Francisco 'Patxi' Salinas Fernández (born 17 November 1963) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a central defender, currently a manager.
He amassed La Liga totals of 432 games and 11 goals over 16 seasons, with Athletic Bilbao and Celta, winning two national championships with the former club. Subsequently, he worked as a manager.
In summer 1992, Salinas joined RC Celta de Vigo, where he proceeded to post equally impressive numbers in his six-season spell – always in the top division – retiring from the game at almost 35.[2]
International
Over a one-month span, Salinas earned two caps for Spain, both in friendlies. His debut was on 14 September 1988 in a 1–2 loss to Yugoslavia, in Oviedo.[3]
Salinas achieved promotion to Segunda División B with Rápido in June 2017. One month later, after announcing weeks before he would leave the Galician side, he agreed terms with Burgos CF.[7] He was dismissed on 5 February 2018, leaving them in ninth position and having conceded the fewest goals in the division.[8]
Salinas' older brother, Julio, was also a professional footballer (centre-forward), and played most notably for Athletic Bilbao and FC Barcelona. Both made their top-flight debut in the 1982–83 season.[12]
They held the record for combined appearances in La Liga by siblings at the time of their retirement with 849 matches – occasions where they both played as teammates or opponents counted for each – 86 more than the next pair, Quini and Jesús Castro.[13]
^"CD Basconia" (in Spanish). Resultados Fútbol. Retrieved 29 August 2019. "CD Basconia" (in Spanish). Resultados Fútbol. Retrieved 18 December 2021. "CD Basconia" (in Spanish). Resultados Fútbol. Retrieved 18 December 2021.