Mauricio Alejandro Molina Uribe (; 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 in 2001.
In 2002 he joined Independiente Medellín and later that year 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 Al Ain 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 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 transferred for the second semester of 2007 to Red Star Belgrade, his first European club.
In 2008, he joined Brazilian club Santos. He made his debut as a Santos player on 13 February 2008, starting against Cúcuta Deportivo of Colombia in the 2008 Copa Libertadores. He scored his first goal for the club on 24 February, in a 4-1 Campeonato Paulista victory against Ituano. On 27 July 2008, he scored twice in a 5–2 victory against Vasco. At the time he departed the club, he became the 2nd highest scoring foreign player in Santos history, with 17 goals.
In July 2009, Molina moves to South Korean club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma for $1,275,000. He scored in his debut against the Pohang Steelers. In all K-League competitions, Molina scored 22 goals along with 11 assists in 50 appearances for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. Molina was an instrumental player for the Korean club during the path to the 2010 AFC Champions League title, where he scored seven goals.
On 24 January 2011, Molina signed for K League Classic side FC Seoul on a three-year contract. He had an excellent 2012 season, where he scored 19 goals in 43 appearances and won the league title.
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 competitionClubSeasonLeagueKFA CupLeague CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSeongnam Ilhwa Chunma2009K League 117102100——1911201029113241117—4721Total4621!5341117—6632FC Seoul2011K League 12910210082—39132012411821———4319201335911—131—4911201419540—40—275201535451—71—476Total1594614400324—20554Medellín2016Categoría Primera A39942—80—5111201721251—4020323Total601193—120208314Career total26578281041551120354100
International Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first. # Date Venue Opponent Score Final Competition1.17 July 2003Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States1–11–12003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Honours Independiente Medellin Categoría Primera A: 2002-II, 2016-I
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma AFC Champions League: 2010
FC Seoul K League: 2012 Korean FA Cup: 2015
Colombia Copa América: 2001
Individual FIFA Club World Cup top scorer: 2010 (three goals) K League Best XI: 2010, 2012 K League Top Assists Award: 2012, 2013
Notes
References
External links Mao Molina Fansite
Mauricio Molina at mediotiempo.com (archived) Mauricio Molina at santos.globo.com (archived)