There are footballers who remain in memory for their titles, others for their goals, and some for a personality that is impossible to overlook. Carlos Horacio "El Loco" Salinas belonged to that last category. The former midfielder, champion of the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup with Boca, passed away this Tuesday, September 1, at the age of 70 in Buenos Aires.
Born in San Miguel de Tucumán and raised in the Ciudadela neighborhood, in a humble family, Salinas began to build his career away from the big stages. His first steps were in the youth divisions of Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy and, as a teenager, he became part of a youth team known as the "Selección Fantasma", which was preparing to play against Bolivia in La Paz.
That experience caught the attention of several clubs in Buenos Aires, including River, which eventually signed him, and he made his debut in Primera División in 1974. However, his time at Núñez was not very long, and shortly after, he continued his career at Chacarita Juniors, where he found the continuity he needed to showcase his skills.
The leap to Boca and the titles
Between 1976 and 1977, he had an outstanding performance with the Funebrero, scoring 19 goals in 96 matches, and that growth led him to Boca in 1978. Juan Carlos Lorenzo trusted his offensive talent, and Salinas quickly responded in a team that already had the experience of having conquered the Libertadores.
Dressed in blue and gold, he starred in some of the most important moments of that era. In the Copa Libertadores that year, he scored decisive goals, including one against River in the semifinals and another against Deportivo Cali in the final series that ended with a new continental title for the Xeneize.
However, the image that remained most strongly etched in memory came months earlier in the Intercontinental Cup. On August 1, 1978, Boca faced Borussia Mönchengladbach in Karlsruhe for the rematch of the 1977 final. After goals from Darío Felman and Ernesto Mastrángelo, Salinas received the ball, advanced among several defenders, and finished crosswise to seal the 3-0 that gave the Argentine team the world title.
The temperament of "El Loco"
His character, however, was also an inseparable part of his figure. In November of that same year, during a match against Huracán, he was sent off by referee Abel Gnecco and reacted by attacking him. The consequence was a 25-match suspension imposed by the AFA Disciplinary Tribunal, a sanction that remains as the longest in the history of Argentine football.
"That was Abel Gnecco, who was a son of a bitch. He would come onto the field and insult you. That day, as soon as he entered the field, he told me: ‘Listen, Salinas, don’t transmit the match, you understand?’. He wanted to send me off before it even started. He called a foul for a yellow card and immediately gave me a red for diving at his feet, and I went crazy. Luckily, Brindisi and Babington were there to pull me away…", he stated in an interview with El Gráfico.
The transfer to Argentinos and a historic penalty
His story at Boca ended in late 1980, when he was included in the operation that brought none other than Diego Maradona from Argentinos Juniors to the club in La Ribera. Salinas moved to Bicho along with Carlos Randazzo, Eduardo Rotondi, and Osvaldo Santos, and there he starred in another episode that became part of the history of Argentine football.
On August 15, 1981, Argentinos faced San Lorenzo at Ferro's stadium with the need to achieve a result that would allow them to avoid relegation. When the moment came to take a penalty, several players did not want to take responsibility. Salinas took the ball and scored, saving Argentinos and sealing the loss of category for the Ciclón, which became the first big Argentine team to be relegated.
The end of his career and his life outside football
After his time in La Paternal, he played for Independiente, had experiences in Colombia with Independiente Medellín and Deportivo Pereira, and also wore the jerseys of Alumni de Villa María and Racing de Córdoba. He even had a brief stint in indoor football in the United States. Finally, his career ended at Deportivo Junín in Peru, in 1987, when he was 31 years old.
Far from the fields, his life went through complex years and economic difficulties. Some time after retiring, he was arrested for a case related to drug possession and trafficking, and spent about four months in the Devoto prison. Reflecting on that period, he later said: "I started to meet people I shouldn’t have, who led me down a bad path. They start to involve you in things you have nothing to do with, and I had a bad time".
Salinas was imprisoned for a time due to a case related to drug possession and trafficking
He also recalled his experience in prison: "In Devoto, they treated me well. I worked in the kitchen, distributed food through the pavilions, and since I arrived, we would play pick-up games every afternoon. Although I still had a bad time, because prison is always hell".
Father of two daughters and grandfather of three granddaughters, Salinas spent his last years in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Caballito and had the support of the Boca ex-players' Mutual. With his death, a singular figure of Argentine football departs, remembered both for his achievements with the Xeneize and for a career marked by episodes that made "El Loco" an unforgettable character.
