Ángel Mena

Ángel Israel Mena Delgado (born January 21, 1988)[1] is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for Liga MX club León and the Ecuador national team.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mena and the second or maternal family name is Delgado.
Ángel Mena
Mena with Ecuador in 2015
Personal information
Full name Ángel Israel Mena Delgado
Date of birth (1988-01-21) January 21, 1988
Place of birth Guayaquil, Ecuador
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 León
Number 13
Youth career
2004–2007 Emelec
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2016 Emelec 249 (58)
2010 → Deportivo Cuenca (loan) 30 (5)
2017–2018 Cruz Azul 52 (8)
2019– León 76 (39)
National team‡
2015– Ecuador 24 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2020

Club career

Emelec

Mena had extended his contract until 2017 with Club Sport Emelec. He played in 129 games for the national championship and scored 25 goals, according to records of the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF).[2]

He debuted in the first division in 2007. He scored his first official goal on March 16, 2008 at the Técnico Universitario.

In 2010, he was loaned to Deportivo Cuenca. In 2011, he returns to Club Sport Emelec, and was champion in 2013 and 2014.

After scoring 14 goals as Emelec won the 2014 championship, Mena extended his contract with the club for two years in February 2015.[3] Mena scored the first goal in the 2014 Ecuadorian Serie A season final match against Barcelona SC, winning 3–0.

Cruz Azul

In 2017 Mena joined Mexican side Cruz Azul. On 12 February Mena scored an impressive free-kick goal against Santos Laguna which earned Cruz Azul a 2–2 draw.[4]

International career

In April 2014, being in Emelec, Mena was first called up to the Ecuador national football team, led by coach Reinaldo Rueda, for a microcycle. Mena was called for Ecuador's provisional 30-man squad for World Cup 2014 in Brazil.[5]

Later in 2014, the interim coach of the Ecuadorian national team, Sixto Vizuete called up Mena to play friendly matches against Bolivia and Brazil.[6] However, Mena suffered an injury that prevented him playing with the national team.

Mena made his debut on March 28, 2015 in a match against Mexico, coming in as a sub for Jefferson Montero.

Career statistics
Mena playing for Emelec in 2014

Club
As of match played 20 May 2019[7]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Emelec 2007 Serie A40—0040
2008 Serie A182—00182
2009 Serie A242—10252
2010 Serie A00—2020
2011 Serie A366—60426
2012 Serie A212—71283
2013 Serie A313—41354
2014 Serie A4114—1445518
2015 Serie A3813—1435216
2016 Serie A3616—934519
Total 24958—571230670
Deportivo Cuenca (loan) 2010 Serie A305—00305
Total 305—00305
Cruz Azul 2016–17 Liga MX1654200207
2017–18 Liga MX2736000333
2018–19 Liga MX902000110
Total 528122006410
León 2018–19 Liga MX231431002615
Career total 354851535712424101

National team
As of 17 November 2020
Ecuador
YearAppsGoals
201540
201641
201740
201800
201983
202042
Total246

International goals
Scores and results list Ecuador's goal tally first.[8]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.24 March 2016Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador Paraguay2–22–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.9 June 2019AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States Mexico1–12–3Friendly
3.24 June 2019Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Japan1–11–12019 Copa América
4.13 October 2019Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Alicante, Spain Argentina1–31–6Friendly
5.12 November 2020Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia Bolivia2–13–22022 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.17 November 2020Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito, Ecuador Colombia2–06–1

Honours

Clubs

Emelec

Cruz Azul

León

Individual

Personal life

Mena is married to Shirley Posligua with whom he has two daughters. He and his family are devout Christians. Mena is good friends with fellow footballer Joao Rojas with whom he shared a locker while at Emelec, the fact that Rojas played for Cruz Azul was a significant factor in motivating Mena to join the club.[10]

References
  1. "Ángel Mena: "Quiero conquistar más cosas importantes con Emelec"". El Comercio (in Spanish). Jan 15, 2014. Retrieved Mar 7, 2015.
  2. Universo, El (Feb 24, 2015). "Ángel Mena seguirá en Emelec hasta el 2017". El Universo (in Spanish). Retrieved Mar 7, 2015.
  3. "El 'Ángel' se queda en Emelec" (in Spanish). El Telegrafo. 25 February 2015.
  4. "Golazo de Ángel Mena con el Cruz Azul". El Universo. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  5. "Valencia named in Ecuador World Cup squad". ITV – Player, TV Guide, ITV, ITV2, catchup, X Factor, Vera, Coronation Street, Emmerdale. May 14, 2014. Retrieved Mar 7, 2015.
  6. juarango, Juan Arango – (Aug 22, 2014). "Ecuador makes callup for Bolivia and Brazil friendlies". Soccerly. Retrieved Mar 7, 2015.
  7. Ángel Mena at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  8. "Ángel Mena". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  9. De la Cruz, Luis (16 December 2020). "Liga MX: León, Pumas y Cruz Azul se 'roban' el 11 ideal del Guardianes 2020". SoyFutbol.com (in Spanish).
  10. "Ángel Mena alista su viaje a México" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
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