Mateo Nicolau Garí (18 August 1920 – 29 October 2005) was an Argentinian footballer who played as a forward for San Lorenzo in Argentina, Club América in Mexico, and most notably for Barcelona in Catalonia from 1948 to 1952.

[1][2][3][4] Born in the Argentine city of General Pico in La Pampa Province, on 18 August 1920,[1][3] Nicolau began his football career in his hometown club Central Silverino in 1935, aged only 15, and then played for a further two Argentinian clubs, Atlético Tucumán (1937–1940) and then three seasons at San Lorenzo, from 1940 to 1943, scoring 9 goals in 48 matches.

[1][2][3] Together with the likes of Mariano Gonzalvo, László Kubala, and César, he was a member of the great Barça team of the early 1950s that won two La Liga titles (1948–49 and 1951–52), two Latin Cup titles in 1949 and 1952, two Copa Eva Duarte titles in 1948 and 1952, and back-to-back Copa del Rey titles in 1951 and 1952,[1][2] starting in the former final, in which he helped his side to a 3–0 win over Real Sociedad.

[7] He also started in the 1948 Eva Duarte final, helping his side to a 1–0 win over Sevilla, and in the following year, on 12 October 1949, he again started the final, and this time he even scored, but Barça still lost 7–4 in extra-time to Valencia.

[8] On 24 September 1950, Nicolau scored a brace in Barça's largest ever win over Real Madrid (7–2).