Orbelín Pineda

Querétaro

Pineda was first called up to the Querétaro senior team on 21 January 2014, for a Copa MX match against Ascenso MX side Celaya and made his debut as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 loss. Pineda made his Liga MX debut on 1 August 2014, in a 2–0 victory against Pachuca. On 24 January 2015, he scored his first goal in a league match against Pachuca in a 1–2 loss. He was considered a pivotal part of the team as Querétaro reached the Clausura championship finals, only to succumb to Santos Laguna following an aggregate score of 5–3.

Guadalajara

On 2 December 2015, Guadalajara announced they had signed Pineda for an undisclosed price on a five-year contract. Pineda made his official debut as a starter on 10 January 2016, against Veracruz. He scored his first goal for the club on 16 January 2016, against Cruz Azul in a 1–1 tie. On 10 July, he would score the first goal in the 2016 Supercopa MX against Veracruz which finished 2–0. In April 2017, Guadalajara won the Clausura Copa MX final against Morelia. The following month, they disputed Clausura championship against Tigres UANL, as Guadalajara would go on to win the title, finishing an eleven-year-long drought of league titles. As a result, Guadalajara won their first Double since the 1969–70 season. In April 2018, Guadalajara went on to win the CONCACAF Champions League Finals against Major League Soccer team Toronto FC following a penalty shoot-out victory of 4–2.

Cruz Azul

In December…

Youth

Pineda was called up to the under-20 side by manager Sergio Almaguer to take part in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand. He made his debut in Mexico's opening match as a half-time substitution for José David Ramírez. Mexico went on to lose the game 2–0 to Mali. Pineda started the next two matches for Mexico, but the team finished in 4th place in their group and failed to qualify to the next round.

Senior

Pineda was included in the provisional roster for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup by Miguel Herrera but was cut from the final list, remaining in the Provisional List if someone else got injured. He was called up again, this time by Juan Carlos Osorio, to be included in Mexico's provisional squad for the Copa América Centenario but was cut from the final squad. Pineda would make his senior national team debut on 6 September 2016 against Honduras during a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match, coming in as a substitute for Jesús Dueñas at the 71st minute, finishing in a scoreless draw. He was included in the finalized roster that would participate at the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where on 9 July he would score his first goal with the senior national team during a group stage match against El Salvador, scoring the final goal of a 3–1 win. In June 2019, Pineda was included in Gerardo Martino's 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup roster. Mexico went on to win the tournament. Pineda participated at the 2021 Gold Cup, scoring a total of 3 times and contributing one…

Pineda is able to play as a deep-lying, roaming or more advanced playmaker, he has regularly played as the more advanced of the two in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Described by fans as an excellent reader of the game, Pineda tries to spot incisive through balls in order to be able to find space on the pitch by moving into the channels between defenders. Former Guadalajara manager Matías Almeyda described Pineda as "one of those players that has to end up in a great European club. He has the talent and the attributes." Fans also praise his perceived technical skill.

Pineda's older brother, Onay, was also a professional footballer who played as a right-back.