Jesús Antonio Molina Granados (born 29 March 1988) is a Mexican former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Club career

UANL

Jesús Molina debuted with

Tigres UANL Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...

on 24 August 2007 in a 1–2 defeat against

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. During the Apertura 2007 tournament he made eight appearances under then-manager

Américo Gallego Américo Rubén "El Tolo" Gallego (born 25 April 1955) is an Argentine football coach and former player. As a midfielder, he played 73 times for the Argentina national team during his playing career. Playing career As a player, Gallego debut ...

. The following Clausura 2008 tournament, Molina only made one appearance against

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whic ...

in a 1–6 defeat on 14 February. Molina scored his first goal for UANL on 10 May 2009 in a 1–1 draw against Monarcas Morelia. During the Clausura 2010 tournament, Molina scored six goals in thirteen appearances. For the Clausura 2011, his final tournament with UANL, Molina made sixteen appearances and scored one goal.

América

On 8 June 2011 Molina was officially transferred to

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

for the Apertura 2011 tournament. He made his official debut on 24 July 2011 in a 2–1 victory against

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...

. He then went on to become a champion with América in the Clausura 2013 tournament and in the Apertura 2014 tournament. Molina scored his first goal for América on 25 February 2012 in a 4–0 victory against Atlante.

Santos Laguna

On 1 January 2015 Molina was officially transferred to

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in the Liga MX. It is located in northern Mexico and represents the urban area of La Comarca Lagunera, made up o ...

for the Clausura 2015 tournament. He made his official debut on 18 January 2015 in a 0–1 loss against

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

. He then went to become a champion with

in the Clausura 2015 tournament. Molina scored his first goal for Santos Laguna on 24 January 2015 in a 4–1 victory against

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

Monterrey

In December 2016, Molina joined

C.F. Monterrey Club de Fútbol Monterrey, often known simply as Monterrey or their nickname Rayados, is a Mexican professional football club based in Monterrey, Nuevo León which currently plays in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football. Founded on 28 ...

Guadalajara

In December 2018, Molina joined

C.D. Guadalajara Club Deportivo Guadalajara (); often simply known as Guadalajara () and their nickname ''Chivas'' (), is a Mexican professional football club based in Zapopan, Jalisco. Guadalajara is one of the ten founding members of the Mexican First Divi ...

. On 6 January 2019, he made his debut with Guadalajara, as a starter, in a 2–0 victory over

Club Tijuana Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, commonly known as Tijuana, or simply as '' Xolos'', is a Mexican professional football club based in Tijuana. The club's badge is the founder's (Jorge Hank) hairless xoloitzcuintle, Hermoso. Founded ...

. On 27 October, he scored his first goal with Guadalajara in a 2–1 victory over Juárez. Shortly after the arrival of

Tomás Boy Tomás Juan Boy Espinoza (28 June 1951 – 8 March 2022) was a Mexican professional manager and footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his technical skills and field vision, Boy is considered as one of the greatest Mexica ...

as new manager of the club, in June 2019, Molina was named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the team for the upcoming season.

International career

Molina made his debut for

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

on 17 March 2010 in a friendly match against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

, which Mexico won 2–1. In May 2018, Molina was named in the preliminary 28-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...

for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, but did not make the final 23.

Career statistics

International

Honours

Tigres UANL * SuperLiga:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

América *

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

: Clausura 2013, Apertura 2014 Santos Laguna *

: Clausura 2015 *

Campeon de Campeones Campeon (NOM: 1107, DOT: 94) is a tequila produced from Blue Agave grown in the Eastern Highlands of Jalisco in Mexico. Campeon has received several medals in the 2011 San Francisco World Spirits Competition The San Francisco World Spirits Co ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Monterrey *

Copa MX The Copa MX (formerly called Copa Tower Monterrey, Copa Eliminatoria, Copa México and Copa Corona MX (for sponsorship reasons)) was a Mexican football cup competition that was established in 1907. After a lengthy hiatus that began in 1997, it wa ...

: Apertura 2017 Individual *

Best XI: Clausura 2015

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Molina, Jesus 1988 births Living people Footballers from Hermosillo Tigres UANL footballers Club América footballers Santos Laguna footballers C.F. Monterrey players Liga MX players Men's association football midfielders Mexico men's international footballers 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players Copa América Centenario players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Mexican men's footballers