Chiky Ardil

Salvador Ardil Navarro (born 17 April 1988), better known as Chiky Ardil, is a Spanish beach soccer player who plays as a forward. He has appeared at two editions of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (2015 and 2021) representing the Spain national team; at the European qualifying tournament for the latter, he won the MVP award. His younger brother, David, also plays for Spain.

Chiky Ardil
Chiky at the 2019 Intercontinental Cup.
Personal information
Full name Salvador Ardil Navarro
Date of birth (1988-04-17) 17 April 1988
Place of birth Mazarrón, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
International career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013– Spain

Career

Salvador believes his nickname "Chiky" originates from when he was a toddler, and considerably smaller than his three other siblings. "Chiky" is a truncating of the Spanish word "chiquitín", meaning tiny.[1]

He began playing futsal aged five before quickly switching to association football under the wing of his older brother, Raúl. Chiky ultimately established himself as a footballer in the third tier of Spanish football, having spells at multiple clubs including Lorca Deportiva, CD Bala Azul, Granada 74, Rayo Majadahonda, Pinatar CF and Águilas CF.[2]

Chiky eventually accepted an invite from friends to partake in a beach soccer tournament in his hometown of Mazarrón. Having enjoyed it, Chiky and his team began taking part regularly in tournaments in Murcia, Alicante and Valencia.[3] In 2013, after a tournament in Andalusia, he was called up to the Murcian regional team. His first tournament with the team was a success, in which he scored 18 goals; Spain coach Joaquín Alonso was impressed and called Chiky up to the national team.[2][4] Chiky debuted for Spain at stage 5 of the 2013 Euro Beach Soccer League in Moscow,[2] however he was ultimately not selected for the 2013 World Cup later that year. In 2014, Chiky was called back to the national team following a runners-up finish with Bala Azul in the Spanish National Beach Soccer League.[5] After qualifying for the 2015 World Cup, Chiky received a special reception by the Mayor of Mazarrón at the town hall.[6]

Since 2017, Chiky has found himself amongst the awards: his overhead kick against Greece during the 2017 Euro Beach Soccer League was nominated for best goal of the year,[7] whilst he claimed his first individual international award in 2018 when he was top scorer at the Nazaré stage of the 2018 Euro Beach Soccer League; he was nominated for best beach soccer goal of the year again in 2019.[3] In 2021 he was deemed MVP of the UEFA qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup, something he called "a landmark moment" in his career.[1] He was subsequently received by the Mayor of Mazarrón again before leaving to play for Spain at the 2021 World Cup;[8] at said tournament, he was Spain's top scorer with six goals.[9]

He continues to play football in the Spanish third tier, for Mazarrón FC. He claims he has had to make "a lot of sacrifice[s]" in order to be able to play both sports, including performing double training sessions, one for each sport.[4] He claims he will give up football to focus on beach soccer when Mazarrón FC no longer want his service.[4]

Statistics

Honours

The following is a selection, not an exhaustive list, of the major honours Chiky has achieved with Spain:

Team

Individual

References
  1. "Сальвадор "Чики" Ардил: "Ментально и физически готов очень хорошо" – пляжный футбол на BSRussia" [Salvador “Chiki” Ardil: “Mentally and physically ready very well”]. Beach Soccer Russia (in Russian). 20 July 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  2. García, Dioni (2 November 2014). "Entrevista a Salvador Manuel Ardil Navarro, Jugador del Águilas CF y de la selección española de fútbol playa" [Interview with Salvador Manuel Ardil Navarro, player for Águilas CF and the Spanish beach soccer team]. La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  3. "Chiky Ardil, nominated for the Best Goal Of The Year Award 2019 in beach soccer". Cambrils Park Sport Village. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  4. "'Chiky' Ardil: "Compaginar el fútbol 11 con el fútbol playa conlleva mucho sacrificio" - Golsmedia" ['Chiky' Ardil: "Combining soccer 11 with beach soccer involves a lot of sacrifice"]. Golsmedia (in Spanish). 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  5. "Mazarron.com - El mazarronero Chiky Ardil convocado para jugar con España la fase previa del Mundial de Fútbol Playa" [Chiky Ardil from Mazarron called to play with Spain in the preliminary phase of the Beach Soccer World Cup]. mazarron.com (in Spanish). 22 August 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  6. "Salvador Ardil "Chiky" recibe el reconocimiento de sus paisanos en Mazarrón" [Salvador Ardil "Chiky" receives recognition from his countrymen in Mazarrón]. Royal Spanish Football Federation (in Spanish). 20 September 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  7. "Chilena sin ángulo: el gol imposible de nuestro internacional Chiky opta a mejor del año". Royal Spanish Football Federation (in Spanish). 17 October 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  8. "Chiky y David Ardil visitan el Ayuntamiento antes de disputar el Mundial de Fútbol Playa" [Chiky and David Ardil visit the City Hall before playing the Beach Soccer World Cup]. mazarronhoy.com (in Spanish). 11 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  9. "FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2021™ Russia - Spain". FIFA. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
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