Oscar Alcides Mena Fernández (born 30 November 1970), nicknamed ''El Mencho'', is an Argentine retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

, and is a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Playing career

Born in

Luján, Buenos Aires Luján (pronounced ) is a city in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina, located 68 kilometres north west of the city of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1755 and has a population of 106,899 (per the ). Luján is best known for its large ...

, Mena started his career playing for

Club Luján Club Luján is an Argentine football club from Luján, Buenos Aires Province. The team currently plays in Primera C, the regionalised fourth division of the Argentine football league system. The club is also going to incorporate handball a ...

and then Club Defensores de Cambaceres, both in the third division. In 1994, he made his debut in the Primera División with

Club Atlético Platense Club Atlético Platense is an Argentine sports club based in Florida, Buenos Aires. The club nickname is (Squid) after the journalist Palacio Zino said that the team moved "like a squid in its ink". Although the club hosts many activities, Pla ...

, moving to

Club Atlético Lanús Club Atlético Lanús () is an Argentine sports club from the Lanús district of Greater Buenos Aires. Founded in 1915, the club's main sports are football and basketball. In both sports, Lanús plays in Argentina's top divisions: Primera Divis ...

for a further season. In 1997–98, both Mena and

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Carlos Roa were bought by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

's RCD Mallorca. Eminently a defensive-minded player, the former scored seven

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

goals during the campaign, helping the Balearic Islands team finish fifth straight from the second level as well as to a runner-up finish in the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

. Subsequently, Mena signed with Atlético Madrid, where he faced stiff competition for a starting job and also suffered from injuries. He resumed his career in Spain in its second, third and fourth tiers, with a quick return to Argentina with

Olimpo de Bahía Blanca Club Olimpo, usually referred to as Olimpo de Bahía Blanca, is an Argentine sports club based in the city of Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province. The club was founded October 15th, 1910. Its primary activity is soccer. The club is recognized i ...

in between.

Coaching career

Mena retired from the game in February 2005, making a return to Atlético Madrid later on, appearing for its indoor soccer side. Subsequently, he began his coaching career, first with the ''Colchoneros youths then acting as assistant to the C-team. On 10 February 2014, following a division three loss at

CD Sariñena Club Deportivo Sariñena is a Spanish football team based in Sariñena, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded in 1945 it plays in Tercera División - Group 17, holding home games at ''Estadio El Carmen'', with a 4,500-seat capacity. S ...

which left

Atlético Madrid B Atlético de Madrid B is a Spanish football team based in Madrid, in the community of Madrid. Founded on 17 September 1963, it is the reserve team of Atlético Madrid and currently plays in Segunda Federación – Group 5. They play their home ...

in the relegation zone, Mena replaced Alfredo Santaelena, who had also played for the club in the 90s, as head coach.Mena releva a Alfredo en el banquillo del Atlético B (Mena relieves Alfredo in Atlético B bench)
Marca, 10 February 2014 (in Spanish)

References

External links

Argentine League statistics
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mena, Oscar 1970 births Living people Argentine people of Spanish descent Argentine footballers Association football midfielders Argentine Primera División players Defensores de Cambaceres footballers Club Atlético Platense footballers Club Atlético Lanús footballers Club Olimpo footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players RCD Mallorca players Atlético Madrid footballers Racing de Santander players CD Toledo players UD Las Palmas players Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine football managers Segunda División B managers Atlético Madrid B managers Argentine expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Spain People from Luján, Buenos Aires Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province