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 lea ...

who played as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Club career

UANL

Jesús Molina debuted with

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

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, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. 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 and Information Gallego s ...

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

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

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, is a professional association football, 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, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

. 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 Atlante or Atlantes may refer to: * Atlantes, the plural of Atlas (architecture), an architectural support in the form of a man * Atlante San Alejo, a Salvadoran football club * Atlante F.C., a Mexican football club * Atlante (private equity fund) ...

Santos Laguna

On 1 January 2015 Molina was officially transferred to

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

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 S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

. 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 (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Monterrey

In December 2016, Molina joined

C.F. Monterrey Club de Fútbol Monterrey Rayados, A.C., simply known as Monterrey or by its nickname Rayados, is a Mexican professional association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León, that plays in Liga MX, the top d ...

Guadalajara

In December 2018, Molina joined

C.D. Guadalajara Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A de C.V. (;), nicknamed ''"Chivas"'' () and simply known as Guadalajara or internationally as Chivas de Guadalajara, is a Mexican professional football club based in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, Jalisco. It ...

. 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, simply known as Tijuana or Xolos, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Tijuana, Baja California, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. The club ...

. 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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the team for the upcoming season.

International career

Molina made his debut for

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

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 borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, 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 organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

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 name is ...

, but did not make the final 23.

Career statistics

International

Honours

Tigres UANL *

SuperLiga Superliga (''super league'') may refer to: Sports Superliga can refer to different sports leagues: Association football *Albanian Superliga, the Albanian top-flight men's division * Argentine Superliga, the Argentine top-flight men's division *D ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

América *

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

: Clausura 2013, Apertura 2014 Santos Laguna *

: Clausura 2015 *

Campeon de Campeones Campeon is a brand of tequila produced from Blue Agave, grown in the Eastern Highlands of Jalisco in Mexico. The drink received considerable recognition during the San Francisco World Spirits Competition The San Francisco World Spirits Compet ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Monterrey *

Copa MX Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

: 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 21st-century Mexican sportsmen