Mauricio Molina

Mauricio Alejandro Molina Uribe (American Spanish: [mawˈɾisjo moˈlina]; born 30 April 1980) is a retired Colombian football midfielder, who ended his professional career playing for Independiente Medellín.

This article is about the Colombian footballer. For the Argentine professional golfer, see Mauricio Molina (golfer).

Mauricio Molina
Molina in 2008
Personal information
Full name Mauricio Alejandro Molina Uribe
Date of birth (1980-04-30) 30 April 1980
Place of birth Medellín, Colombia
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Playmaker, Deep-lying striker
Youth career
1997–1998 Envigado
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2001 Envigado 83 (25)
2001–2002 Santa Fé 16 (5)
2002–2003 Independiente Medellín 43 (14)
2003–2004 Morelia 24 (1)
2004–2005 Al Ain 10 (0)
2005–2007 Independiente Medellín 16 (5)
2006 → San Lorenzo (loan) 24 (0)
2007 → Olimpia (loan) 17 (5)
2007–2008 Red Star Belgrade 11 (2)
2008–2009 Santos 20 (8)
2009–2010 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 46 (21)
2011–2015 FC Seoul 159 (46)
2016–2017 Independiente Medellín 60 (11)
National team
2001–2003 Colombia 12 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 December 2017

Club career

Molina started his career in Colombian side Envigado at the age of 16. He soon made his way up to the first team and was transferred to Independiente Santa Fé. around his stint through Santa Fe, After a serious injury he returned to the pitch in 2002 playing for Independiente Medellín where he led the team to its first national championship in 45 years and the third overall. In 2003, he helped the team reach the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores. After the successful campaign with Independiente Medellín he moved to CA Morelia of Mexico until 2004. After Morelia, Molina went to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to play for the Al Ain FC where he stayed for a semester, after which he returned to his best memories with Independiente Medellin for another semester. Molina then played for San Lorenzo de Almagro of Argentina from 2005 to 2006. In 2007, Molina signed with Paraguayan Club Olimpia de Asunción where he played the first semester of the year. After a very successful campaign with the team in which he was the co-scorer with 10 goals, Molina was transfer for the second semester of 2007 to the Serbian club FK Crvena Zvezda, also known as Red Star Belgrade, in which Molina makes his debut in the European football.

Molina prepares to include himself in the lines of a great club: Brazilian Santos. He made his debut as a Santos player on 13 February 2008, starting against Cúcuta Deportivo of Colombia in the 2008 Copa Libertadores.[2]

In July 2009, Molina moves to South Korean club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma for $1,275,000.[3] In his first K-League match for Seongnam, he scored debut goal against Pohang Steelers. In all K-league competitions Molina scored 22 goals along with 11 assists in 50 appearances for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma and in 2010 Molina and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma won the AFC Champions League 2010.[4]

On 24 January 2011, Molina signed for K League Classic side FC Seoul on a three-year contract.[4][5]

On 31 December 2015, Molina returned to Independiente Medellín, where he played for two more seasons before finally retiring from professional football, tenure during which he acted as a co-captain for the team and helped them win the 2016 Torneo Apertura, his second with the club and their 6th league title overall.

International career

At the national team level, he was part of the Colombia national football team that won the 2001 Copa América.

Career statistics

K League
Correct as of 30 November 2015.
Club Season K League Classic KFA Cup League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Apps Goals Assists
Seongnam
Ilhwa Chunma		 200917103211000N/AN/A 19114
201029117320411117 47218
Seongnam
Total		 462110531411117663212
FC Seoul 201129101221100082 391313
2012411819210–––N/AN/A 431919
201335913111–––131 491114
20141953401–––40 2754
201535411511–––71 47612
Seoul
Total		 159465814440003242055462
Career Total 205 67 68 19 7 5 4 1 1 43 11 271 86 74

International goals
Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreFinalCompetition
1.17 July 2003Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States Guatemala1–11–12003 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Honours

Club
Independiente Medellin
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
FC Seoul

International
Colombia

Individual

References
  1. "M. Molina". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  2. "Leão poupa estreantes estrangeiros de críticas" (in Portuguese). Terra Esportes. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
  3. "Molina moves to Seongnam Ilhwa". SportsYa. Archived from the original on 20 July 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  4. "FC Seoul brings Molina and Kim Dong-jin". fcseoul.com. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  5. "FC서울, '최고의 왼발' 몰리나 영입" (in Korean). fcseoul.com. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
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