Malena Ortiz

Malena Ortiz Cruz (born 16 July 1997) is a footballer who plays as a midfielder for Servette. Born in Spain, she represented Azerbaijan at youth international level.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ortiz and the second or maternal family name is Cruz.
Malena Ortiz
Personal information
Full name Malena Ortiz Cruz
Date of birth (1997-07-16) 16 July 1997[1]
Place of birth Madrid, Spain[2]
Height 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Servette
Number 10
Youth career
2012–2013 Rayo Vallecano
2013–2016 CD Canillas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 CD Tacón 19 (1)
2020–2022 Real Madrid 2 (0)
2022– Servette 19 (6)
International career‡
2014–2016 Azerbaijan U19 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:00, 10 April 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:09, 10 April 2023 (UTC)

Personal life

Ortiz was born in Spain to a Cuban mother and a Spanish father.[3] Her twin sister, Samara, is also a footballer.[4]

Outside of football, she studied for a degree in Nutrition and Food Technology at Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia.[3] In 2021, she sent a number of football boots to Cuba to help support the development of football in the country.[5]

Club career

Ortiz started her career in Rayo Vallecano's academy along with her twin sister.[5][6] The sisters both ended up playing for CD Canillas and then its successor CD Tacón, a club that would itself progress to become Real Madrid.[3][5] At CD Tacón, Malena Ortiz became captain but, shortly after the Real Madrid rebranding, in April 2021, Ortiz suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in her left knee.[7] That summer, Samara Ortiz would join Brøndby, meaning that the sisters were separated for the first time.[8]

In January 2022, she signed for Swiss club Servette, joining six other Spanish players in their squad.[9] This departure came only seven months after renewing her contract with Real Madrid and having only played 16 minutes for the club.[8][10] At Servette, she recovered from the injury that had disrupted her career at Real Madrid.[11]

International career

Having become a citizen of Azerbaijan in 2014, on 13 September of the same year Ortiz made her debut for their under-19 national team in a match against Ukraine.[3][12]

References
  1. Malena Ortiz at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  2. "Malena". Bdfutbol. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  3. Menayo, David (15 January 2020). "Samara y Malena, dos gemelas de corazón blanco". Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  4. "Dos futbolistas de origen cubano integran plantilla del Real Madrid". ADN Cuba (in Spanish). 14 July 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  5. Nieto, Jose (23 November 2021). "Malena Ortiz y su impacto sobre el fútbol femenino en Cuba: el gesto de la jugadora del Real Madrid". El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  6. "Malena Ortiz". Playmaker Stats. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  7. Griñán, Marta (4 April 2021). "La madridista Malena Ortiz se rompe el ligamento cruzado". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  8. Jiménez, Mayca (3 January 2022). "Malena Ortiz se despide del Real Madrid y apunta al Servette". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  9. Menayo, David (10 January 2022). "El 'Spanish Servette' ficha a la exmadridista Malena Ortiz". Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  10. Jiménez, Mayca (29 June 2021). "Malena Ortiz, quinta renovación en el nuevo Real Madrid". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  11. Vaney, Florian (4 May 2022). "La footballeuse Malena Ortiz: Du Real Madrid à Servette, une quête pour devenir unique". Tribune de Genève (in French). Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  12. "Ukraine U19 vs. Azerbaijan U19". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
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