Jhon Andrés Córdoba Copete (; born 11 May 1993) is a Colombian professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
striker for
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
club
Krasnodar
Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...
. He is well known for his strength and his powerful shots. His skills and talents have led many to consider him to be a Colombian version of
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...
due to their similar traits.
[Colombian ‘Drogba’ to Jaguares of Chiapas](_blank)
FutN Soccer, 4 July 2012[Europa viene a la 'caza' de jóvenes talentos del Sudamericano (Europe comes to 'hunt' Sudamerican talents)](_blank)
Urgente 24, 9 January 2013
Club career
Envigado
A youth product of
Envigado F.C., Córdoba made his professional debut for the club in 2010. In the
2011 Torneo Apertura, he appeared in only two matches, all from the bench. Córdoba was retained to play in the
2011 Copa Colombia
The 2011 Copa Colombia, officially the 2011 Copa Postobón for sponsorship reasons, was the ninth edition of the Copa Colombia, the national cup competition for clubs of DIMAYOR. It began on February 23 and ended on October 27. The winner earned ...
, scoring against giants
Independiente Medellin
Independiente may refer to:
*the Spanish word for wikt:independent, independent
Music
*Independiente (record label), a record label formed in 1997
*Independiente (Dragon Ash album), ''Independiente'' (Dragon Ash album), 2007
*Independiente (Ricard ...
and
Once Caldas
Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Palogrande stadium.
They were the surprise winners ...
. However, Envigado finished last in their group and were eliminated.
Córdoba was included in the starting eleven for the
2011 Torneo Finalización. He then scored five goals in 18 appearances, and notably scoring a brace in a 2–3 loss to
Once Caldas
Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Palogrande stadium.
They were the surprise winners ...
. Córdoba successfully defended his starting place in
the following year's Torneo Apertura, and finished the season as the club's top goal scorer with six goals in 16 games.
Chiapas
Following an impressive season with Envigado, Córdoba was signed by Mexican club
Querétaro
Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...
and immediately loaned to fellow league team
Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
on 9 July 2012.
He made his debut on 20 July 2012 against
Tigres UANL
Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...
, and scored his first goal in a 4–0 triumph against
San Luis.
Espanyol
On 2 September 2013, it was announced that Córdoba would join
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
club
RCD Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...
. The deal would consist of a one-year loan with an option to buy for €3.5 million.
On 30 November, Córdoba scored his first goal in a 1–2 loss against
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...
. On 25 January of the following year he scored his second goal in a match against
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...
, and finished the campaign with four goals.
Granada
On 12 August 2014 Córdoba signed a five-year deal with fellow league team
Granada CF
Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021 ...
. He scored his first goal for the club a week later in a 1–0 win against
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
.
Mainz 05
On 31 August 2015, Córdoba was loaned to
1. FSV Mainz 05, for one year. He went on to score five Bundesliga goals including a game-winning goal against eventual champions
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
in a shock 2–1 win away from home. In May 2016, Mainz exercised their option to sign Córdoba permanently for a reported transfer fee of around €5 million with Córdoba signing a contract running until 2020.
In the 2016–17 season Córdoba made 29 appearances contributing 5 goals and assists each.
FC Köln
On 28 June 2017, 1. FC Köln announced that they had signed Córdoba on a four-year deal.
The transfer paid to Mainz was reported as around €15 million.
On the 28 April 2018, he came off the bench as Köln lost 3–2 to
SC Freiburg
Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...
which confirmed Köln’s relegation from the Bundesliga.
In the 2018–19 season, Córdoba finished second in scoring with 20 goals in the
2. Bundesliga. Köln immediately gained promotion back to the 1. Bundesliga.
He scored in his fifth home match in a row and notched his first
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
brace in a 3–1 victory over
VfL Wolfsburg
Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...
on 18 January 2020.
Hertha BSC
On 15 September 2020, Córdoba joined
Hertha BSC
Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...
on a four-year deal.
Krasnodar
On 18 July 2021, Hertha BSC announced that they had reached an agreement with
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
club
Krasnodar
Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...
over the sale of Córdoba, pending contract signatures and a medical.
On 23 July 2021, Krasnodar announced the signing of a four-year contract with Córdoba. On 3 March 2022, following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, Krasnodar announced that his contract is suspended and he will not train with the team, but the contract is not terminated and remains valid. At the time, he was already removed from Krasnodar's league squad due to an injury. Córdoba returned to the club in June 2022.
International career
Youth
2013 South American Youth Championship
Córdoba was called up to the
2013 South American Youth Championship games to represent Colombia wearing the number 9 jersey.
He scored in the opening game against Paraguay in a 1–0 victory. In the game against Bolivia, he scored 2 goals in a 6–0 victory although he failed to score many good opportunities that were given to him. Thus, he was not selected in the final game of the group stage against Argentina where Colombia was already qualified to the next round.
Córdoba scored the winner against Uruguay in a 1–0 victory allowing Colombia to top their group. After winning the South American championship with Colombia, he scored a total of 4 goals contributing greatly for his nation.
2013 Toulon Tournament
Córdoba took part with the U20 side again for the
2013 Toulon Tournament
The 2013 Toulon Tournament was the 41st edition of the Toulon Tournament. México were the defending champions but failed to secure a spot in the finals.
Participants
* (hosts)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Squads
Venues
Results
''All times are local ...
, where he failed to score a single goal. Despite this, Colombia managed to become the runners-up in the tournament.
In a friendly against the U-20 side of France, Córdoba missed a penalty kick but managed to score a header in a 2–2.
2013 U-20 FIFA World Cup Turkey
In the opening match against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, Córdoba missed and wasted many chances while Colombia was trailing 1–0. However, he managed to finally score a goal in the 78th minute resulting in a 1–1 draw. In the last group match against El Salvador, Córdoba converted a successful penalty in a 3–0 victory.
Style of play
A 'powerful' striker, Córdoba's most noticeable traits give regard to his physical traits: tall and large with very powerful shots as his major most noticeable trademark. His speed and pace has been a major factor in most games that he plays. Due to his size, he carries natural talent with balls that come from the air. This style of play is well-known with Ivorian international
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...
who Córdoba has been compared with on many occasions.
Personal life
Córdoba's father
Manuel was also a professional football striker.
Career statistics
Club
Honours
FC Köln
*
2. Bundesliga:
2018–19
Colombia
*
South American Youth Championship
The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American ...
:
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordoba, Jhon
1993 births
Sportspeople from Chocó Department
Living people
Colombian footballers
Colombia men's youth international footballers
Colombia men's under-20 international footballers
Men's association football forwards
Envigado F.C. players
Chiapas F.C. footballers
Querétaro F.C. footballers
Dorados de Sinaloa footballers
RCD Espanyol footballers
Granada CF footballers
1. FSV Mainz 05 players
1. FC Köln players
Hertha BSC players
FC Krasnodar players
Categoría Primera A players
Liga MX players
La Liga players
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
Russian Premier League players
Colombian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Mexico
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate footballers in Russia
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Russia