Mauricio Molina

Mauricio Molina
	Molina in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Mauricio Alejandro Molina Uribe
Date of birth	30 April 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth	Medellín, Colombia
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Playmaker, second striker
Youth career
1997–1998	Envigado
Senior career*
Years	Team
1998–2001	Envigado
2001–2002	Santa Fé
2002–2003	Medellín
2003–2004	Morelia
2004–2005	Al Ain
2005–2007	Medellín
2006	→ San Lorenzo (loan)
2007	→ Olimpia (loan)
2007–2008	Crverna_Zveda
2008–2009	Santos
2009–2010	Seongnam FC
2011–2015	FC Seoul
2016–2017	Medellín
International career
2001–2003	Colombia
Medal record
Representing Colombia
Copa América
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mauricio Alejandro Molina Uribe (Latin American Spanish: [mawˈɾisjo moˈlina]; born 30 April 1980) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

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 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 prepared 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 international level, Molina was part of the Colombia national team that won the 2001 Copa América.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			KFA Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	2009	K League 1	17	10	2	1	0	0	—		—		19	11
	2010	K League 1	29	11	3	2	4	1	11	7	—		47	21
	Total		46	21	!5	3	4	1	11	7	—		66	32
FC Seoul	2011	K League 1	29	10	2	1	0	0	8	2	—		39	13
	2012		41	18	2	1	—		—		—		43	19
	2013		35	9	1	1	—		13	1	—		49	11
	2014		19	5	4	0	—		4	0	—		27	5
	2015		35	4	5	1	—		7	1	—		47	6
	Total		159	46	14	4	0	0	32	4	—		205	54
Medellín	2016	Categoría Primera A	39	9	4	2	—		8	0	—		51	11
	2017	Categoría Primera A	21	2	5	1	—		4	0	2	0	32	3
	Total		60	11	9	3	—		12	0	2	0	83	14
Career total			265	78	28	10	4	1	55	11	2	0	354	100