Cristóbal Ortega Martínez (25 July 1956 – 2 January 2025) was a Mexican 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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for América in the

Mexican Primera División Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divi ...

from 1974 to 1992. He also played for the Mexico national team, including playing in the World Cups of

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. He earned 24 caps and scored four goals in his international career.

Club career

On 5 October 1974, Cristóbal Ortega made his debut for

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

against Ciudad Madero. In his Primera Liga debut on 8 June 1975, Ortega scored his first goal against

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

- so began an 18-year career in which he remained in the Club América midfield.

won league titles in the seasons 1975–76, 1983–84, 1984–85, Prode 1985, 1987-88 and 1988–89. The club won three Supercups, in 1976, 1988–89; three

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

Cup titles in 1978, 1987, and 1991; and the Interamerican Cup in 1991. Ortega retired in the middle of the 1991–92 season. In his final game for

, on 15 December 1991 at

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

, he started and was substituted at the start of the second half by manager Isaac Terrazas; he scored his last goal three years prior on 3 January 1988, against

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

. In his career at

, Ortega played in 711 games, including a team-record 75 playoff games.

International career

Ortega played in 24 games for

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and scored four goals. He played in the World Cups of

and

Illness and death

Ortega suffered from cancer for several years. He was readmitted to a hospital in December 2024, after undergoing surgery for the disease earlier that year. However, it had metastasised, and he died on 2 January 2025, at the age of 68.

Honours

América * Méxican Primera División: 1975–76, 1983–84, 1984–85, Prode-1985, 1987–88, 1988–89 *

Campeón de Campeones Campeón de Campeones () is an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic super cup between the Liga MX champions of the ''Apertura'' and ''Clausura'' tournaments. It was initially a super cup match between the league and cup cha ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

CONCACAF Champions' Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Copa Interamericana The Copa Interamericana () was an international association football, football competition endorsed by CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) and CONMEBOL (South America). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACAF ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Mexico *

CONCACAF Championship The CONCACAF Championship, also known as CONCACAF Nations Championship, was an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the C ...

Individual *

Golden Ball: 1982–83

References

Sources

Cristobal Ortega trabaja para que sus Albinegros sean contundentes
(Spanish; article dated 22 January 2009)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ortega, Cristobal 1956 births 2025 deaths Club América footballers Footballers from Mexico City 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players Mexico men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Mexican men's footballers Liga MX players CONCACAF Championship–winning players CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players 20th-century Mexican sportsmen Deaths from cancer in Mexico