Cristóbal Ortega

Cristóbal Ortega Martínez (born July 25, 1956 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a former football/soccer who played for Club América in the Mexican First Division from 1974 to 1991. A versatile player who played at every midfield position for almost two decades. He also played for Mexico's national team, including playing in the 1978 and 1986 - he earned 53 caps in his international career. He is currently the head coach of Albinegros de Orizaba which play in Mexicos Liga de Ascenso.

Club career

On October 5, 1974, Cristóbal Ortega debuted for Club America against Ciudad Madero when manager José Antonio Roca started him for all 90 minutes. In his Primera Liga debut on June 8, 1975, Ortega scored his first goal against Veracruz - so began an 18 year career in which he remained in the Club América midfield. He was a part of a golden generation for the club which included stars Carlos Reinoso, Mario Pérez, Enrique Borja, Rafael Puente among others. Club América won league titles in the seasons 75-76, 83-84, 84-85, Prode 85, 87-88 and 88-89. The club won three Supercups, in 1976, 1988–89; three CONCACAF Cup titles in 1978, 1987, and 1991; and the Interamerican Cup in 1991.

Ortega proved invaluable to the club's league title in the Prode 85 tournament. In a game that was otherwise forgetful for Club América fans (a 1-4 first-leg thrashing to Tampico Madero at Tamaulipas on October 3, 1985), Ortega scored the lone goal that would prove to be the difference, as the team won the second-leg at Azteca Stadium 4-0 (with a final aggregate of 5-4).

Ortega retired in the middle of the 1991-92 season. In his final game for Club América, on December 15, 1991 at Santos Laguna, he started and was substituted for at the start of the second half by manager Isaac Terrazas; his last goal scored three years prior on January 3, 1988 against Cruz Azul. In his career at Club América, Ortega played in 711 games, including a team-record 75 playoff games.

National team career

Ortega played in 53 games for the Mexican National Team. He was chosen for the FIFA World Cups of 1978, held in Argentina, and 1986, held in Mexico.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	September 27, 1977	San Nicolás, Mexico	United States	3–0	Win	Friendly
2.	April 4, 1978	Guadalajara , Mexico	Bulgaria	3–0	Win	Friendly
3.	March 18, 1980	Tegucigalpa, Honduras	Honduras	1–0	Win	Friendly
4.	August 30, 1980	Suva, Fiji	Fiji	2–0	Win	Friendly

References

• Cristóbal Ortega at National-Football-Teams.com
• Cristobal Ortega trabaja para que sus Albinegros sean contundentes (Spanish; article dated January 22, 2009)

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Name	Ortega, Cristobal
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Date of birth	July 25, 1956
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