María Francesca Caldentey Oliver (born 19 March 1996), known as Mariona Caldentey or simply Mariona, is a Spanish professional

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 le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Liga F The Primera División de la Liga de Fútbol Femenino, currently known as Liga F (finetwork Liga F for sponsorship reasons), is the highest level of league competition for women's football in Spain. It is the women's equivalent of the men's La L ...

club

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

and the Spain women's national team.

Early life

María Francesca Caldentey Oliver was born in the

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

n town of

Felanitx Felanitx or Felanich is a municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands, located in the southeast of Majorca, 48 kilometres (30 miles) from the capital Palma de Mallorca. The town, dating back to the 13th century, l ...

to father Miguel Ángel Caldentey and mother María Oliver. Her father was a football

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and her mother is a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

by profession. She also has an older brother. Caldentey began playing football at the age of four in her local team as an after-school activity. She later played

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

Manacor Manacor () is a town and municipality on the island of Mallorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is the second largest town in Mallorca, after the capital of Palma. The municipality has tourist areas such a ...

, where she won multiple titles and played in three Spanish championships. Although Caldentey did not develop in

La Masia La Masia de Can Planes, usually shortened to La Masia (; en, "The Farmhouse"), is a term used for FC Barcelona's youth academy. The academy includes more than 300 young players. It has been an instrumental factor in Barcelona's European success ...

, she has had a lifelong connection to

; her father was one of the promoters of ''Els Tamarells'', one of Barcelona’s biggest penyes.

Club career

Collerense

Caldentey developed through the ranks of the UD Collerense youth system.

Barcelona

On 30 July 2014, Caldentey signed for Barcelona after her successes in the U19 European Championship. Throughout the 2014–2015 season, she made her

Copa de la Reina Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...

debut in the quarterfinals of the 2015 tournament and scored in a 4–0 win versus Levante. Barcelona would exit the tournament in the next round against Valencia.

International career

Youth

Caldentey earned third place at the 2013 UEFA Women's U17 Championship, representing

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 ...

. In the semifinals of the tournament, she converted her penalty in the shootout against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, but would end up losing the match after the shootout ended 4–5 in Sweden's favor. In the third place match, Caldentey captained the team and scored in the 42nd minute in an 0–4 rout of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. She found more success during the 2014 UEFA Women's U19 Championship. Caldentey started every game in the tournament, along with scoring the first goal in the semifinal match versus

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. She started in the final, where Spain lost against

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

via a

Vivianne Miedema Anna Margaretha Marina Astrid "Vivianne" Miedema (; born 15 July 1996) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for FA Women's Super League (FA WSL) club Arsenal W.F.C., Arse ...

chip in the 21st minute. Caldentey also participated in the 2016 U20 Women's World Cup, where she scored twice in the group stage against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Spain were eliminated in extra time of the quarterfinal against eventual champions

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. Her goal against Canada was named goal of the tournament.

Senior

In 2017, Caldentey earned her first senior national team call-up when

Jorge Vilda Jorge Vilda Rodríguez (born 7 July 1981) is a Spanish Association football, football coach and UEFA Pro Licence holder, who is the current head coach of the Spain women's national football team - a position he has held since 2015. Vilda is also ...

named her to

's squad for two friendlies against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Two months later, she made her international debut in an

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...

match versus

, subbing on in the 73rd minute for

Amanda Sampedro Amanda Sampedro Bustos (born 26 June 1993) is a Spanish football forward who plays for Atlético Madrid of Spain's Primera División and the Spain national team. International career A skillful forward noted for her creativity and vision, ...

. Spain went on to the final against

and won the tournament, earning Caldentey her first international title. Caldentey scored her first senior international goal in a friendly match against Belgium. She was called up to the squad for the 2017 UEFA Women's EURO. Caldentey started in two group stages games- a win against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and a loss against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. After Spain qualified for the knockout rounds on their head-to-head record, she started the quarterfinal match against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

but was subbed out in the 56th minute. Spain exited the tournament after a penalty shootout. In 2019, Caldentey was called up to represent Spain in the 2019 Algarve Cup, where Spain finished 7th place. She was also named to the Spain squad for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. It ...

. She started each match in the group stage of the tournament, where Spain received four points and moved on to the Round of 16 for the first time in their history. In the Round of 16 match, she subbed in at the 83rd minute for

Virginia Torrecilla Virginia Torrecilla Reyes (born 4 September 1994), simply known as Virginia, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid in the Spanish Primera División, having also previously played for FC Barcelona and French Divis ...

, and Spain would end up losing to eventual champions, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Caldentey goal.''

Honours

Barcelona * Primera División: 2014–15, 2019–20,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, 2021–22 *

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. The ...

; *

Copa de la Reina de Fútbol The Copa de la Reina (Queen's Cup) is an annual cup competition for Spanish women's association football teams organized by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Its full name is ''Campeonato de España - Copa de Su Majestad la Reina'' (''Champ ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

* Supercopa Femenina: 2019–20, 2021–22 *

Copa Catalunya The Copa Catalunya (''Catalonia Cup'') is a knockout competition organised by the Catalan Football Federation for football clubs in the Catalonia autonomous community of Spain. History Between 1903 and 1940, it was known as the '' Champions ...

: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Spain *

UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship or simply UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, is a competition in women's football for European national teams of players under 19 years of age. National under-19 teams whose countries belong to the ...

: runner-up

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

References

External links

*
Mariona Caldentey
at

Mariona Caldentey
at BDFutbol * * * *
Mariona Caldentey
at Txapeldunak.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldentey, Mariona 1996 births Living people People from Felanitx Footballers from Mallorca Spanish women's footballers Women's association football forwards FC Barcelona Femení players Primera División (women) players Spain women's youth international footballers Spain women's international footballers 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players 21st-century Spanish women