De Paul and Molina win the Copa América!
The duo join Baltazar, Godín, Forlán and Correa as the only Rojiblancos to have lifted the trophy while playing for Atlético de Madrid.
Argentina’s 1-0 win over Colombia in Miami on Monday saw Rodrigo de Paul and Nahuel Molina become Copa América champions and the fifth and sixth players in the history of Atlético de Madrid to have won this trophy while being members of our squad.
De Paul played the full 120 minutes of the final, while Nahuel came off the bench in the 72nd minute.
Argentina retained the title that a side containing Ángel Correa had previously won in 2021, before both de Paul and Molina had donned the Atlético shirt. This had brought an end to a 28-year drought since 1993, when a future Atlético legend was a key part of the midfield for the Albiceleste: Diego Pablo Simeone.
De Paul and Molina join their compatriot Correa, the Brazilian Baltazar and Uruguayans Diego Godín and Diego Forlán as the only Atlético players to have won the Copa América while at our club.
Baltazar lifted the trophy in 1989 after a spectacular debut campaign for the Rojiblancos where he scored 42 goals in 46 competitive games. This form saw him win the European Bronze Shoe for the 1988/89 season with 35 goals in LaLiga, and it also earned him a return to the Brazil side for the tournament after seven years without an international cap. The Atlético forward seized his opportunity and helped his side win the competition by netting in their 3-1 win over Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Godín and Forlán lifted the Copa América in 2011, ending a 16-year wait for Uruguay. The centre-back, who had struggled with physical problems since the start of the tournament, was still able to come on as a substitute in the final against Paraguay, which his side won 3-0 with two goals from ‘Cacha’, who was coming off the back of being named player of the tournament at the 2010 World Cup.
Along with Forlán and Godín, Uruguay’s winning squad also contained two players who would go on to wear the Atlético shirt in the future: Cristian ‘Cebolla’ Rodríguez and Luis Suárez. A number of our former players have won the tournament while representing other clubs. Six of these did so after their time with the Rojiblancos: Argentina’s Luis Islas in 1993, Sergio Agüero in 2021 and our former academy player Alejandro Garnacho in 2024, as well as the Brazilians Alemao (in 1989), João Miranda (in 2019) and Filipe Luis (also in 2019). The latter’s contract at our club had ended just seven days before the final, but he had earned his call-up for the Seleção through his performances in Madrid.
In addition to Cristian Rodríguez and Luis Suárez, the Brazilian Diego Ribas (2004 and 2007) and our current head coach Diego Pablo Simeone (1991 and 1993) won the Copa América before joining Atlético, while an additional four players all signed immediately after lifting the trophy.
This was the case for striker Atilio López Rivero, goalkeeper Carlos Adolfo Riquelme Miranda and defender Heriberto Herrera, all of whom won the 1953 edition with Paraguay. The first two featured for our club from 1953 to 1956, while the latter remained with us until his retirement in 1959. An excellent centre-back who was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, Herrera went on to make 88 appearances for the Rojiblancos and even made his debut in that same 1952/53 season, in a cup tie against Espanyol less than two months after his side had beaten Brazil 3-2 in the final.
Another big centre-back in Atlético’s history, Jorge Griffa, also joined recently after winning the Copa América, in this case the 1959 edition.
Additionally, three Copa América-winning coaches have been part of our setup at some point in their careers, before or after their international successes. Héctor Núñez, who won with Uruguay in 1995, was previously in charge of our club for five matches in the 1978/79 season, while Francisco ‘Pacho’ Maturana was our boss for nine games in 1994/95 before continental glory with Colombia in 2001. In that same 1994/95 campaign, Alfio ‘Coco’ Basile was head coach for 14 games after leading Argentina to victory in both 1991 and 1993.
These names all show the close connection between our club and the continent of South America, as two more Rojiblancos are crowned continental champions in 2024.
