Sergio Duvan Córdova Lezama (born 9 August 1997), known as Sergio Córdova (), is a Venezuelan 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 lea ...

who plays as a forward for

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club

Alanyaspor Alanyaspor Kulübü, known as Corendon Alanyaspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Alanya in Antalya Province. Formed in 1948, the club colours are orange and green. Home matches are play ...

. He also represents the Venezuela national team. Córdova is an academy graduate of Venezuelan side

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

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 The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as South American U-20 Championship (; ), branded as CONMEBOL Sub 20, is a South American football tournament organized by the CONMEBOL for South American national teams of men under age o ...

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

on 12 July 2015, starting and scoring the opening goal in a 4–0 league victory over Tucanes. He repeated the feat in his

Copa Venezuela The Copa Venezuela () is the national cup football competition of Venezuela. Organized by the Venezuelan Football Federation, it is contested in the second half of the season by the teams in the Primera División and Segunda División, excluding ...

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. 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 The Metropolitanos of Havana was a baseball team in the Cuban National Series. The Metros, also known as the ''Guerreros'' (Warriors), had historically been a poor team, though they were ostensibly the heir to the Habana teams of the pre-revolut ...

. 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 The metatarsal bones or metatarsus (: metatarsi) are a group of five long bones in the midfoot, located between the tarsal bones (which form the heel and the ankle) and the phalanges ( toes). Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are ...

in his left foot. Despite the injury, he managed to make 20 appearances as Caracas ended fourth in the

Venezuelan Primera División The Primera División (; ), or Liga Venezolana (; ) is the top-flight professional football league of Venezuela. It was created in 1921 and turned professional in 1957. It is organized by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol. Format Starting i ...

, thereby qualifying for the

2017 Copa Sudamericana The 2017 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 16th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana'', or ), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Argentinian club Independiente ...

. 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 Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...

following his impressive form with Venezuela at the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

FC Augsburg

On the evening of 4 July 2017, Córdova completed a

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

to German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

for a reported fee of €1m, signing a five-year contract with the club. 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 The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...

loss to third division side

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

. 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 Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

. 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. He made his first Bundesliga start for the club the following year, starting in a 1–0 win over

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

on 13 January.

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 DSC Arminia Bielefeld (; full name: ; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (), also known as ''Die Arminen'' or ''Die Blauen'' ), or just Arminia (), is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia is most well known as ...

on a season-long

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

Loan to Real Salt Lake

On 3 February 2022, it was announced Córdova had joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

on a season-long loan.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

On 20 February 2023, Córdova returned to

, signing as a designated player with Canadian side

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

on a 3-year deal.

Alanyaspor

On September 15, 2023, it was announced that Córdova had been transferred to Turkish

side

for an undisclosed fee.

Loan to Sochi

On 5 February 2024, Córdova joined

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

club

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

on loan, with an option to buy.

International career

Youth

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 Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

which saw Venezuela claim the gold medal, and was named Player of the Tournament, with teammate

Ronaldo Peña Ronaldo Luis Peña Vargas (born 10 March 1997) is a Venezuelan Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Portuguesa F.C., Portuguesa. Club career Caracas Peña made his debut as a senior with ...

claiming the top goalscorer award. 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 Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, as Venezuela qualified for the

2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

in South Korea by securing a third-place finish. 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 Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the tournament's opening match. Three days later, he added two goals to his tally when he netted a brace in a 7–0 victory over

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

which saw Venezuela become the first team to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition. Córdova scored again in a 1–0 win over

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

on 26 May which helped Venezuela progress from their

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

without losing or conceding. His four goals saw him end as the tournament's joint-second top goal scorer alongside Fashion Sakala,

Dominic Solanke Dominic Ayodele Solanke-Mitchell (born 14 September 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team. Solanke started his career with Chelsea, making his first-team ...

, Jean-Kévin Augustin and Joshua Sargent, and one behind Golden Boot winner

Riccardo Orsolini Riccardo Orsolini (born 24 January 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Bologna and the Italy national team. Club career Early career Orsolini is a product of Ascoli's youth academy. He made his debut ...

, as Venezuela were ultimately beaten by

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the final. Córdova's goal against Mexico in the group stages was also voted Goal of the Tournament.

Senior

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 Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. 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.

Personal life

Córdova is a practicing

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

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.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Vancouver Whitecaps FC *

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Venezuela U20 *U-20 Copa de los Andes: 2016 *

runner-up:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

third place:

Individual *2016 Copa de los Andes: Player of the Tournament * FIFA U-20 World Cup 2017 Goal of the Tournament: 1–0 (1–0) vs. Mexico Records *Youngest player to score a Primera División brace (''with Caracas FC''): 18 years, 2 months and 22 days

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordova, Sergio 1997 births Living people People from Calabozo Footballers from Guárico Venezuelan Christians Venezuelan men's footballers Venezuela men's international footballers Venezuela men's under-20 international footballers Men's association football forwards Caracas F.C. players FC Augsburg players Arminia Bielefeld players Real Salt Lake players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Alanyaspor footballers PFC Sochi players Venezuelan Primera División players Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players Designated Players (MLS) Süper Lig players Russian Premier League players 2021 Copa América players Venezuelan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Russia