Welcome to the Premier League, Emiliano Sala. But wait!
No doubt football is the most separatism prone game. Where people stand against each other for their clubs or country, they fight,they abuse and even hit. If you love a club, you hate every other opponent. If you love a player, you feel him to be greatest above all.
Albeit all this, football also has molded the fans together many a times. When we talk about England we can think about the Busby Babe incident in the 1980’s or the latest one’s like the Leicester City helicopter Crash that took place months ago or the missing of EMILIANO SALA, a few days back.
Happiness and grief go hand-in-hand. One day you are a record signing for Cardiff City and the other day you are being reported as missing. Emiliano Raul Sala Taffarel an Argentine forward who was signed recently by Cardiff City for a record club signing of €18 million has gone missing since January 21. The Argentine professional had made headlines for being the highest bid player by Cardiff City and now is the one being searched for in every corner of the Alderney islands(the spot where he is supposedly missing)
Who is Emiliano Sala, What did happen to him and when?
The Argentine Italian football previously playing for Nantes in the Ligue 1 had grabbed the attention of Cardiff City courtesy his outstanding performance playing for the club where he had scored 42 goals in 120 appearances that he made. A powerful striker with likeness to play in wide spaces and a counter-attacking football, Sala denied a higher bid from Chinese Super League in order to play for Cardiff City, especially in the Premier League.
Before signing for Nantes in 2015, Sala was signed by Bordeaux in 2012 but was on sent on a long spell of loans. Firstly in 2012-13 where he played 37 games for the Orleans, the next year Niort and the next in Caen. He scored 39 goals on loan before being signed by Nantes on a permanent basis.
The player would have brought agility in the team with his reasonable pace and stability with his ability to hold on to passes. Cardiff City signed the 28-year-old for his work ethics and finishing ability which held him Ligue 1 top scorer until the start of December with 12 goals under his belt.
Little did Sala know about his dream turning into a nightmare. A dream that was to be lived together by his family has now become a search for his life.
WATCH: EMILIANO SALA 🔥
What and how did it happen?
On 19 January 2019, Sala took a Piper Malibu private air-craft and started flying from Nantes to Cardiff City with a part-time pilot Mr. Ibbotson. The player did not want to travel by a commercial flight and insisted on flying with an air craft with 25 year old engine. As smooth was his day, rough was his ride. The plane that was about to fly in the afternoon, began 10 hours late in dark. The plane hit bad weather when reached near Guernsey and then it is all history. The plane gone missing, the two travelers too. There have been reports of Sala messaging to the English Channel of his “bumpy ride” and “deadly ice on the wings that stalled the pilot.”
Since then, the search for Cardiff City’s highest earner has been on. While the officials had searched the whole area for around two days with almost three planes, five helicopters looking for a debris or something for around 80 hours of flying time. The search was also conducted by ships and lifeboats but the officials found nothing which forced them to ban the operation calling the flight as missing with very remote chances of their living.
But the moment that brought the footballing fans together was a sister’s love for a brother, her faith in his life and her hope of him being alive. Romina Sala, sister of Emiliano reached Guernsey with her mother and did something that no one would have wondered.
Sala’s sister gets teary in an interview pleading fans for some funds to restart the search
In an interview she said, ”We will find Emiliano and the Pilot. He is a fighter and he is still out there.”
With the official search being banned, Romila urged everyone to donate for his brother and help the private search begin with the crowdfunding. The heartfelt plea of a sister would ignore no humanity and it was her speech that aroused the funding.
She said: “We really are thankful for the support of all the players in the way they have said that we should not stop our efforts.
“We will find a way to restart the search. We will find Emiliano and the pilot.
“He is a fighter and we feel he is still out there.
“He has been travelling from the age of 16.
“We know he is somewhere – we want to bring him back.
“We’ve been in touch with people who are investigating. We are trying to best to find Emiliano because we are sure he is still here.
“We are very humbled by the way people are helping.”
There have also been reports of Emiliano’s ex-partner reporting the incident to be a football mafia doing. Maybe true maybe not! But the fact that her ex-partner has gained so much respect that even the footballing greats are wishing for his life.
The GOAT Lionel Messi himself stood up in support of the search along with Diego Maradona. Apart from the two Higuain, N’golo Kante, Sergio Aguero and many nore have stood in support of the search and the crowdfunding. But it is the fans of football that have led to re-search of Emiliano Sala and two boats have been sent already with the massing €300,000 collected for private search.
We, the team of ArsenalCore wish for Sala’s life and hope that the search from private funding does not go in vain. A life of Cardiff City should not to be drowning in Guernsey.
