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 le ...

who played as a defensive midfielder, 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 o ...

Playing career

Born in Luján, Buenos Aires, 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 Club Defensores de Cambaceres is an Argentine football club from the city of Ensenada, Buenos Aires Province. The team currently plays in Primera C, the regionalised fourth division of the Argentine football league system. The club was founded in ...

, both in the

third division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

. In 1994, he made his debut in the

Primera División Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

with Club Atlético Platense, moving to Club Atlético Lanús for a further season. In 1997–98, both Mena and goalkeeper

Carlos Roa Carlos Ángel Roa (born 15 August 1969) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the current goalkeeper coach of Greek Super League club AEK Athens. Most of his professional career was spent with Racing A ...

were bought by Spain's

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

. Eminently a defensive-minded player, the former scored seven La Liga goals during the campaign, helping the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

team finish fifth straight from the second level as well as to a runner-up finish in the Copa del Rey. Subsequently, Mena signed with

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

, where he faced stiff competition for a starting job and also suffered from injuries. He resumed his career in Spain in its second,

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

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 Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

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 which left Atlético Madrid B in the relegation zone, Mena replaced

Alfredo Santaelena Alfredo Santaelena Aguado (born 13 October 1967), known simply as Alfredo as a player, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder, currently the manager of CF Rayo Majadahonda . He amassed La Liga totals of 211 games and seven g ...

, 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 Marca may refer to: Places * Marca, Sălaj, a commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Marca, a tributary of the Barcău in Sălaj County, Romania * an alternative name for Merca, Somalia * Marca District, in the province Recuay, Peru * Marçà, a vil ...

, 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