Dayro Mauricio Moreno Galindo (born 16 September 1985) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for CategorÃÂa Primera A club Once Caldas and the Colombia national football team. He is top goalscorer in the history of the Colombian CategorÃÂa Primera A with 225 goals.
Moreno began his career with Once Caldas, winning the 2004 Copa Libertadores. In 2008, he moved to Europe to play for Romanian club Steaua BucureÃÂti for two years, before returning to Once Caldas in 2010 and winning the 2010 Finalizacion league title with the Manizales-based club. In 2011, he moved to Mexico's Club Tijuana, where he stayed until 2018 with loans in between to Atlético Junior, Millonarios, and Atlético Nacional. His time at Atletico Nacional was a success, winning the 2017 Recopa Sudamericana and 2017 Apertura while being the top goalscorer of both Apertura and Finalización tournaments in 2017. After being dismissed from the club due to disciplinary problems in October 2018, he transferred to Talleres de Córdoba of Argentina in December. In 2021, he had a brief spell at Oriente Petrolero in Bolivia, before returning to Colombia with Atlético Bucaramanga for the 2022 season, where he finished as top scorer again and led Bucaramanga into the playoffs for the first time in years.
Moreno has been capped internationally at the youth and senior level for Colombia. He was part of the squad that got third place at the Copa América Centenario.
Although known for his ability to score goals, he has also been known negatively for indiscipline problems.
Moreno joined Once Caldas's youth academy aged 15, and made his professional debut in 2003. His first title as a professional was the 2003 Apertura title won against Junior, the club's first title in 53 years. The following year, Once Caldas won the 2004 Copa Libertadores, beating Boca Juniors in the finals, with Moreno participating for seventy minutes in the second leg. That same year, he was an unused substitute in the 2004 Intercontinental Cup, where Once Caldas lost the game in a penalty shoot-out against UEFA Champions League winners Porto. Moreno also participated in both legs of the 2005 Recopa Sudamericana, where Once Caldas lost 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate to Boca Juniors.
In January 2007, Moreno was loaned out to Brazilian club Athletico Paranaense. However, he only played two games and scored once, which came on his debut against Figueirense in the first matchday of the Campeonato Brasileiro on 12 May 2007. He returned to Once Caldas in June 2007.
In the summer of 2007, Argentine club Boca Juniors showed their interest in him. However, nothing was finalized and he stayed with Once Caldas, where he was the top scorer of the 2007 Finalización with 16 goals.
After scoring the winning goal against Argentina in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in November 2007, there were rumours that Moreno went clubbing, and arrived late to the next Once Caldas training session. As a result, head coach Santiago Escobar insisted on not playing him in the next match, but club President Jairo Quintero obligated Escobar to include Moreno in the lineup. Escobar was infuriated by the board's decision to support Moreno and he resigned shortly after the incident, although Moreno himself denies ever committing an act of indiscipline.
In January 2008, after an outstanding season with Once Caldas where he finished as top scorer in the 2007 Finalización, Romanian club Steaua BucureÃÂti signed him for a club record US$2 million on a four-year contract. He joined fellow Colombians Róbinson Zapata, Pepe Moreno and Juan Toja, who were also playing for the club at the time.
He made his debut for the club in a 2âÂÂ1 loss against Politehnica IaÃÂi on 24 February. His first goal in Romania came a week later in a 3âÂÂ1 victory against CFR Cluj. On 26 April, he scored a game winner in a 2âÂÂ1 away victory against Universitatea Craiova.
On 3 August, Moreno scored the opening goal of a 2âÂÂ1 victory against FC BraÃÂov. Ten days later, on 13 August, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 2âÂÂ2 draw against Turkish club Galatasaray.
In June 2009, he had an argument in a training session with assistant manager Massimo Pedrazzini and was told to leave the session. He was initially fined â¬5,000 for indiscipline, but the fine was later increased to â¬15,000, and he was not included in the squad for the final match of the season against Unirea Urziceni. A few days later, at the end of the 2008âÂÂ09 season, Moreno left Steaua to his native country without the club's consent, failed to show up for the team's preseason, and demanded a transfer.
