Macnelly Torres · Biography

Macnelly Torres Berrío won his first title in the 2004 Torneo Finalización with Junior of Barranquilla. He was born in that city on 1 November 1984 and played as an attacking midfielder, wearing the number 10 at most of his clubs. In nearly two decades as a professional he played in Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Paraguay. His longest spell was at Atlético Nacional, where fans called him “el Mago”, the Magician.

Early years at Junior

He came through Junior’s youth system and broke into the first team in the early 2000s. In 2003 he was picked by Colombia’s Under-20 side for the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates. He played five matches and Colombia finished third. The following year he was part of the Junior squad that won the 2004 Finalización. In 2005 he moved to Cúcuta Deportivo.

Cúcuta and the move to Chile

At Cúcuta he won his second Colombian league title, the 2006 Finalización, the first league title in the club’s history. In mid-2008 he joined Colo-Colo, his first move abroad. In Santiago he played a more attacking role and was more involved in building play. He won the Chilean Primera División Clausura in 2008 and 2009.

Atlético Nacional, first spell

In January 2011 he returned to Colombia on loan to Atlético Nacional and won that year’s Torneo Apertura. He spent the second half of 2011 with San Luis in Mexico and returned to Medellín in 2012. That year Nacional won the Superliga and the Copa Colombia. In the first half of 2013 they won the Apertura, settled in the final against Independiente Santa Fe. Torres started the goalless first leg at the Atanasio Girardot and also started the second leg. It was Nacional’s twelfth league title. In July 2013 he confirmed his move to Saudi club Al-Shabab. Carlos Valderrama publicly criticised the decision.

Saudi Arabia and the return home

With Al-Shabab he won the 2014 King Cup of Champions. In early 2015 he went back to Junior, although he had to wait for FIFA clearance before he could play. In June that year he was presented again at Atlético Nacional, where he spent three more seasons. He won the Finalización in December 2015 and the Copa Colombia in 2016.

The 2016 Copa Libertadores

In 2016 Nacional won the Copa Libertadores, their second, after beating Independiente del Valle 2-1 on aggregate in the final, with the second leg in Medellín. Torres was a regular in Reinaldo Rueda’s team. At the end of the year he was named in the South American Team of the Year in the poll run by the Uruguayan newspaper El País, in an XI that included seven Nacional players. In 2017 Nacional won the Recopa Sudamericana and the Torneo Apertura. In July 2018 he left the club and joined Deportivo Cali.

Colombia national team

He made his senior debut on 17 June 2005, in a friendly against Guatemala. That summer he played at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, where Colombia reached the semi-finals, and in 2007 he played all three of Colombia’s matches at the Copa América in Venezuela. He played in the qualifying campaigns for the 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cups. He won 48 caps and scored 4 goals between 2005 and 2017: against Haiti and Bolivia in 2009, against Bolivia again in a 5-0 win in Barranquilla in March 2013, and against Venezuela in September 2016.

Final years and retirement

He stayed at Deportivo Cali only for the second half of 2018. In January 2019 he signed for Libertad in Paraguay and won the Copa Paraguay that year. In February 2020 he returned to Colombia with Alianza Petrolera. His last official match was on 8 November 2020, at the Estadio Romelio Martínez. After a year without a club, he announced his retirement in December 2021. The Colombian press credited him with 16 titles.