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 and was named as one of the best three players in the world in 2022. His younger brother, David, also plays for 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.

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. 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. After qualifying for the 2015 World Cup, Chiky received a special reception by the Mayor of Mazarrón at the town hall.

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, 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. In 2021, he was deemed MVP of the UEFA qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup, something he called "a landmark moment" in his career. at said tournament, he was Spain's top scorer with six goals. Chiky's reputation peaked in 2022 aged 34 when he scooped multiple individual accolades at tournaments, three recognitions at that year's Beach Soccer Stars awards (including being voted as one of the world's three best players), and became European club champion with Benfica Loures at the 2022 Euro Winners Cup.

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

Statistics

Country Competition Year Apps Goals Ref.FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2015 3 0 2021 4 6 Total 7 6 — Competition Year Apps Goals Ref.FIFA Beach Soccer World Cupqualification (UEFA) 2014 6 4 2016 8 7 2019 7 7 2021 6 6 2023 4 4 Total 31 28 —

Competition Season Apps Goals Ref.Euro Beach Soccer League 2013 3 1 2014 4 0 2015 — — 2016 2 2 2017 10 10 2018 10 10 2019 7 10 2020 — — 2021 7 5 2022 6 5 2023 5 5 Total 54 48 —

Club Tournament Year Club Apps Goals Ref.Euro Winners Cup 2015 Bala Azul 4 6 2016 Melistar 4 6 2017 Bala Azul 9 15 2018 Melistar 6 9 2019 Bala Azul 4 7 2020 O Sótão Norte 6 9 2021 Benfica Loures 7 12 2022 7 5 2023 O Sótão 9 4 Total 56 73 —

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

Team UEFA qualifiers for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Winner (1): 2021 Intercontinental Cup Runner-up (1): 2019 Euro Beach Soccer League Runner-up (3): 2014, 2018, 2023 Third place (1): 2019 European Games: Silver medal (1): 2019 Bronze medal (1): 2023 UEFA qualifiers for the World Beach Games Winner (1): 2022 Runner-up (1): 2019 Euro Beach Soccer Cup: Winner (1): 2014 Mundialito Winner (1): 2022 Runner-up (1): 2018 Mediterranean Beach Games Gold medal (1): 2023 Euro Winners Cup Winner (1): 2022

Individual Beach Soccer Stars (3): World's top 3 best players: 2022 World dream team: 2022 Goal of the year: 2022 UEFA qualifiers for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (1): Best player: 2021 Euro Beach Soccer League (1): Regular season stages: Top scorer: 2018 (x1) Intercontinental Cup (1): Top scorer: 2021 Mundialito (1): Best player: 2022 UEFA qualifiers for the World Beach Games (2): Top scorer: 2022 Best player: 2022