Ángel Mena

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 (age 36)[1]
Place of birth Guayaquil, Ecuador
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Pachuca
Number 10
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)
2019–2024 León 187 (70)
2024– Pachuca 5 (0)
International career‡
2015–2024 Ecuador 61 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 November 2024

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

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.[citation needed]

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

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.[citation needed]

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 22 October 2024[8]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Emelec 2007 Serie A 4 0 — 0 0 — 4 0
2008 Serie A 18 2 — 0 0 — 18 2
2009 Serie A 24 2 — 1[a] 0 — 25 2
2010 Serie A 0 0 — 2[b] 0 — 2 0
2011 Serie A 36 6 — 6[b] 0 — 42 6
2012 Serie A 21 2 — 7[c] 1 — 28 3
2013 Serie A 31 3 — 4[a] 1 — 35 4
2014 Serie A 41 14 — 14[d] 4 — 55 18
2015 Serie A 38 13 — 14[e] 3 — 52 16
2016 Serie A 36 16 — 9[f] 3 — 45 19
Total 249 58 — 57 12 — 306 70
Deportivo Cuenca (loan) 2010 Serie A 30 5 — 0 0 — 30 5
Cruz Azul 2016–17 Liga MX 16 5 4 2 0 0 — 20 7
2017–18 Liga MX 27 3 6 0 0 0 — 33 3
2018–19 Liga MX 9 0 2 0 0 0 — 11 0
Total 52 8 12 2 0 0 — 64 10
León 2018–19 Liga MX 23 14 3 1 0 0 — 26 15
2019–20 Liga MX 30 16 0 0 1[g] 1 — 31 17
2020–21 Liga MX 37 17 0 0 2[g] 0 — 39 17
2021–22 Liga MX 35 14 0 0 2[g] 0 4[h] 3 41 17
2022–23 Liga MX 30 3 0 0 5[g] 3 0 0 35 6
2023–24 Liga MX 32 6 0 0 5[g] 3 4[i] 1 41 10
Total 187 70 3 1 18 6 8 4 213 82
Pachuca 2024–25 Liga MX 5 0 0 0 0 0 2[j] 0 7 0
Career total 523 141 15 3 72 16 10 4 622 171
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in the Copa Sudamericana
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in the Copa Libertadores
  3. ^ Four appearances and one goal in the Copa Libertadores, three appearances in the Copa Sudamericana
  4. ^ Eight appearances and three goals in the Copa Sudamericana, six appearances and one goal in the Copa Libertadores
  5. ^ Nine appearances and three goals in the Copa Libertadores, five appearances in the Copa Sudamericana
  6. ^ Five appearances and two goals in the Copa Libertadores, four appearances and one goal in Copa Sudamericana
  7. ^ a b c d e Appearance(s) in the CONCACAF Champions League
  8. ^ Three appearances and three goals in Leagues Cup, one appearance in Campeón de Campeones
  9. ^ Three appearances and one goal in Leagues Cup, one appearance in FIFA Club World Cup
  10. ^ Appearances in Leagues Cup

International

As of match played 14 November 2024[9]
Ecuador
Year Apps Goals
2015 4 0
2016 4 1
2017 4 0
2019 8 3
2020 4 2
2021 15 1
2022 7 0
2023 9 1
2024 6 0
Total 61 8
List of international goals scored by Ángel Mena
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 24 March 2016 Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador  Paraguay 2–2 2–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 9 June 2019 AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States  Mexico 1–1 2–3 Friendly
3 24 June 2019 Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil  Japan 1–1 1–1 2019 Copa América
4 13 October 2019 Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Elche, Spain  Argentina 1–3 1–6 Friendly
5 12 November 2020 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Bolivia 2–1 3–2 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 17 November 2020 Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito, Ecuador  Colombia 2–0 6–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 27 June 2021 Estádio Olímpico Pedro Ludovico, Goiânia, Brazil  Brazil 1–1 1–1 2021 Copa América
8 21 November 2023 Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito, Ecuador  Chile 1–0 1–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Emelec

Cruz Azul

León

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c "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 Edit this at Wikidata
  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.