Moreno eventually rejoined the club and was forgiven by Gigi Becali, but was demoted to the B squad for the beginning of the 2009âÂÂ10 season for indiscipline. He agreed to play for the second team with an 85% salary reduction until he was prepared to come back to the first squad.
In October 2009, following a series of good performances for the B team, he was called back to the first team by new Steaua manager Mihai StoichiÃÂÃÂ. He was in the starting eleven and scored in his first match since his return, a 2âÂÂ0 away victory against Politehnica IaÃÂi on 17 October 2009.
Moreno left the club in January 2010, citing that he was not happy playing as a midfielder instead of his natural striker position, and that his family failed to adapt to the country. Overall his time at Steaua was filled with problems; he was fined on numerous occasions for indiscipline and had problems with manager Marius LÃÂcÃÂtuÃÂ, which eventually contributed to his exit.
Shortly after his exit from Steaua, it was reported on Click! that Moreno wanted to join another Romanian club, FC Timisoara. However, a week later, Moreno and Timisoara cancelled negotiations, and on 24 January 2010, he returned to Once Caldas on a transfer worth approximately â¬500,000. On 26 February, he scored the winner in a 2âÂÂ1 home victory against São Paulo in the Copa Libertadores. In December, he scored in a 2âÂÂ1 loss against Deportes Tolima in the first leg of the Finalizacion finals, but Once Caldas later won the title with a 3âÂÂ1 victory in the second leg at Estadio Palogrande, with Moreno winning the golden boot in the process, scoring 16 goals.
In May 2011 he was linked with a transfer to Portugal's Sporting Lisbon, but the deal was canceled after he failed to agree on personal terms. On 2 June 2011, it was announced that Moreno would move to Liga MX team Club Tijuana for a fee of US$3.5 million. In January 2012, the Colombian forward requested to leave Tijuana after having a minor facial fracture while on vacation.
In February 2012, he rejoined Once Caldas on loan after rejecting an offer from Universidad de Chile.
Moreno then joined Junior on a year-long loan in late July 2012. On 2 September, he scored two goals in a 4âÂÂ3 win against Patriotas Boyacá. On 7 April 2013, he scored two goals to help his team comeback from a 1âÂÂ0 deficit against Cúcuta Deportivo and win the match 2âÂÂ1.
On 6 July, Ascenso MX side Correcaminos announced that Moreno would join them for the upcoming season. However, the Colombian striker changed his mind and joined Millonarios two days later, after stating that he did not want to join a Second Division side. His first goal for the club came on 15 August in a 2-0 victory over his former club Junior as part of the Copa Colombia, where Moreno scored his penalty in the shootout, helping his club advance to the next round. Three days later, he scored a hat trick in a 3âÂÂ0 win against Once Caldas. A week later, he added two goals against Deportivo Pasto, doing the same against Atlético Huila, which included a 90th-minute winner to bring his tally up to 8 goals in the last 5 matches. On 29 September, with Millonarios trailing 2-0, Moreno scored at the 85th minute and then added another goal deep into added time to salvage a draw. On 19 October, he scored the only goal in a victory against Deportivo Cali. On 7 December, he scored twice in a victory against Once Caldas in the final matchday of the playoffs. He finished top scorer of the 2013 Finalizacion, with 16 goals.
Moreno kicked off the 2014 Apertura with a brace in a 2-1 away victory at Estadio Polideportivo Sur against Envigado. On 9 February 2014, in the Superclasico against Atletico Nacional, he opened the scoring in a 3-1 home victory. He scored a hat-trick on 29 March in a 4âÂÂ0 win over Patriotas. On 19 April, in a 3-1 win over Deportes Tolima, he added a brace. He finished as top scorer of the 2014 Apertura, with thirteen goals, and won the golden boot.
