Spanish international Enith Salon discusses change in the women's game, Spain's 2023 World Cup win, and following in the footsteps of the legendary Iker Casillas…
Header image: via Valencia CF
There are moments in sport that don’t just decide matches. They change lives. For Enith Salon, current Servette FC goalkeeper and Spanish international, that moment arrived on a July night in 2010, during the Men’s World Cup Final between Spain and the Netherlands.
As the clock ticked into the 62nd minute, Arjen Robben burst through Spain’s back line, one-on-one with Iker Casillas. With the hopes of an entire nation hanging in the balance, Robben struck his shot, only for Casillas, stretching out his right leg, to make a stunning save that kept Spain’s dream alive.
In a living room in Montcada, Valencia, a young Enith leapt up and celebrated the save just like millions of others across Spain. But as the cheers faded, something else stayed with her. In that moment, she wasn’t just witnessing football history, she was discovering her own destiny. From that day on, she knew she wanted to be a goalkeeper, just like Casillas.
“I always say that thanks to Iker Casillas, I became a goalkeeper. He was my mirror, my reference. Watching that save made me want to put on the gloves for the first time,” Enith tells Goalkeeper.com.
“It was only later, as I got older, that I realised just how incredible Casillas’s whole career was - not only the World Cup, but everything he achieved over the years. And growing up in Valencia, I also looked up to Diego Alves who was another goalkeeper I admired and tried to learn from.”
At the time, Enith wasn’t even signed up for a club. She played football in the street and at school, using jumpers or stones for goalposts. Unlike most children, she loved being in goal, even if it meant facing older boys or worrying her mother.
“Nobody wanted to be the goalkeeper, but I did. I played every position, but I always had the most fun in goal,” she laughs. “My mum didn’t like it much, but I didn’t tell her every time I put myself in goal, and sometimes I’d end up taking a ball right in the face. But I just wanted to keep playing.”
It was only after Spain’s World Cup triumph in 2010 that her parents realised just how much she loved football and decided to sign her up for her local club, Montcada.
Within a year, both Levante and Valencia CF came calling. “I went to Levante for a trial, but I didn’t feel it was for me. I was always more of a Valencia fan, thanks to my brother. When I tried out for Valencia, I loved it. I had a great time and decided to stay.”
Enith would spend more than a decade growing up in the Valencia shirt.
Those years at Valencia were about pure enjoyment and growth. “I remember my first contract. I earned 200 euros a month. And honestly, that made me happy because I played for the love of the game, not for money or titles. I just enjoyed playing and that was enough for me,” Enith recalls.
But after two difficult, injury-hit seasons and a relegation, she made the bold decision to seek a fresh start. In the summer of 2025, she moved abroad to join Servette FC in Switzerland. “The change came after two complicated years at Valencia. I never imagined I’d leave, but one of my last injuries made me realise I needed a fresh start - a new routine, a new challenge,” she explains.
In Switzerland, Enith has rediscovered her rhythm and confidence, in a club that feels almost like home. Her coach, sporting director, and many teammates are Spanish.
“We’ve really Spanish-ised the dressing room! But we should probably try to adapt more. Here, people speak three or four languages - sometimes five. The weather and being far from my family have been the hardest parts. Swapping Valencia’s sun for rain and fog was a shock.
“The first time I wore the Servette shirt, it felt strange, but change is about growing, and I’m happy here.”
That move also brought an unexpected reward: a recall to the Spanish national team. When Enith spoke to Goalkeeper.com, she had no idea a call-up was coming. “It would be an honour, but I’m not really thinking about it,” she said at the time. A week later, her phone rang. Sonia Bermúdez wanted her back with Spain.
The call means she’s returning to a team where she has already achieved the ultimate dream: lifting the World Cup in Australia. “I remember that during the World Cup (2023), a lot of people said we had a team that could win it, and I thought so too - but it never crossed my mind that I’d actually be in a final, let alone win a World Cup. Everything just clicked. The people, the experience, the packed stadiums, it was all incredible.”
She openly acknowledges that without the group of players known as Las 15 demanding changes and refusing to return to the national team until there were more professional conditions, she would not have received that first call-up. “If it hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have been called up, but once it did, we young players got ready. Nobody wanted to go against teammates, but being called up to represent Spain is an enormous honour.”
She was so aware of that unique situation that she even asked Alexia Putellas for her shirt after a pre-World Cup friendly, “just in case I never got another chance.” But she did—and helped secure Spain’s first star on the national team crest.
Now, Enith Salon is not just a champion, but an inspiration herself, dreaming of Champions League nights with Servette, wanting to enjoy a well-earned call-up by the national team, and inspiring the next generation - just as Iker Casillas once did for her.
