Omar de la Cruz (footballer)

José Omar de la Cruz Mangas (born 26 August 2001) is a footballer who plays as a midfielder for Patriotas Boyacá in the Colombian Categoría Primera A. Born in Spain, he represents the Dominican Republic internationally.

Club career
De la Cruz was born in Ibiza in the Balearic Islands, to a father from the Dominican Republic and a local mother. He began playing futsal for CE Insular and then for Penya Blanc i Blava. Aged 14, he moved to live with a relative in Rubí in the Province of Barcelona in order to trial for UE Rubí, going on to further develop his game at Cerdanyola del Vallès FC and CF Damm before joining RCD Mallorca in his native islands.

De la Cruz played for the reserve teams of Mallorca and CD Calahorra, the latter in the Tercera División, while also playing for the first team of the latter in Segunda División B in 2020–21. In January 2022, he went back to his birthplace by signing for CD Ibiza Islas Pitiusas of the Segunda Federación. Eighteen months later, he left the relegated club and remained in the fourth tier at SCR Peña Deportiva.

In July 2024, De la Cruz left Spanish football for the first time, signing with Patriotas Boyacá in the Colombian Categoría Primera A.

International career
In November 2020, 19-year-old De la Cruz was called up for the Dominican Republic national football team for friendlies against Caribbean neighbours. However, the games were cancelled as many players were coming from Spain, where COVID-19 cases were increasing.

De la Cruz played three games for the Dominican Republic national under-23 football team in March 2021, in qualification for the Olympic tournament in Japan. They lost to Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica. Weeks earlier, he was an unused substitute for the senior team in a friendly with Serbia.

De la Cruz was called up for the 2024 Olympic football in France. He became the first Ibizan to take part in the event's history.