The 11th of August, 2012 is an historic date for Mexican soccer. That day, the Mexican U-23 team took on Brazil in the Olympic Final at Wembly Stadium. Brazil were heavy favorites to win the gold medal with a talented squad that included Neymar, Thiago Silva, Marcelo, and the competition's top scorer in Leandro Damião. However, the "Tricolor", coached by Luis Fernando Tena, shocked the world and beat Brazil 2-1 to win Mexico's first ever Olympic gold medal in soccer.
An historic moment that will never be forgotten in Mexico, but what happened to those 18 players that won the Olympics? We dive in and take a look at what these gold medal winners have been up to since the London Olympics.
Some have enjoyed more success than others while one member of the team has already retired. Without futher ado, here are what those 18 players have done since winning the Olympic gold medal.
José de Jesús Corona
He has played the whole decade with Cruz Azul and continues to be the team's starting goalkeeper. Since playing in the 2012 Olympics, he has won four trophies with "The Blues", but none have included the Liga MX title.
Despite winning the gold medal in London, he has not been able to beat Guillermo Ochoa for the starting position on the national team.
José Antonio Rodríguez
He was playing for Veracruz at the time, on loan from Chiva Guadalajara, when he made the trip to London with the U-23 team. Veracruz tried to permantly sign him, but Chivas refused.
Since the Olympics, he has played for León, Tijuana, and Lobos before returning to Chivas in 2019 where he continues to be the team's starting goalkeeper.
Néstor Araujo
After playing his first seasons with Cruz Azul, the defender was transferred to Santos Laguna where he played for five seasons. In his time there, he would win four trophies, which included two Liga MX titles.
His great performances got him a move to La Liga where he signed for Celta Vigo in 2018. Within a short period, he would become a regular in the starting 11 and has been an instrumental player in the defense.
Darvin Chávez
He was playing for Monterrey when he received the call up to play for the Olympic team in 2012. At the beginning, he was an undisputed starter, but began to lose his place in team over the years.
After a short spell with Veracruz, he was transferred to FF Jaro of Finland. He continues to apply his trait in Finland, currently playing for SJK Seinäjoki where he was transferred in 2020.
Israel Jiménez
He has played most of his career with Tigres UANL and won a total of 12 titles with the club.
In the middle of 2019, he was loaned out to FC Juárez where he continues to play. It would be his third Mexican team in his career after playing in 2014 with Club Tijuana.
Hiram Mier
A product of the Monterrey youth system, his early performances made him one of the most promising youngsters in Mexico. This resulted in him getting called to play for the Olympic team in 2012.
In 2016, he was loaned out and then purchased by Querétaro. He currently plays for Chivas, who bought him in 2019 before the Clausura Tournament.
Miguel Ponce
Although he did not play much in the 2012 London Olympics, he was still a part of the team that won the gold medal. At that time, he was playing for Chivas.
Since the Olympics, he has been loaned out on two occassion to Toluca and Necaxa. He is back at Chivas where he is a regular starter for the club.
Diego Reyes
He was one of Mexico's most important defenders in the Olympics. In that moment, he was playing for América and was one of the league's most promising players.
It did not take long for him to get interest from European clubs and he moved in 2013 to Portugal to sign for FC Porto. Since then, he has gone on to play for other European clubs, such as Fenerbahce, Real Sociedad, Espanyol, and Leganés.
Carlos Salcido
He was one of Mexico's over 23 players that Olympic regulations allowed and his experience was a crucial part in the team's success. At that time, he was playing for Tigres UANL, but he had previously played in Europe with clubs such as PSV Eindhoven of Holanda and Fulham on the English Premier League.
In 2014, he returned to Chivas, the club where he began his career. He would go on to win a total of five trophies, which included the 2017 Apertura title. He would play his final season with Veracruz before retiring in 2019.
Néstor Vidrio
After beginning his career with Atlas, his great performances lead him to a move to Pachuca where he would continue to showcase his great talent. That earned him a place to in the Olympic team for the London Olympics.
However, after winning the gold medal, his career did not go the way many believed it would. He had an unsuccessful spell at Chivas and his experiences at others clubs have not gone well either. After Chivas, he played for Dorados, Juárez, Cimarrones de Sonora, Leones Negros, and is currently at Puebla.
Javier Aquino
A product of the Cruz Azul youth system, he quickly showed why he would be an vital player for the U-23 team's success in the London Olympics. After three season with "The Blues", he was transferred to Spain where he would play for Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano.
He returned to Mexico in 2015 to play for Tigres UANL where he has helped the club win a number of titles. He continues to play for Tigres and is a regular in the starting 11.
Jorge Enríquez
At the time of the 2012 Olympic, he was playing for Chivas where he enjoyed his best period as a player. By 2015, his performances had dropped and he began bouncing around different Mexican clubs.
He played for León, Coras de Tepic, Santos Laguna, and Puebla before getting the chance to finally play in Europe. He enjoyed a short spell in Chipre with Omonia Nicosia and then moved to Spain to join second division side Salamanca where he currently plays.
Héctor Herrera
The former Pachuca strikers enjoyed a great periods in Portugal with FC Porto where he eventually became captain and helped the club win the league title in 2018.
In 2019, Diego Simeone took great interest in him and Herrera would move to Spain to play for Atlético de Madrid.
Javier Cortés
Before the London Olympics, he was playing for Pumas and proved to be an instrumental player as he helped the club win the 2011 Clasura Tournament. After winning the gold medal, he continued with the "Universitarios" until 2017 when he moved to Santos Laguna.
In 2018, the club would win the Clausura Tournament, which would be his third Liga MX title. He was transferred at the beginning of 2020 to Atlético de San Luis as he searched for more playing time.
Giovani dos Santos
He was playing in Spain for Mallorca during the Olympic games, but he had already played for various sides across Europe. Some of those teams included Barcelona, Tottenham, and Galatasaray. After winning the gold medal, he moved to Villarreal where he would enjoy his best spell in Europe.
In 2015, Dos Santos left Europe to sign for MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy. He played three years for them before moving back to Mexico to sign for América where he is currently playing.
Marco Fabián
He played an important role in helping the national team win the Olympic gold medal. Apart from a 2014 spell with Cruz Azul, he played most of his Liga MX career with Chivas.
In 2016, he moved to the Bundesliga to play for Eintracht Frankfurt where he would win the German Cup in 2018 against Bayern Munich. Afterwards, he moved to the MLS to play for the Philadelphia Union and later to Qatar where he is currently applying his trait with Al-Sadd Sports Club.
Raúl Jiménez
He was América's most promising player at the time of the London Olympics and is arguably the best player to come out of that gold medal team. After playing a few years with América, he was transferred to La Liga to play for Atlético de Madrid.
His lack of playing time led him to a move to Benfica in Portugal where he enjoyed a successful spell and would win two league titles. He later moved to Wolverhampton of the English Premier League where he is currently in the best form of his career and a regular on the Mexican national team.
Oribe Peralta
The most iconic player of that famous 2-1 victory over Brazil in the Olympic final. He scored both goals to win Mexico the gold medal. At that moment, he was playing for Santos Laguna and had previously played for other Mexican clubs, such as Morelia, León, Monterrey and Chiapas.
In 2014, he signed for América where he played for several seasons and won numerous titles. Today, he is currently playing for Chivas.
Luis Fernando Tena
The man in charge of that U-23 team that guided Mexico to the gold medal. Throughout his career, he has managed several clubs in Liga MX and has won championships with Cruz Azul and Morelia.
He is currently in charge of Chivas where he took over in 2019 and looks to take the club back to the very top.
