José Cruz (Spanish footballer)

José Manuel Cruz Orozco (born 10 August 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a defender for Ciudad de Lucena.

José Cruz
Personal information
Full name José Manuel Cruz Orozco
Date of birth (1988-08-10) 10 August 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Córdoba, Spain
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Ciudad de Lucena
Youth career
Séneca
2006–2007 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Real Madrid C 97 (9)
2010–2012 Sporting B 56 (2)
2012–2013 Lucena 31 (4)
2013–2015 Jaén 47 (2)
2015–2016 Yuen Long 8 (1)
2016 Almería B 15 (2)
2016–2017 Racing Ferrol 34 (2)
2017 Viking 5 (0)
2018 Mérida 15 (0)
2018–2020 Marbella 33 (2)
2020–2021 Linares Deportivo 23 (1)
2021–2023 Córdoba 35 (0)
2023–2024 UCAM Murcia 42 (1)
2024– Ciudad de Lucena 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 October 2024

Club career

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Born in Córdoba, Andalusia, Cruz finished his formation with Real Madrid, then played his first three years as a senior with the C-team. On 15 July 2010 he signed with Sporting de Gijón,[1] but only appeared officially for the reserves in Segunda División B.

In the 2012 summer, Cruz joined fellow league club Lucena CF.[2] After only one season he penned a one-year deal with Real Jaén, freshly promoted to Segunda División.[3]

On 18 August 2013, Cruz played his first game as a professional, starting in a 1–2 home loss against SD Eibar.[4] He scored his first professional goal on 30 March of the following year, netting the last in a 1–1 home draw against Hércules CF.

On 27 July 2015, Cruz moved abroad for the first time in his career, joining Hong Kong club Yuen Long FC.[5] The following January he returned to his native country, and represented UD Almería B[6] and Racing de Ferrol[7] in the following years.

On 28 July 2017, Cruz signed for Norwegian Eliteserien club Viking FK.[8] He left the club after the 2017 season.[9]

On 17 January 2018, Cruz returned to Spain, signing for Segunda División B club Mérida AD.[10] Ahead of the 2018–19 season, he joined fellow Segunda División B club Marbella FC.[11] After two seasons with Marbella, he signed for Linares Deportivo in September 2020.[11]

Club statistics

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As of match played 15 May 2021
Club Season League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sporting B 2010–11[12] Segunda División B 31 2 31 2
2011–12[12] Segunda División B 25 0 25 0
Total 56 2 56 2
Lucena 2012–13[12] Segunda División B 31 4 1 0 2[a] 0 34 4
Jaén 2013–14[12] Segunda División 12 1 1 0 13 1
2014–15[12] Segunda División B 35 1 1 0 36 1
Total 47 2 2 0 49 2
Yuen Long 2015–16[13] Hong Kong Premier League 8 1 2 0 10 1
Almería B 2015–16[12] Segunda División B 15 2 15 2
Racing Ferrol 2016–17[12] Segunda División B 34 2 2 0 36 2
Viking 2017[13] Eliteserien 5 0 0 0 5 0
Mérida 2017–18[12] Segunda División B 15 0 0 0 1[b] 0 16 0
Marbella 2018–19[12] Segunda División B 23 2 1 0 24 2
2019–20[12] Segunda División B 10 0 0 0 1[a] 0 11 0
Total 33 2 1 0 1 0 35 2
Linares Deportivo 2020–21[12] Segunda División B 22 1 2 0 1[a] 0 25 1
Career total 266 16 10 0 5 0 281 16
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in promotion play-offs
  2. ^ Appearance in relegation play-offs

References

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  1. ^ El Sporting B ficha al central José Manuel Cruz (Sporting sign centre back José Manuel Cruz); El Comercio, 15 July 2010 (in Spanish)
  2. ^ José Cruz, tercer fichaje del Lucena (José Cruz, third signing of Lucena); Córdoba Deporte, 3 July 2012 (in Spanish)
  3. ^ Rene Román y José Manuel Cruz refuerzan al Real Jaén (Rene Román and José Manuel Cruz strengthen Real Jaén); Marca, 21 July 2013 (in Spanish)
  4. ^ El Jaén muere en la orilla (Jaén dies on the shore); Marca, 18 August 2013 (in Spanish)
  5. ^ José Cruz ficha por el Yuen Long de Hong Kong tras dos años en el Real Jaén (José Cruz signs for Hong Kong's Yuen Long after two years at Real Jaén); ABC, 27 July 2015 (in Spanish)
  6. ^ El filial refuerza su defensa con el fichaje de Cruz, un central con gran experiencia (The reserves bolster with the signing of Cruz, a stopper with great experience); UD Almería, 27 January 2016 (in Spanish)
  7. ^ José Cruz, primer fichaje del Racing de Ferrol para la defensa (José Cruz, first signing of Racing de Ferrol for the defence); La Voz de Galicia, 12 July 2016 (in Spanish)
  8. ^ Oftedal Kvendseth, Kristian; Nærland, Egil (28 July 2017). "Spansk spiller signerte for Viking: – Jeg skal gjøre maks for klubben" (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  9. ^ Iversen, Espen (25 November 2017). "Nok en spiller ferdig i Viking" (in Norwegian). Rogalands Avis. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  10. ^ Saavedra, Nono (17 January 2018). "El Mérida refuerza la zaga con el veterano José Cruz" (in Spanish). El Periódico Extremadura. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  11. ^ a b Expósito, Pedro (4 September 2020). "El Linares Deportivo se hace con los servicios de José Cruz para su defensa" (in Spanish). Albero y Mikasa. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Cruz: José Manuel Cruz Orozco". BDFutbol. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  13. ^ a b José Cruz at Soccerway
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