Juan Pablo Nieto

Pereira gave Colombian football another product of the Atlético Nacional and Racing Club academies, but Juan Pablo Nieto's route to a senior career nearly ended before it began. A broken shinbone sidelined him for close to a year between 2012 and 2013, at a stage when a long-term injury of that kind can just as easily close a door as delay an opening. Nieto came back from it and rebuilt a career largely away from the spotlight, first on loan at Alianza Petrolera and later at Once Caldas, before establishing himself at Atlético Nacional between 2015 and 2018.

That spell at Nacional produced the bulk of his honours: two Colombian league titles, a Copa Colombia and a Recopa Sudamericana among them, won as part of a squad rather than as a standout name. A further Copa Colombia and, later, a Colombian Superliga title with other clubs rounded out a collection built on team success rather than individual acclaim. Nieto has never been capped by Colombia's senior national side.

Since 2019 he has been with Deportes Tolima, wearing the number 15 shirt in midfield, a spell that has taken him through to 2026 and given him a settled base after the loan moves and transfers of his twenties.