Angel Mena is one of the keys that can open the final of the Apertura 2021 between Lion Y Atlas. The attacker with the green bellies contributed 20% of his team’s goals during the regular phase, he dribbles successfully in six out of 10 attempts and, to make it clear that his performance is not extinguished in the final phase, has been placed as the top scorer in the current league with four goals.
Mena Delgado He is closing his third year with León, a team and city that has allowed him to exploit his best football and also his maturity as a person, an era of consolidation that he is living after having arrived in Guanajuato completely free after ending his contract with Cruz Azul ( The Machine paid about $ 3.2 million to Emelec for its services in 2017).
Now 33 years old, the Ecuadorian presents a resume with a trophy of MX League (Guardians 2020), one of Leagues Cup, a scoring title (Clausura 2019) and a Golden Ball as best offensive midfielder (2019), all won with the emerald jersey.
“The trust that León gave me and that he bet on me again I now repay with soccer, goals, effort and dedication. I feel very identified with the club, ”the attacker told Mediotiempo at the beginning of November. He is currently living his third final with the green team (he lost one to Tigres in 2019 and won the 2020 one to Pumas) and his numbers continue to be outstanding, although the possibility of going to Europe is increasingly distant due to his age.
“Mena is by no means going to go to Europe, at his age it would be very unreasonable to think about playing there, but it is one of those players that León can negotiate very well, have it and take advantage of it for a few good years; Even if he didn’t make up with León, he already has enough line-up in Mexico to accommodate another team. Since he is in León he has always had good performance, when he has dropped it is due to injuries, but he has a contract until 2024, when he is 36 years old, If at some point he drops in level it could be a great bargaining chip for the club ”, Luis Fernández, CEO of Under Data, an expert consultancy in professional soccer data scouting, stands out.
Although Europe is a very distant possibility, it could still be catapulted to a team with the largest cartel of the MX League and generate more income, says Rob García, FIFA agent and former scout for clubs like Manchester City and Ajax: “In the Mexican league you can still make a jump to another club like America, Tigres or even a Monterrey, the MLS can also be another Option, the problem is that right now that league has certain locks, such as the age, which he brings, he would have to arrive as a franchise player or a visionary team in a venue where there are many Ecuadorians in the US ”.
Not counting porters, Angel Mena He was the second oldest outfield player with the most minutes in the regular phase of the Apertura 2021, adding 1,337 minutes, only behind the 1,374 of Rubens Sambueza, the 37-year-old captain of Toluca. He also contributed four goals and three assists, more than other renowned attackers such as Luis Quiñones (Tigres), Alexis Canelo (Toluca), Maximiliano Meza (Monterrey) and Roberto Alvarado (Cruz Azul).
“The atmosphere that lives in León is unique, the last tournament he played in Cruz Azul did not score a single goal, but it came from a city like Mexico with issues such as traffic, the adaptation of their children and they changed to a much smaller one. (like León), where the fan pats him and he is different. There he scored 14 goals in his first two tournaments, I doubt that atmosphere will really change it, especially because of what he is performing ”, adds Rob García.
According to the agent, Mena must have an estimated salary between 1 and 1.2 million pesos per month, which exceeds the average of a Mexican soccer player between 600,000 and 800,000, but is still well below the figures with the best salary, like the French André-Pierre Gignac (Tigers), who is estimated to earn 7.3 million. This means that despite the great level shown with León in the last six tournaments, he has not been able to excel economically.
“Mena is undervalued despite everything he has done in Mexican soccer, because although he is not the one that overwhelms the statistics, he is a player who is always outstanding and fulfills in León. Mena and León’s secret are three key factors that they combined to reach the final: they have and respect a very clear idea of the game; they hired the coach who can develop it best (Ariel Holan); and they also have a template according to that style ”, describes Luis Fernández, who also points to William Tesillo, Iván Rodríguez and Jean Meneses as other figures of the dynamics of green bellies.
During this tournament, Mena has exploited his potential not only playing for the wings, as he used to do since he arrived in Mexico, but now with total freedom in the center in the absence of Luis Montes, who just returned to the field. . León has had 68 attacks in the central zone compared to 41 on the left and 45 on the right, in addition to his greatest virtue is possession of the ball, since only 16% of his attacks have been by counterattack, according to statistics from Under Data.
“Mena is one of those players that can be called profitable, since he was in Ecuador he always averaged between 14 and 17 goals per tournament. The typical Mexican forwards average between five and eight goals and a player who is not 100% forward, an attacking midfielder with changes of pace, who has assistance and who averages the same number of goals is something out of the ordinary. Ángel, with his 33 years, can give without problems three more years at this level ”, visualizes García.
kg
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx