_(cropped).jpg) Salcedo withMexico at the2018 FIFA World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos Joel Salcedo Hernández[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1993-09-29)29 September 1993 (age 31)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Guadalajara,Jalisco, Mexico | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Monterrey | |||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Guadalajara | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2012 | Tigres UANL | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Real Salt Lake | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Real Salt Lake | 25 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Guadalajara | 55 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | →Fiorentina (loan) | 18 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | →Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) | 20 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Tigres UANL | 85 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Toronto FC | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Juárez | 31 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Cruz Azul | 33 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Juárez | 13 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Monterrey | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Mexico U21 | 5 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Mexico Olympic | 7 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2021 | Mexico | 47 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 August 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Carlos Joel Salcedo Hernández (born 29 September 1993), also known asEl Titán,[2] is a Mexican professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forLiga MX clubMonterrey.
Salcedo played for the youth academies ofGuadalajara andTigres UANL before moving toReal Salt Lake, where he made his professional debut in 2013. He returned to Guadalajara in 2015. The following year, he moved abroad with loan spells atFiorentina andEintracht Frankfurt, securing a permanent move with the latter. In January 2019, he returned to Mexico to join Tigres UANL. Salcedo went on to play forToronto FC,Juárez,Cruz Azul andMonterrey.
In April 2015, Salcedo received his first call-up toMexico national team. He was called up to participate at the2015 Copa América andCopa América Centenario, the2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the2016 Summer Olympics, the2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the2018 FIFA World Cup.
Having previously played atC.D. Guadalajara's andTigres UANL's youth academy teams, Salcedo joinedMajor League Soccer (MLS) clubReal Salt Lake's academy in January 2012. In August of the same year he began training with the first-team squad.[3] Salcedo signed ahome grown player contract with Salt Lake in January 2013, having met the minimum requirement to be defined as "home grown" of one year academy training.[4]
On 4 May 2013, Salcedo made his professional MLS debut for Real Salt Lake as a substitute againstVancouver Whitecaps, ending in a 2–0 win entering as a substitute in the 89th minute.[5] In the second half of the 2013 season he was a regular starter for Salt Lake starting 12 games by season's end.
Following a lack of playing time in the 2014 season with Real Salt Lake, in November 2014, Salcedo took toTwitter asking the team not to bring him into future team plans, citing issues with former general managerGarth Lagerwey.[6][7]
On 6 January 2015, Salcedo returned to Mexican sideC.D. Guadalajara, for the price of $450,000.[6][8] Salcedo made his debut for the club in a 2–1 win at home againstPumas UNAM in which he played the first 60 minutes.[9]On 1 March, Salcedo scored his first goal in a 3–0 win at home againstMonterrey in which he played the full 90 minutes.[10] At the end of hisfirst tournament withChivas, he was listed in the Best XI.[11]
The followingseason, he would win theApertura 2015 Copa MX with Guadalajara, defeatingClub León 1–0,[12] qualifying them to the2016 Supercopa MX, where they would also go on to win, defeatingVeracruz 2–0.[13]
On 21 August 2016, Italian clubACF Fiorentina announced they had acquired Salcedo on loan, with the option to purchase the player at the end of the deal.[14] Salcedo made his debut with Fiorentina on 15 September againstPAOK in their 0–0 draw in theEuropa League.[15] He made hisSerie A debut ten days later againstMilan in a 0–0 draw.[16]
On 13 June 2017, Salcedo joined German sideEintracht Frankfurt on an initial loan from Guadalajara with an option to buy.[17] Following a shoulder injury sustained at the2017 FIFA Confederations Cup,[18] Salcedo'sBundesliga debut came on 9 September againstBorussia Mönchengladbach which ended in a 1–0 win for Eintracht Frankfurt, playing the entirety of the match.[19][20]
In April 2018, Salcedo was listed as one of three center-backs nominated for the BundesligaTeam of the Season, alongsideMats Hummels andJerome Boateng.[21] On 14 May, Eintracht Frankfurt announced they had signed Salcedo to a four-year contract, tying him to the club until 2022.[22] On 19 May, Salcedo won theDFB-Pokal with Eintracht Frankfurt after they defeatedBayern Munich 3–1 in thefinal.[23]
