.jpg) Córdoba withInter Milan in 2009 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Iván Ramiro Córdoba Sepúlveda | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1976-08-11)11 August 1976 (age 49) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rionegro, Colombia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defender | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| –1992 | Deportivo Rionegro | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Deportivo Rionegro | 42 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Atlético Nacional | 73 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | San Lorenzo | 59 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2012 | Inter Milan | 324 | (15) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 498 | (25) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Colombia U20 | 11 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Colombia U23 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2011 | Colombia | 73 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Inter Milan (team manager) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2024 | Venezia (advisor of management) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Iván Ramiro Córdoba Sepúlveda (Spanish pronunciation:[iˈβaŋˈkoɾðoβa],[2] born 11 August 1976) is a Colombian former professionalfootballer who played as adefender. He began his career in Colombia withDeportivo Rionegro andAtlético Nacional, before moving to Argentine clubSan Lorenzo. In 2000, he joined Italian sideInter Milan, where he spent most of his career, remaining with the club until his retirement in 2012. At international level, Córdoba played for theColombia national team, and represented his nation at the1998 FIFA World Cup, the2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, and four editions of theCopa América, winning the tournament in2001, where he scored the winning goal in thefinal. He was the vice-captain of Inter Milan and has also served ascaptain for his country's national team.
Córdoba made his debut with the Colombian Serie B teamDeportivo Rionegro in 1993, his wonderful performances earned him a transfer to Colombian heavyweightsAtlético Nacional in 1996. He made his name playing forSan Lorenzo inArgentina from 1998 but signed forItalian side Inter Milan the winter transfer window, January 2000, costing the club €16 million, rejecting another offer fromReal Madrid in doing so. He has become a mainstay of theInter Milan defence for several years, forming a highly effective partnership in central defence withMarco Materazzi. His long career at Inter led him to be named the club's vice-captain behindJavier Zanetti; because of this, he had the honour of lifting theCoppa Italia in2005 when Zanetti was absent due to his involvement in theConfederations Cup with Argentina.
On 19 February 2008, Córdoba injured his left anterior cruciate ligament during theChampions League round of 16 fixture againstLiverpool, resulting in having to sit out the rest of theseason as Inter won the league title for the third consecutive year. On 9 June 2008 he renewed his contract until 30 June 2012 with Inter, ensuring that he would effectively finish his career with Inter.
On 5 May 2012, Córdoba announced that he would leave Inter at the end of the season.[3] A day later, Córdoba was brought on in the 84th minute of theDerby della Madonnina, making his last competitive appearance in an Inter shirt after 13 years in the San Siro; during the match (the club's last home game of the2011–12 season), Inter's players wore the Córdoba No. 2 shirt while warming up before the kick-off.[4] In May, he traveled with 18 other Inter players (with Dellafiore an exception) to Indonesia for a friendly tour, before ending his career.[5]
In total, he won fiveSerie A championships, fourCoppa Italia titles, threeSupercoppa Italiana titles, oneUEFA Champions League, and oneFIFA Club World Cup with Inter.[6]
Córdoba captainedColombia to win the2001 Copa América competition, scoring the only goal in thefinal. Córdoba also was called up for his country at the1998 World Cup (taking shirt number 2 fromAndrés Escobar who was murdered in the previous tournament) without appearing in a match, the2003 FIFA Confederations Cup (where they finished in fourth place), and in three other editions of theCopa América (1997,1999, and2007).
On 10 February 2021, Córdoba was announced as the new sporting director of ItalianSerie B clubVenezia.[7]
Usually acentral defender, Córdoba was an experienced and extremely fast, energetic, versatile, and athleticdefender, who relied mostly on his pace, stamina, man-marking ability and timing, which made him difficult to beat in one on one situations; due to his characteristics, he was also capable of playing as afull back orwing-back on the right flank on occasion. Despite being only 173 centimeters tall, he was also a good jumper and an accurate header of the ball, and had a penchant for scoring goals with his head. Throughout his career, Córdoba also stood out for his leadership in addition to his ability as a footballer.[8][9]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Deportivo Rionegro | 1994 | Categoría Primera B | 16 | 0 | – | – | – | 16 | 0 | |||
| 1995 | 26 | 1 | – | – | – | 26 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 42 | 1 | ||||
| Atlético Nacional | 1995–96 | Categoría Primera A | 31 | 1 | – | – | – | 31 | 1 | |||
| 1996–97 | 42 | 0 | – | – | – | 42 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 73 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 73 | 1 | ||||
| San Lorenzo | 1997–98 | Primera División | 24 | 2 | – | – | – | 24 | 2 | |||
| 1998–99 | 35 | 6 | – | – | – | 35 | 6 | |||||
| Total | 59 | 8 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 59 | 8 | ||||
| Inter Milan | 1999–2000 | Serie A | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 1 | ||
| 2001–02 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | – | 42 | 1 | |||
| 2002–03 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 1 | – | 45 | 2 | |||
| 2003–04 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | – | 47 | 1 | |||
| 2004–05 | 32 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | – | 46 | 3 | |||
| 2005–06 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | 29 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 1 | ||
| 2007–08 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 3 | ||
| 2008–09 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 324 | 15 | 34 | 2 | 92 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 455 | 18 | ||
| Career total | 498 | 25 | 34 | 2 | 92 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 629 | 28 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 1997 | 9 | 0 |
| 1998 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2000 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 73 | 5 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 February 1999 | Miami Orange Bowl,Miami, United States | 14 |  Germany | 3–3 | 3–3 | Friendly |
| 2 | 4 July 1999 | Estadio Feliciano Cáceres,Luque, Paraguay | 18 |  Argentina | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1999 Copa América |
| 3 | 13 October 1999 | Estadio Olímpico Chateau Carreras,Córdoba, Argentina | 20 | Argentina | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 4 | 4 June 2000 | Estadio Nemesio Camacho,Bogotá, Colombia | 24 |  Venezuela | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 29 July 2001 | Estadio Nemesio Camacho, Bogotá, Colombia | 35 |  Mexico | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2001 Copa América Final |
Atlético Nacional[6]
Inter Milan[6]
Colombia[6]
Individual
Colombia squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
