Jorge Molina
Molina celebrating a goal with Elche in 2010
Personal information
Full name Jorge Molina Vidal[1]
Date of birth (1982-04-22) 22 April 1982[1]
Place of birth Alcoy, Spain
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-forward
Youth career
Alcoyano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2002 Alcoyano 28 (12)
2002–2004 Benidorm 18 (7)
2004–2005 Gandía 22 (5)
2005–2007 Benidorm 72 (34)
2007–2009 Poli Ejido 66 (24)
2009–2010 Elche 38 (26)
2010–2016 Betis 180 (66)
2016–2020 Getafe 147 (46)
2020–2023 Granada 93 (21)
Total 664 (241)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jorge Molina Vidal (born 22 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward.

A late bloomer, he began to play professional football at 25 with Poli Ejido. He represented mainly Betis during his career, achieving two promotions to La Liga and scoring 77 goals in 213 matches in all competitions in the process.[2] In the Spanish top division, he also represented Getafe and Granada, totalling 289 games and 73 goals over nine seasons.[3]

Club career

Early years

Molina was born in Alcoy, Province of Alicante. Until the age of 23, he only played in the Tercera División, representing CD Alcoyano, Benidorm CF and CF Gandía. In 2005 he re-joined Benidorm, now in Segunda División B.[4]

Molina made his professional debut in 2007–08, playing in Segunda División with Polideportivo Ejido. It would be a short-lived experience, as his five goals – squad-best, tied with three other players – in 30 matches, were not enough to prevent relegation. On 29 October 2008, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 home win against Villarreal CF in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey (6–1 on aggregate).[5]

In the summer of 2009, both Molina and teammate Juli signed with another side in the second division, Elche CF.[6] His debut season was nothing short of spectacular, as he led the scoring charts with 26; on 19 June 2010, even though none of the teams left had anything to play for, he scored four times in the 4–1 home victory over champions Real Sociedad.[7]

Betis

On 29 June 2010, Molina moved to Andalusia's Real Betis (also in the second tier) for €1.6 million, with the player signing a four-year contract;[8] if his new club managed to promote at the end of the season, Elche were entitled to a €500,000 bonus.[9] He scored 18 league goals in his first year (22 in all competitions), in spite of being sidelined for nearly three months with a knee injury.[10] On 19 January 2011, in the domestic cup, he scored twice against FC Barcelona in a 3–1 home win (6–3 aggregate loss in the quarter-finals), thus ending the Catalans' unbeaten run of 28 games.[11]

The attacking trio of Molina, Rubén Castro and midfielder Achille Emaná totalled more than 50 league goals in 2010–11, as Betis returned to La Liga after two years of absence.[12] He made his debut in the competition at the age of 29, playing 30 minutes in a 1–0 away defeat of Granada CF.[13] He scored his first goal on 15 October 2011, in a 4–1 loss to Real Madrid.[14]

Molina and his team achieved another promotion at the end of the 2014–15 campaign, with him contributing 19 goals.[15]

Getafe

On 24 June 2016, the 34-year-old Molina signed a two-year contract with Getafe CF on a free transfer.[16] He scored 20 goals in his first year, ranking fourth in the individual charts to help his team return to the top flight.[17]

On 31 August 2019, Molina scored in a 1–1 draw against Deportivo Alavés at the age of 37 years and 131 days, becoming the club's oldest player to achieve the feat in La Liga.[18]

Granada

Molina agreed to a two-year deal with Granada on 25 August 2020.[19] The following 29 April, he scored a header after coming on as a substitute against Barcelona, putting his team 2–1 ahead for their first ever win at the Camp Nou.[20]

On 19 December 2021, Molina scored his first hat-trick in the Spanish top tier, helping the hosts to beat RCD Mallorca 4–1 and becoming, at age 39, the oldest player to achieve this feat.[21] In July 2023, shortly after having achieved another promotion, he announced his retirement.[22]

Career statistics

As of match played 22 May 2022[23][24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Benidorm 2003–04 Tercera División ??21——2(?)1(?)
Gandía 2004–05 Tercera División ??———??
Benidorm 2005–06 Segunda División B 3512———3512
2006–07 Segunda División B 372220——3922
Total 72342000007434
Poli Ejido 2007–08 Segunda División 30510——315
2008–09 Segunda División B 361967—2[lower-alpha 1]04426
Total 66247700207531
Elche 2009–10 Segunda División 382611——3927
Betis 2010–11 Segunda División 341874——4122
2011–12 La Liga 26622——288
2012–13 La Liga 321361——3814
2013–14 La Liga 329417[lower-alpha 2]2—4312
2014–15 Segunda División 331941——3720
2015–16 La Liga 23130——261
Total 18066269720021377
Getafe 2016–17 Segunda División 392010—4[lower-alpha 3]24422
2017–18 La Liga 36700——367
2018–19 La Liga 381432——4116
2019–20 La Liga 3452161—427
Total 1474663614216352
Granada 2020–21 La Liga 3384414[lower-alpha 2]3—5115
2021–22 La Liga 351022——3712
Total 681866143008827
Career total 571214502727662654249
  1. ↑ Appearance(s) in Segunda División B play-offs
  2. 1 2 Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. ↑ Appearance(s) in La Liga play-offs

