Enrique Saura

Enrique Saura
Personal information
Full name Enrique Saura Gil
Date of birth (1954-08-02) 2 August 1954 (age 70)
Place of birth Onda, Spain
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1969–1972 Onda
1972–1974 Castellón
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1975 Castellón 34 (6)
1975–1985 Valencia 306 (37)
1985–1988 Castellón 108 (7)
1988–1992 Onda
Total 448 (50)
International career
1976 Spain amateur 2 (0)
1980–1981 Spain B 3 (0)
1978–1982 Spain 23 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Enrique Saura Gil (born 2 August 1954) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

In his career, he played mainly for Castellón and Valencia, appearing in more than 400 official games with the latter and winning three major titles.

Saura represented Spain at the 1982 World Cup and Euro 1980.

Club career

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Saura was born in Onda, Castellón, Valencian Community. During his career, he played exclusively in his native region: after starting at CD Castellón he moved to local giants Valencia CF, 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.

After leaving Valencia at 31, Saura returned to Castellón for a further three Segunda División seasons. He then moved to amateurs CD Onda, his very first youth club, where he retired at nearly 38.

International career

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Saura earned 23 caps for Spain, the first coming on 8 November 1978 in a friendly with France. 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 and the 1982 FIFA World Cup; in the latter, he scored one of his four international goals, netting in a crucial 2–1 win against Yugoslavia after he had been in the pitch for only three minutes.

Saura also represented Spain at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, as the nation was eliminated in the first round.

International goals

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# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 9 December 1979 Trisiron, Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus 1–3 1–3 Euro 1980 qualifying
2. 21 May 1980 Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark  Denmark 0–1 2–2 Friendly
3. 14 October 1981 Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Luxembourg 2–0 3–0 Friendly
4. 20 June 1982 Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Yugoslavia 2–1 2–1 1982 FIFA World Cup

Honours

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Valencia
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