Sergio Córdova

Sergio Duvan Córdova Lezama (born 9 August 1997), known as Sergio Córdova (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈseɾxjo ˈkoɾðoβa]), is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Arminia Bielefeld, on loan from FC Augsburg, he also plays for the Venezuela national team.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Córdova and the second or maternal family name is Lezama.
Sergio Córdova
Córdova with Venezuela U20 in 2017
Personal information
Full name Sergio Duvan Córdova Lezama
Date of birth (1997-08-09) 9 August 1997
Place of birth Calabozo, Venezuela
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker, winger
Club information
Current team
 Arminia Bielefeld
(on loan from FC Augsburg)
Number 18
Youth career
2013–2015 Caracas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Caracas 36 (4)
2017– FC Augsburg 62 (7)
2020– → Arminia Bielefeld (loan) 16 (2)
National team‡
2017– Venezuela U20 15 (5)
2017– Venezuela 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:24, 31 January 2021 (UTC).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:44, 14 October 2020 (UTC).

He is an academy graduate of Venezuelan side Caracas and scored on his professional debut in 2015. He spent two and a half season's in the club's first team, scoring five goals in 38 appearances, before signing for Augsburg in 2017. Internationally, he represented Venezuela at U20 level and featured for the nation at the South American Youth Football Championship and U-20 World Cup in 2017, winning the Goal of the Tournament award at the latter competition. Later that year, he made his debut for the senior side.

Club career

Caracas

Having previously represented the club at youth level following his arrival in 2013, Córdova made a goal scoring debut for Caracas on 12 July 2015, starting and scoring the opening goal in a 4–0 league victory over Tucanes.[1] He repeated the feat in his Copa Venezuela debut the following month when he broke the deadlock in the 78th minute of a 3–0 win over second division side Petroleros de Anzoátegui.[2] On 31 October, he became the youngest ever player to score a Primera División brace for the club when he scored twice in a 3–1 win over Metropolitanos.[3] He ended his debut season having amassed 13 appearances across all competitions with a return of four goals.

In the following year's campaign, Córdova was marred by injury and had to undergo surgery after breaking the fifth metatarsal in his left foot.[4] Despite the injury, he managed to make 20 appearances as Caracas ended fourth in the Venezuelan Primera División, thereby qualifying for the 2017 Copa Sudamericana. He made only four more appearances for the club, taking his overall tally to 38 with a return of five goals, before being signed by FC Augsburg following his impressive form with Venezuela at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.[5]

FC Augsburg

On the evening of 4 July 2017, Córdova completed a transfer to German Bundesliga side Augsburg for a reported fee of €1m, signing a five-year contract with the club.[5][6] He made his debut on 13 August, coming on as a second–half substitute for fellow debutante Marcel Heller in a 2–0 DFB Pokal loss to third division side Magdeburg.[7] He scored his first goal for the club on 26 August, netting an 89th-minute equalizer from an assist by Heller in a 2–2 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach.[8] In October, whilst on international duty with Venezuela, Córdova suffered a fractured ankle and torn ligaments which him ruled out for part of the Hinrunde.[9][10] He made his first Bundesliga start for the club the following year, starting in a 1–0 win over Hamburg on 13 January.[11]

Loan to Arminia Bielefeld

On 17 August 2020, he signed a five-year contract extension with Augsburg before joining newly-promoted Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld on a season-long loan.[12][13]

International career

Venezuela national youth teams
Córdova (far left) at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship.

Córdova has represented Venezuela at U20 level and featured at the 2016 Copa de los Andes tournament held in Peru. He scored twice in a 5–1 win over Paraguay which saw Venezuela claim the gold medal, and was named Player of the Tournament, with teammate Ronaldo Peña claiming the top goalscorer award.[14] In February 2017, Córdova took part in the U20 Campeonato Sudamericano with the Venezuela squad. He scored once during the course of the tournament, in a 4–2 win over Ecuador, as Venezuela qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea by securing a third-place finish.[15]

The World Cup took place in May the same year and he opened his account with the second goal in a 2–0 win over Germany in the tournament's opening match.[16] Three days later, he added two goals to his tally when he netted a brace in a 7–0 victory over Vanuatu which saw Venezuela become the first team to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.[17][18] Córdova scored again in a 1–0 win over Mexico on 26 May which helped Venezuela progress from their group without losing or conceding.[19] His four goals saw him end as the tournament's joint-second top goal scorer alongside Fashion Sakala, Dominic Solanke, Jean-Kévin Augustin and Joshua Sargent, and one behind Golden Boot winner Riccardo Orsolini, as Venezuela were ultimately beaten by England in the final.[20] Córdova's goal against Mexico in the group stages was also voted Goal of the Tournament.[21]

