Álex Craninx

Álex Craninx
Personal information
Full name Alexandro Marco Craninx Joostens
Date of birth (1995-10-21) 21 October 1995 (age 29)[1]
Place of birth Málaga, Spain[2]
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 5+1⁄2 in)[3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Gnistan
Youth career
2000–2008 La Laguna
2008–2011 Fuengirola
2011 Marbella
2011–2014 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Real Madrid C 14 (0)
2015–2017 Real Madrid B 4 (0)
2017–2018 Jong Sparta 10 (0)
2018 Cartagena 0 (0)
2018–2022 Molde 17 (0)
2021 → Lillestrøm (loan) 2 (0)
2022 → Seraing (loan) 0 (0)
2023–2024 CF Fuenlabrada 16 (0)
2025– Gnistan 0 (0)
International career‡
2013 Belgium U18 3 (0)
2013 Belgium U19 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 November 2013

Alejandro "Álex" Marco Craninx Joostens (born 21 October 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Veikkausliiga club IF Gnistan.[4]

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in Málaga, Andalusia, Craninx joined Real Madrid's La Fábrica in 2011, from UD Marbella.[5] He made his senior debut with the C-team on 5 October 2014, starting in a 1–1 Tercera División home draw against AD Unión Adarve.

On 15 July 2015, Craninx renewed his contract and was promoted to the B-team in Segunda División B,[6] but acted as a backup to Alfonso Herrero and Carlos Abad during his spell.

Sparta Rotterdam

On 25 July 2017, Craninx signed for Sparta Rotterdam, but was assigned to the reserve side in the Tweede Divisie.[7]

Cartagena

On 31 January 2018, Craninx returned to Spain after agreeing to a six-month contract with third division side FC Cartagena.[8]

Molde

On 27 July 2018, Craninx agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Norwegian club Molde.[9] He made his first team debut in the Molde's Norwegian Cup first round match against Eide/Omegn on 1 May 2019, a game Molde won 5−0.[10] He got his league debut on 26 May in Molde's 1−2 loss against Tromsø on 26 May 2019.[11] He made his debut in UEFA competitions in Molde's 7–1 win over KR in the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round on 11 July 2019.[12] He played 14 games and kept a clean sheet in four of them in the club's title-winning 2019 season. Craninx got 25 appearances in all competitions. On 3 December 2019, Molde announced that Craninx had agreed to an extension of his contract that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2023 season.[13]

On 31 January 2022, Craninx was loaned to Seraing until the end of the season.[14]

On 31 January 2023, Craninx was released by Molde.[15]

CF Fuenlabrada

On 8 February 2023, Craninx signed for CF Fuenlabrada on a short-term contract until the end of the season.[16]

Gnistan

On 17 December 2024, Finnish Veikkausliiga club IF Gnistan announced the signing of Craninx on a 1+1-year deal, starting in January 2025[17]

International career

Born in Spain, Craninx has played a total of 6 games for Belgium at youth international level.[18]

Career statistics

As of match played 24 May 2021[19][20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Real Madrid C 2013–14 Segunda División B 0 0 — — — 0 0
2014–15 Tercera División 14 0 — — — 14 0
Total 14 0 — — — — — — 14 0
Real Madrid Castilla 2015–16 Segunda División B 1 0 — — — 1 0
2016–17 Segunda División B 3 0 — — — 3 0
Total 4 0 — — — — — — 4 0
Jong Sparta 2017–18 Tweede Divisie 10 0 — — — 10 0
Sparta Rotterdam 2017–18 Eredivisie 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Cartagena 2017–18 Segunda División B 0 0 — — — 0 0
Molde 2018 Eliteserien 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2019 Eliteserien 14 0 3 0 8[a] 0 — 25 0
2020 Eliteserien 3 0 0 0 0 0 — 3 0
2021 Eliteserien 0 0 1 0 0 0 – 1 0
2022 Eliteserien 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
Total 17 0 4 0 8 0 — — 29 0
Lillestrøm (loan) 2021 Eliteserien 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 0
Seraing (loan) 2021–22 Belgian Pro League 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
CF Fuenlabrada 2022–23 Primera Federación 16 0 — — — 16 0
2023–24 Primera Federación 0 0 — — — 0 0
Total 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
Gnistan 2025 Veikkausliiga 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 0 0
Career total 69 0 4 0 8 0 0 0 82 0
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Molde

References

  1. ^ "Alexandro Craninx Spelerinfo". www.belgianfootball.be (in Dutch). Royal Belgian Football Association. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Alexandro Craninx Real Madrid profile". www.realmadrid.com. Real Madrid. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Alexandro Craninx profile". www.moldefk.no (in Norwegian). Molde FK. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  4. ^ Álex Craninx at WorldFootball.net
  5. ^ "Alex Craninx va marcher sur les traces de Casillas" [Alex Craninx will follow the footsteps of Casillas] (in French). DH.be. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  6. ^ "El Real Madrid renueva al 'nuevo Courtois'" [Real Madrid renew the 'new Courtois'] (in Spanish). Defensa Central. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Craninx goes to Sparta Rotterdam". Marca. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  8. ^ "OFICIAL | Alex Craninx, un refuerzo de altura para la portería del líder" [OFFICIAL | Alex Craninx, an addition of height for the goal of the leader] (in Spanish). FC Cartagena. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  9. ^ "Ny keeper signert!". moldefk.no (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Eide vs. Molde 0-5". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Tromsø vs. Molde 2-1". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Molde 7-1 KR". www.soccerway.com. Soccerway. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Alex fornyer kontrakten!". moldefk.no/ (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  14. ^ "MERCATO : BIENVENUE À ALEX CRANINX !" (Press release) (in French). Seraing. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  15. ^ "TAKK, ALEX!". moldefk.no/ (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  16. ^ "ÁLEX CRANINX NUEVO PORTERO DEL FUENLABRADA" [ÁLEX CRANINX NEW FUENLABRADA GOALKEEPER]. www.cffuenlabrada.es (in Spanish). 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  17. ^ IF GNISTAN SOPIMUKSEEN MAALIVAHTI ALEX CRANINXIN KANSSA, gnistan.fi, 17 December 2024
  18. ^ "Alexandro Craninx international profile". belgianfootball.be (in Dutch). Royal Belgian Football Association. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  19. ^ Álex Craninx at Soccerway
  20. ^ "Alexandro Marco Craninx". www.fotball.no. Football Association of Norway. Retrieved 28 May 2019.