by Throughout the history of Colombian soccer, several goalkeepers have managed to mark a golden age under the three sticks. René Higuita, Miguel Calero, Faryd Mondragón, David Ospina, Óscar Córdoba and others have made enough merits to make their way among the best in the world.
However, only one of them managed to do so according to the important list published by the Federation of History and Statistics. In the ranking of the 50 best goal-scorers on the planet, the name of Óscar Córdoba, who played in a World Cup with the Colombian National Team, won the Copa América and is an undisputed idol at Boca Juniors in Argentina.
The list, which is made up of the best goalkeepers from 1987 to 2022, gave the Colombian recognition for what he has done in his sports career. The coffee grower appears in position 48.
However, the ranking was led by the legendary Italian Gianluigi Buffon, who ranks first above Iker Casillas (2nd) and Manuel Neuer (3rd). The top 10 is completed by Petr Cech, Edwin Van Der Sar, Peter Schmeichel, Oliver Kahn, Thibaut Courtois, José Luis Chilavert and Walter Zenga. The coffee grower appears in position 48.
Cordoba’s race
The Colombian goalkeeper began in one of the quarries with the greatest projection in the country, such as the Carlos Sarmiento Lora school. Thanks to his enormous performances, the Colombian National Team noticed him, summoning him for the South American games in 1985.
After that, Córdoba joined Deportivo Cali, a team that made him debut as a professional under three sticks in 1988. In his first chapter, The Colombian goalkeeper only played one game with the sugar growers before going to Atlético Nacional, a team with which he did not have much continuity either.
Córdoba had to return to Cali and then be loaned to Quindío, a team where he made the great leap and had enormous saves that earned him consideration in the youth team that was present at the Youth World Cup in Saudi Arabia; squad that also included the legendary defender, Jorge Bermúdez.
Before making the big leap to soccer abroad, Córdoba went through the goals of Millonarios, América de Cali and Once Caldas de Manizales, teams where he reaffirmed his great skill to be of interest to a giant of the continent.
For the year of 1997, Córdoba arrived at one of the biggest clubs in Argentina as Boca Juniors. There he finds one of the highest peaks of his career, where he won everything and was fundamental. The Colombian goalkeeper managed to win two Copa Libertadores, one Intercontinental, in addition to local tournaments.
With this, in 2001 he was listed by the IFFHS as the second best goalkeeper in the world, behind the German Oliver Kahn and surpassing the Italian Gianluigi Buffon and the French Fabien Barthez in the vote.
Finally, Córdoba ended up leaving Boca to go to Europe, where he had a spell in Italian and Turkish football. After this trip, the Colombian returned to Deportivo Cali and closed his career at Millonarios.
On November 7, 2009, at the age of 39, he announced that, as soon as the tournament was over, he would retire from football after suffering several injuries and chronic back discomfort.
As for the Colombian National Team, the goalkeeper wore the colors from 1993 to 2006, when he defended the goal in 73 games. With the Tricolor he won the 2001 Copa América that took place on Colombian soil, winning the final against Mexico.