Venezuela senior national team

Córdova received his first call-up to the senior side on 25 August 2017 when he was named in Rafael Dudamel's squad for World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina.[22] He made his debut on 31 August against the former, starting in a 0–0 draw before registering his first senior assist in a 1–1 draw with the latter on 5 September.[23][24]

Personal life

Córdova is a practicing Christian and, during a 2018 interview, revealed that his faith in God had helped him overcome the early challenges he faced with the language and cold weather during his time in Germany.[25]

Career statistics

Club
As of 31 January 2021[26]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup1 Continental2 Total
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Caracas 2015 Primera División 1231100134
2016 Primera División 2010000201
2017 Primera División 40001050
Total 3641110385
FC Augsburg 2017–18 Bundesliga 2621000272
2018–19 Bundesliga 2032000223
2019–20 Bundesliga 1520000152
Total 6173000647
Arminia Bielefeld 2020–21 Bundesliga 1620000162
Total 1620000162
Career total! 11313411011814

1 Includes Copa Venezuela and DFB Pokal matches.
2 Includes Copa Sudamericana matches.

International
As of match played 22 March 2019.[26]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Venezuela 201740
201840
Total80

Honours

International
Venezuela

Individual

Records
Caracas FC

References
  1. "Sergio Córdova: "Debutar marcando es un sueño"". El Universal. 13 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.(in Spanish)
  2. "Caracas superó al Petroleros de Anzoátegui y avanza en Copa Venezuela". Lavinotinto. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2017.(in Spanish)
  3. "Players/Sergio Cordova". Soccer Sport Group. Retrieved 27 June 2017.(in Spanish)
  4. "Cordova: I've come back stronger". FIFA. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  5. "Augsburg swoop for Michael Gregoritsch and Sergio Cordova". Bundesliga. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  6. "Cordova: "Ich bin physisch stark und mutig"". kicker. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.(in German)
  7. "Augsburg unterliegt Magdeburg". Liga Insider. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.(in German)
  8. "Gladbach smed føringen til sidst". Bold. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.(in German)
  9. "Augsburg's Sergio Cordova sidelined with ankle injury". Bundesliga. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  10. "Bänderriss: FCA muss auf Cordova verzichten". kicker. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.(in German)
  11. "Augsburg climb to seventh as Ja-Cheol Koo header downs Hamburg". Bundesliga. 13 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  12. "Langfristige Bindung von Sergio Córdova und Leihe nach Bielefeld". FC Augsburg (in German). Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  13. "Venezolanische Verstärkung für Arminia-Angriff". DSC Arminia Bielefeld (in German). Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  14. "La Selección Nacional Sub 20 ganó la Copa Los Andes en Perú". Noticia Al Dia. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2017.(in Spanish)
  15. Fernandez, Juan Sebastian Soto (31 March 2017). "Sergio Córdova: "En el Mundial buscaremos tener un mayor desempeño"". Vavel. Retrieved 23 May 2017.(in Spanish)
  16. "Venezuela win Korea Republic 2017 opener". FIFA. 20 May 2017. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  17. "Los goles de Adalberto Peñaranda y Sergio Córdova en el partido de la Venezuela ante Vanuatu". Panorama. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.(in Spanish)
  18. "A progressing pair and a few firsts". FIFA. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  19. "Venezuela wahrt makellose Bilanz". FIFA. 26 May 2017. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.(in German)
  20. "FIFA U–20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017 Awards". FIFA. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  21. "Gol del Torneo Hyundai". FIFA. Retrieved 22 June 2017.(in Spanish)
  22. Yi, Yang (26 August 2017). "Venezuela name three uncapped teenagers for World Cup qualifiers". Xinhua News. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  23. Ibarara, Andrés (31 August 2017). "Semana de ensueño para Sergio Córdova". Meridiano. Retrieved 1 September 2017.(in Spanish)
  24. Kalinic, Dejan (6 September 2017). "Argentina 1 Venezuela 1: Sampaoli's men held to costly draw". Goal. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  25. Graf, Johannes (8 January 2018). "So entwickelt sich Sergio Cordóva beim FCA". Augusburger Allgemeine (in German). Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  26. "Sergio Cordova Career Stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  27. Diaz, Jackelin (14 November 2016). "Ronaldo Peña y Sergio Córdova fueron galardonados en la Copa de los Andes". El Abanado. Retrieved 27 June 2017.(in Spanish)
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