Aarón Padilla (footballer, born 1977)

Aarón Padilla Mota (born 13 August 1977) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played twice for his country. He played in the Liga MX for Atlante, América, Necaxa, Atlas, Jaguares and Puebla.

Life and career
Padilla started his career at Atlante in 1998. Despite playing sparsely during his stint at Atlante, he managed to score at least a goal in each season he played in after 2001, attesting to his skill as a goalscoring forward. In 2004, Padilla was transferred to Club América.

In his first season with the Águilas, although only playing for 120 minutes, Padilla scored three goals. In Clausura 2005 season, Aarón was an integral part of the team's title run, scoring seven goals, including three in the playoffs and two in the championship series versus Tecos UAG. His success at the club level led Mexico national team coach Ricardo Lavolpe to select Padilla to play for Mexico in the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

He won CONCACAF Champions Cup and became top goalscorer of CONCACAF Champions Cup with 4 goals in 2006.

Padilla was transferred to Necaxa during the Summer of 2006. He was signed by Atlas for the start of the 2007 Clausura tournament.

Padilla's father, Aarón Padilla Gutiérrez, played at two World Cups before becoming a football director and administrator at club and national level; he was inducted into the CONCACAF Hall of Fame in 2015.