Jefferson Mena

Jefferson Mena will be remembered in Bucaramanga for a single kick. On 15 June 2024, in the second leg of the Colombian Primera A Apertura final against Independiente Santa Fe, Bucaramanga had gone up 1-0 in the first leg but lost the return 3-2, sending the tie to penalties. Mena converted his spot-kick, and when Santa Fe's Julián Millán missed the final attempt, the shootout finished 6-5 and the club won its first league title in 75 years of existence.

Born in Apartadó, Mena made his professional debut at Independiente Medellín in 2011 and spent four years there before a move to New York City FC in Major League Soccer, where he made 24 appearances and scored once. A loan spell followed at Barcelona SC in Ecuador, then a return to Colombian football with spells at Águilas Doradas and La Equidad. At Inter Bogotá in 2021 he added 17 league appearances and a goal, along with outings in the Copa Colombia and Copa Sudamericana, before joining Atlético Bucaramanga in 2022.

His standing at the club was later confirmed off the pitch as well: in 2024, the newspaper Vanguardia named him the most-voted player in Bucaramanga's all-time Ideal Team. Across his career he passed 278 league appearances and eight goals.

He left Bucaramanga in May 2026 after his contract was not renewed, moving on to Deportivo Boyacá Chicó two months later — a new chapter after the club's most celebrated night.