Ángel Mena

Ángel Israel Mena Delgado (born 21 January 1988) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who 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[1]
Date of birth (1988-01-21) 21 January 1988[1]
Place of birth Guayaquil, Ecuador
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 León
Number 13
Youth career
2004–2007 Emelec
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2016 Emelec 249 (68)
2010 → Deportivo Cuenca (loan) 30 (5)
2017–2018 Cruz Azul 52 (10)
2019– León 162 (65)
International career‡
2015– Ecuador 53 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:15, 9 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 October 2023

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 16 March 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 Ecuador 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 28 March 2015 in a match against Mexico, coming in as a sub for Jefferson Montero.

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.[7]

Career statistics
Mena playing for Emelec in 2014

Club
As of match played 20 May 2019[8]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Emelec 2007 Serie A 40—0040
2008 Serie A 182—00182
2009 Serie A 242—10252
2010 Serie A 00—2020
2011 Serie A 366—60426
2012 Serie A 212—71283
2013 Serie A 313—41354
2014 Serie A 4114—1445518
2015 Serie A 3813—1435216
2016 Serie A 3616—934519
Total 24958—571230670
Deportivo Cuenca (loan) 2010 Serie A 305—00305
Cruz Azul 2016–17 Liga MX 1654200207
2017–18 Liga MX 2736000333
2018–19 Liga MX 902000110
Total 528122006410
León 2018–19 Liga MX 231431002615
Career total 354851535712424101

International
As of 18 October 2023[9]
Ecuador
YearAppsGoals
201540
201641
201740
201983
202042
2021151
202270
202370
Total537
List of international goals scored by Ángel Mena
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
124 March 2016Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador Paraguay2–22–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification
29 June 2019AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States Mexico1–12–3Friendly
324 June 2019Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Japan1–11–12019 Copa América
413 October 2019Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Elche, Spain Argentina1–31–6Friendly
512 November 2020Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia Bolivia2–13–22012 FIFA World Cup qualification
617 November 2020Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito, Ecuador Colombia2–06–12012 FIFA World Cup qualification
727 June 2021Estádio Olímpico Pedro Ludovico, Goiânia, Brazil Brazil1–11–12021 Copa América

Honours

Emelec

Cruz Azul

León

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Ecuador (ECU)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 10. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. Universo, El (24 February 2015). "Ángel Mena seguirá en Emelec hasta el 2017". El Universo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 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. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  6. juarango, Juan Arango – (22 August 2014). "Ecuador makes callup for Bolivia and Brazil friendlies". Soccerly. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  7. "Ángel Mena alista su viaje a México" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  8. Ángel Mena at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  9. Ángel Mena at National-Football-Teams.com
  10. 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).
  11. "Liga MX unveils its final roster for the 2021 All-Star game". AS. 19 July 2021.
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