas would surely love to trade places with 'the little guy who's not first choice for Real Madrid'

At the very moment when Salas should have been reaching his peak, the wheels fell off his career. He has spent years trying to shake off a succession of injuries.

The effect on his mind and body was obvious in Chile's two recent games, a 1-1 draw at home to Uruguay last Saturday, and a 2-1 defeat away to Paraguay on Wednesday night.

Salas cut an increasingly frustrated figure as he once more found himself unable to do the things that came so easily just a few years ago.

He can still play - in both games he was involved in some excellent quick one-twos.

But nowadays he lacks one of the penalty area predator's most important attributes - the explosive acceleration over the first five yards to get him away from the defender and in position to shoot on goal.

It is significant that in both games Salas ended the match in midfield, trying to thread passes through to Mauricio Pinilla and Sebastian Gonzalez.

Salas is currently tied with Ivan Zamorano as Chile's all time top scorer but his last international goal came back in August 2001.

He has had a long wait to overhaul his old partner, and as he trudged forlornly around the Asuncion pitch he might well have been doubting that he will ever score again.

Salas - the hero of Wembley 1998 - would surely love to trade places with "the little guy who's not first choice for Real Madrid".