On 12 August 2018, Salcedo played in his first competitive game of theseason in Frankfurt's 5–0 loss to Bayern Munich for theDFL-Supercup.[24] On 1 September, during a league match againstWerder Bremen, which Frankfurt lost 2–1, Salcedo suffered ahigh ankle sprain, meaning he would be ruled out of action for an undetermined amount of time.[25][26] On 2 December, he reappeared as an unused substitute in Frankfurt's 2–1 loss toWolfsburg.[27] Six days later, he made his return to the starting eleven in Frankfurt's 1–0 loss toHertha Berlin.[28]
On 22 January 2019, amidst much speculation,Tigres UANL announced via social media the signing of Salcedo to a four-year contract,[29] being handed the number 3 which had previously been worn byJuninho, who had retired at the conclusion of the2018 Apertura.[30] He had cited family issues as the main reason for returning to Mexico.[31][32] Salcedo also revealed that he did not return to C.D. Guadalajara because the team was only looking to acquire him on loan from Frankfurt, an offer which was declined by the German side.[33] Two weeks after being officially presented with Tigres, Salcedo made hisLiga MX debut in a 2–0 victory against Veracruz.[34]
On 12 March, in the second leg of the2019 CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals against MLS sideHouston Dynamo, Salcedo scored his first goal with Tigres in a 1–0 victory.[35] Four days later, he scored his first league goal with Tigres in a 4–1 victory overQuerétaro.[36] Despite Tigres finishing runners-up in theCONCACAF Champions League Finals tocity rivalsC.F. Monterrey,[37] Salcedo was included in the competition's Best XI.[38] The following month, on 26 May, Salcedo won theClausura championship with Tigres after defeatingLeón 1–0 on aggregate in thefinals.[39]
On December 22, 2020, Tigres won theCONCACAF Champions League with a 2-1 victory over MLS sideLos Angeles FC.[40]
On 31 January 2022, Salcedo returned to MLS, signing withToronto FC as aDesignated Player.[41] Six months later, Toronto and Salcedo mutually agreed to the termination of his contract in order for him to return to Mexico for family reasons.[42] Shortly after, Salcedo joinedJuárez.[43]
On 16 June 2023,Cruz Azul reached an agreement to sign Salcedo.[44] On 22 July 2024, Cruz Azul and Salcedo parted ways by mutual agreement.[45] On 4 August, Salcedo returned toJuárez.
On 19 January 2025,Monterrey announced the arrival of Salcedo. On that very day, the player sustained a significant injury during his first training session.
Salcedo was called up byRaúl Gutiérrez to participate in the2014 Central American and Caribbean Games.[46] He went on to appear in four matches as Mexico won the tournament.[47]
On 18 September 2015, Salcedo was once again selected by coach Raúl Gutiérrez to play in theCONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship.[48] Chosen as teamcaptain for the competition,[49] he appeared in four matches, winning the tournament and a berth to the Summer Olympics.[50]
On 7 July 2016, Salcedo was named in Mexico's 23-man squad for theSummer Olympics inRio de Janeiro.[51] He appeared in all threegroup stage matches, scoring the fourth goal in a 5–1 defeat ofFiji,[52] though Mexico failed to make it out of the group after finishing in third.[53]
Salcedo was called up byMiguel Herrera to participate with thesenior national team and on 15 April 2015, he made his debut in afriendly game against theUnited States, losing 0–2.[54][55] He was included in the final roster to participate inthat year'sCopa América.[56] He only made one appearance, on 15 June, coming on as a substitute in the 71st minute forAdrián Aldrete in a 3–3 draw against host-nationChile.[57]
On 8 June 2017, Salcedo was included byJuan Carlos Osorio to be Mexico's 23-man squad for theFIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.[58] On 21 June, during Mexico's secondgroup stage match againstNew Zealand, Salcedo was taken off during the first half after sustaining a shoulder injury following a collision with strikerChris Wood. He was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the tournament.[59]
On 27 March 2018, during a friendly match againstCroatia he would pick up afractured left collarbone injury, putting in risk a call up for theFIFA World Cup.[60] Salcedo was subsequently named in the final 23-man squad for the World Cup.[61] He played in all group stage matches, including in theround-of-16 loss againstBrazil.[62] Following Mexico's elimination, Salcedo pondered his future with the national team, citing personal issues.[63] He was eventually called up to participate in September friendlies by interim managerRicardo Ferretti, but withdrew due to a high ankle sprain injury.[64]
On 6 June 2019, Salcedo was called up by coachGerardo Martino to participate in theGold Cup.[65] In the quarter-final match againstCosta Rica, as the match was sent to apenalty shoot-out following a 1–1 tie, he scored Mexico's winning penalty before Mexico goalkeeperGuillermo Ochoa blocked the subsequent Costa Rica shot.[66][67][68] As Mexico went on to win the tournament after defeating the United States 1–0 in thefinal,[69] he was named in the competition's Best XI.[70]
On 30 September 2020, he appeared ascaptain in a friendly match againstGuatemala, winning 3–0.[71] On 14 November, Salcedo scored his first goal in a friendly match againstSouth Korea, winning 3–2.[72]
"[H]is time at Real Salt Lake [defined] his style because he flies into tackles, he’s got that kind of American-style defending. He does have that steel. He plays on the edge."
