Iván Córdoba

Iván Ramiro Córdoba Sepúlveda (born 11 August 1976) is Colombian former footballer, who played as a defender.

Club career
Córdoba started his professional career on 1993 with his hometown club Deportivo Rionegro. His good performances earned him a transfer to fellow Colombian team Atlético Nacional. In 1998, he signed with San Lorenzo whom he made a name for himself.

In January 2000, Córdoba joined Italian giants Internazionale for €16 million, also rejecting Real Madrid. In the following yeras, he become a mainstay of the Internazionale defence, forming a highly effective partnership in central defence with Marco Materazzi.

Due to his long years of service, he was also named the club's vice-captain behind Javier Zanetti; because of this, he had the honour of lifting the Coppa Italia in 2005 when Zanetti was absent due to his involvement in the Confederations Cup with Argentina.

On 19 February 2008, Córdoba injured his left anterior cruciate ligament during the Champions League round of 16 fixture against Liverpool, resulting in having to sit out the rest of the season 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. Following the end of 2011-12 season in which he played 6 matches, he decided to retire. His last professional match was the derby against Milan won 4-2 in the matchday 37 on 6 May 2012.

Córdoba finished his Inter career by playing 455 matches across all competitions, becoming the 10th player with most appearances, scoring 18 goals in the process, winning 5 Serie A championships, 4 Coppa Italia titles, 3 Supercoppa Italiana titles, 1 UEFA Champions League, and 1 FIFA Club World Cup.

International career
Córdoba has enjoyed a long international career aswell, playing 73 matches with Colombia.

He made his competitive debut on 16 June 1997 in the 1997 Copa América against Costa Rica. Colombia was eliminated in the quarter-finals to Bolivia.

One year later, he also represented the national team at 1998 FIFA World Cup but did not play any match. In July 2011, he missed 2011 Copa América due to injury which forced him to announce his retirement from national team.

Club

 * Internazionale
 * Serie A: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
 * Coppa Italia: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2010–11
 * Supercoppa Italiana: 2005, 2010
 * UEFA Champions League: 2009–10
 * FIFA Club World Cup: 2010

International

 * Colombia
 * Copa America: 2001

Individual

 * South American Team of the Year: 1999
 * Pirata d'Oro: 2011