On 10 July 2014, Club Tijuana announced that Moreno had rejoined the club. On 28 February 2015, he scored a last minute winner to give Tijuana a 3âÂÂ2 victory against Pachuca, after having trailed by two goals at halftime. On 12 September, at Estadio Caliente, he scored twice against Chivas Guadalajara in a 2âÂÂ1 victory, with his team having trailed 1âÂÂ0 at halftime. On 12 February 2016, he scored a double in a 2âÂÂ1 away victory against Tigres UANL at Estadio Universitario. Twelve days later, he scored a double in a 4âÂÂ0 win against Atlas in the Copa MX.
On 16 July, Moreno scored a brace in a 2âÂÂ0 win vs Atletico Morelia. Moreno was the top scorer of the 2016 Apertura alongside Raul Ruidiaz, with 11 goals.
On 8 January 2017, Moreno signed with Atlético Nacional on a year-long loan with option to purchase. He made his debut on 9 February against Atlético Bucaramanga, and three days later, scored his first two goals for the club in a 3âÂÂ0 victory against Rionegro ÃÂguilas. On 10 May, he scored two goals in the 2017 Recopa Sudamericana second leg against Chapecoense that contributed to his team's 4âÂÂ1 victory. Moreno scored a brace, including an injury time winning goal, to contribute to his club's 3âÂÂ2 victory after having trailed 0âÂÂ2 against Jaguares de Córdoba on 4 June.
On 18 June, he scored a penalty in the second leg of the finals against Deportivo Cali, which ended in a 5âÂÂ1 victory for Nacional. Nacional eventually won the title 5âÂÂ3 on aggregate, having come from a 2âÂÂ0 deficit in the first leg. On 17 September, Moreno scored a brace, including an injury time game winner, in a 3âÂÂ2 win against Millonarios. A week later, he scored another brace in a 2âÂÂ0 victory against Envigado.
On 14 October 2018, in the last minutes of a league match against Deportivo Cali, he had a fight with teammate Jeison LucumÃÂ over taking a free-kick, and Lucumi was shown a red card. Two days later, Moreno was expelled from the team due to the previous incident and reiterated disciplinary behavior. On the other hand, Lucumi was handed a week suspension from team activities.
On 18 December 2018, Moreno joined Argentine Primera División side Talleres on a two-year deal. He made his debut in a 1-1 draw against Independiente on 27 January 2019. On 20 February 2019, he scored his first goal for Talleres in a 2-1 loss to Palestino in the Copa Libertadores. On 20 April, in the Copa de la Superliga, he scored the opening goal of the match and then scored his penalty in the 3-2 penalty shootout victory against San MartÃÂn de San Juan. A week later, he scored a brace in a 3-2 victory against Atlético Tucumán. On 24 September, he scored the winning goal, a penalty, in a 2-1 victory against Gimnasia de La Plata. This was his first goal in five months.
According to the IFFHS, Moreno was the highest goalscoring Colombian player in top divisions in the 21st century (306), and the fourth-highest South American, only behind Fred (307), Luis Suárez (409), and Lionel Messi (518).
Moreno played seven games for the Colombia under-20 squad that won the 2005 South American U-20 Championship. He also made three appearances for the same team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. In total he made ten appearances for the U20 team and didn't score any goals.
Moreno made his Senior team debut on 1 March 2006 against Venezuela. He scored his first goal on 20 November 2007, the game-winner in a 2âÂÂ1 victory against Argentina. On 6 June 2011, he was included in the 23-man squad chosen by coach Hernán DarÃÂo Gómez for the 2011 Copa América.
After a five-year-absence from the national team, he returned and opened the scoring in a 3âÂÂ1 friendly win against Haiti on 29 May 2016. A few days later, he was included in José Pékerman's squad for the Copa América Centenario. Moreno played three games at the tournament and started the match against Costa Rica, but failed to score and didn't complete 90 minutes in any of the games he played.
On August 29 2025, Moreno was called up for the national team after a 9 year absence.
Once Caldas
Atlético Nacional
Colombia
Individual