A naturalcenter-back, Salcedo has been deployed as afull-back: on the right side while playing for the Mexico national team[73][74] and on the left when he used to play for Real Salt Lake.[75][76] He is known as "a good passer and as a concentrated player who likes to play long balls, he is known for his well timed slide tackles and his strength in the back line, his abilities to win most of the aerial duels makes him a complete defender."[77] He has also been described as "tall, strong, physically imposing and quick on the ball. He has superb slide tackling skills and is willing to throw his body into danger if it means stopping an opponents attack."[78] He is commonly known by his nicknameTitan, as a result of his imposing physical presence[62] and his speedy recoveries from injuries,[79] as well as being able to play through them.[75] In an interview with Tom Marshall fromGoal.com, Salcedo stated that his early move to the MLS would help develop his playing style, arguing "that MLS is generally more physical than in Mexico, but that learning to combat a more direct style complements the technique and comfort on the ball that was drilled into him, first at [Guadalajara] and later with Tigres."[80]
His father, Carlos Salcedo Snr, played forAtlas F.C. in Mexico, his great-grandfather had played forC.D. Guadalajara and been a league winner in Mexico. His great-uncle,Hugo Salcedo, played Soccer for the U.S. at the1972 Olympic Games. His son and Carlos's first-cousin, once removed,Jorge Salcedo played for four teams in MLS between 1996 and 2000, and was capped by theUnited States national soccer team.[81]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental[a] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Salt Lake | 2013 | MLS | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | |||
| Total | 25 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 30 | 1 | |||
| Guadalajara | 2014–15 | Liga MX | 20 | 1 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16 | 32 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 55 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 59 | 1 | |||
| Fiorentina (loan) | 2016–17 | Serie A | 18 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) | 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 6 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| Tigres UANL | 2018–19 | Liga MX | 15 | 1 | — | 9 | 1 | 24 | 2 | |
| 2019–20 | 21 | 1 | — | 5 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | 32 | 1 | – | 3 | 0 | 35 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | 17 | 3 | – | – | 17 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 85 | 6 | — | 17 | 1 | 102 | 7 | |||
| Toronto FC | 2022 | MLS | 13 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |
| Juárez | 2022–23 | Liga MX | 31 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| Cruz Azul | 2023–24 | Liga MX | 33 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 36 | 0 | |
| Juárez | 2024–25 | Liga MX | 13 | 1 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| Monterrey | 2024–25 | Liga MX | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Career total | 299 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 339 | 10 | ||
| Mexico | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017 | 10 | 0 |
| 2018 | 9 | 0 |
| 2019 | 9[a] | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 | 1 |
| 2021 | 11 | 0 |
| Total | 47 | 1 |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 14 November 2020 | Stadion Wiener Neustadt,Wiener Neustadt, Austria |  South Korea | 3–1 | 3–2 | Friendly |
Guadalajara
Eintracht Frankfurt
Tigres UANL
Toronto FC
Mexico Youth
Mexico
Individual
"Despite suffering a shoulder injury, he returned to fitness quicker than anticipated because he worked intensively on his recovery process," said sporting director Bruno Hübner at the time. "That shows his professional attitude. He's an important pillar of our defence." Then-Frankfurt coach Niko Kovac agreed: "His recovery speed was incredible. No wonder they call him 'El Titan'." And he appears to be living up to that nickname once again.
Mexico squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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