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.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Malena Ortiz Cruz | ||
| Date of birth | 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
External links
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