Honours

Betis

Granada

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Jorge Molina" (in Spanish). Getafe CF. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  2. ↑ Cejas, Antonio (12 May 2016). "Jorge Molina: "Para mi hija, ver el escudo del Betis es ver a papá directamente"" [Jorge Molina: "To my daughter, seeing Betis' badge is just like seeing daddy"]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Garteizgoxeascoa Gil, Aimara (16 July 2023). "Jorge Molina colgará las botas, pero seguirá en Granada" [Jorge Molina will hang up his boots, but will remain in Granada]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Aguilera, Javier (26 August 2020). "Jorge Molina, una incorporación histórica" [Jorge Molina, historic addition]. Granada Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "El Poli Ejido da el sorpresón al hacer una 'manita' al Villarreal" [Poli Ejido shock football world after handing Villarreal a 'fiver']. Marca (in Spanish). 29 October 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  6. ↑ "El Elche ficha a Jorge Molina y Julián Cerdá del Poli Ejido" [Elche sign Jorge Molina and Julián Cerdá from Poli Ejido]. Diario Información (in Spanish). 11 June 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  7. 1 2 Romero, J. C. (20 June 2010). "Jorge Molina marca los cuatro goles y acaba 'pichichi' de la división de plata" [Jorge Molina scores all four goals to end silver division 'pichichi']. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "Mercado: Es oficial, el Betis cierra los fichajes de Momo y Jorge Molina" [Market: it's official, Betis close deals for Momo and Jorge Molina] (in Spanish). Goal. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "El Betis hace oficial el fichaje de Jorge Molina" [Betis make Jorge Molina's signing official] (in Spanish). esFutbol. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  10. ↑ "Pepe Mel estará sin Jorge Molina tres meses" [Pepe Mel will be without Jorge Molina for three months] (in Spanish). Fútbol de Segunda. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  11. ↑ "Betis ends Barcelona's unbeaten streak". ESPN. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  12. ↑ Espina, José A. (4 September 2011). "Molina y Rubén prometen goles también en Primera" [Molina and Rubén also promise goals in Primera]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  13. ↑ Pineda, Rafael (27 August 2011). "Rubén Castro hace justicia" [Rubén Castro does justice]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  14. ↑ "Higuain bags hat-trick". ESPN Soccernet. 15 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  15. 1 2 Pineda, Rafael (25 May 2015). "Las siete claves del ascenso del Betis" [The seven keys of Betis' promotion]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  16. ↑ "Jorge Molina ficha por el Getafe" [Jorge Molina signs for Getafe]. ABC (in Spanish). 24 June 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  17. ↑ "Jorge Molina (Getafe): 20 goles, 5 asistencias, 53 tiros y 43 regates" [Jorge Molina (Getafe): 20 goals, 5 assists, 53 shots and 43 dribbles]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 June 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  18. ↑ Munday, Billy (31 August 2019). "Alaves maintain unbeaten start with draw at Getafe". Marca. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  19. ↑ "Jorge Molina ficha por el Granada CF para las próximas dos temporadas" [Jorge Molina signs for Granada CF for the following two seasons] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  20. ↑ "Barcelona 1–2 Granada: Hosts miss chance to go top of La Liga with defeat". BBC Sport. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  21. ↑ Rodríguez, M.Á. (19 December 2021). "Jorge Molina adelanta la Navidad en Granada" [Jorge Molina brings Christmas to Granada earlier]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  22. ↑ Pérez, Juande (14 July 2023). "Otro histórico del Betis que se retira" [Another Betis legend retires]. Estadio Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  23. ↑ Jorge Molina at BDFutbol
  24. ↑ Jorge Molina at Soccerway
  25. ↑ "Betis: "El Betis puede ganarle a cualquiera", avisa Pepe Mel al Real Madrid" [Betis: "Betis can beat anybody", Pepe Mel warns Real Madrid] (in Spanish). Goal. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  26. ↑ Arenillas, Álvaro (27 May 2023). "Paco López no recuerda algo igual" [Paco López does not remember anything like this]. Estadio Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 June 2023.
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