Álex Baena

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Baena and the second or maternal family name is Rodríguez.
Álex Baena
Baena with Spain U19 in 2019
Personal information
Full name Alejandro Baena Rodríguez
Date of birth (2001-07-20) 20 July 2001 (age 22)
Place of birth Roquetas de Mar, Spain
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, left winger
Team information
Current team
 Villarreal
Number 16
Youth career
2007–2011 Roquetas
2011–2019 Villarreal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Villarreal C 1 (0)
2019–2021 Villarreal B 23 (0)
2020– Villarreal 69 (8)
2021–2022 → Girona (loan) 38 (5)
International career‡
2017 Spain U16 3 (2)
2017–2018 Spain U17 11 (3)
2018–2019 Spain U18 10 (3)
2019–2020 Spain U19 7 (0)
2019 Spain U20 5 (1)
2022–2023 Spain U21 12 (2)
2023– Spain 2 (1)
Medal record
Representing  Spain
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Runner-up 2023 Georgia–Romania
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 April 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 March 2024 (UTC)

Alejandro "Álex" Baena Rodríguez (born 20 July 2001) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Villarreal and the Spain national team.

Club career[edit]

Baena was born in Roquetas de Mar, Almería, Andalusia, and joined Villarreal CF's youth setup in 2011, from CD Roquetas.[1][2] He made his senior debut with the C-team on 21 December 2018, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 Tercera División home win against UD Rayo Ibense.[3]

Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Baena was assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B, and made his debut for the side on 14 September 2019 by starting in a 3–0 win at UE Llagostera.[4] On 13 July of the following year, he made his first team – and La Liga – debut, replacing fellow youth graduate Manu Trigueros in a 1–2 home loss against Real Sociedad.[5]

Baena scored his first professional goal on 5 November 2020, netting his team's third in a 4–0 UEFA Europa League home routing of Maccabi Tel Aviv FC.[6] Seven days later, he renewed his contract until 2025.[7]

On 19 August 2021, Baena moved to Segunda División side Girona FC on a one-year loan deal.[8] He returned to the Yellow Submarine after being a starter in the Catalans' promotion, and scored a brace in a 3–0 away win over Real Valladolid on 13 August 2022.

On 26 August 2022, Baena and teammate Nicolas Jackson were fully promoted to the main squad.[9]

International career[edit]

Baena represented Spain at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-20 levels, appearing in the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[citation needed]

In August 2023, Baena received his first call-up to the Spain senior national team by head coach Luis de la Fuente, for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Georgia and Cyprus.[10] Baena went on to score his first goal for Spain on his debut against Cyprus in a 6–0 win.

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of match played 1 April 2024[11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Copa del Rey Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Villarreal C 2019–20 Tercera División 1 0 — — — 1 0
Villarreal B 2019–20 Segunda División B 23 0 — — — 23 0
2020–21 Segunda División B 0 0 — — — 0 0
Total 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 0
Villarreal 2019–20 La Liga 1 0 1 0 — — 2 0
2020–21 La Liga 6 0 5 0 9[a] 2 — 20 2
2022–23 La Liga 35 6 4 2 9[b] 4 — 48 12
2023–24 La Liga 27 2 3 1 8[a] 2 — 38 5
Total 69 8 13 3 26 8 0 0 108 19
Girona (loan) 2021–22 Segunda División 38 5 3 0 — 4[c] 0 45 5
Career total 131 13 16 3 26 8 4 0 177 24
  1. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  3. ^ Appearances in La Liga play-offs

International[edit]

As of match played 22 March 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Spain 2023 1 1
2024 1 0
Total 2 1
As of match played 12 September 2023
Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Merino goal
List of international goals scored by Mikel Merino
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 12 September 2023 Nuevo Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain 1  Cyprus 6–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours[edit]

Villarreal

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Álex Baena, la 'perla' que brilla en el filial" [Álex Baena, the 'pearl' who shines in the reserves] (in Spanish). El Periódico Mediterráneo. 3 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Álex Baena, jugador roquetero del Villarreal, ha sido convocado por la selección española sub16" [Álex Baena, Roquetas-born Villarreal player, was called up to the Spain national under-16 team] (in Spanish). Roquetas de Mar. 26 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Un eléctrico Villarreal C congela al Rayo Ibense" [An electric Villarreal C freeze Rayo Ibense] (in Spanish). Golsmedia. 21 December 2018. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  4. ^ "El Villarreal CF B golea en Llagostera y sigue líder" [Villarreal CF B thrash in Llagostera and remain leader] (in Spanish). Golsmedia. 14 September 2019. Archived from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  5. ^ "La Real Sociedad despierta a tiempo y se mete en la pelea por Europa" [Real Sociedad wake up right on time and get inside the fight for Europa] (in Spanish). Marca. 13 July 2020. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Villarreal 4–0 Maccabi Tel-Aviv". UEFA.com. 5 November 2020. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  7. ^ "The Villarreal of the future". Villarreal CF. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Álex Baena, loaned to Girona FC". Villarreal CF. 19 August 2021. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Baena and Jackson officially become first-team players". Villarreal CF. 26 August 2022. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Lista de convocados para los partidos contra Georgia y Chipre" [Squad list for matches against Georgia and Cyprus]. rfef.es (in European Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  11. ^ Álex Baena at BDFutbol
  12. ^ "Who is Alex Baena? Arsenal and Liverpool target set for Premier League transfer battle". Mirror. 26 September 2022. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Álex Baena.
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