Josè Còrdoba is Norwich’s first summer signing of 2024 and their first Panamanian player. Signing for Norwich just a few days after his 23rd birthday Còrdoba is a left footed centre back who has taken the slightly less trodden path of going from Panama to the 2nd division of Bulgaria, before moving to the top tier and then onto Norwich.
For my analysis of Còrdoba, I watched video clips of him in the Bulgarian League, but largely focused on his two performances against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa Conference League. I will confess I know little of Bulgarian football so judging the level is difficult so seeing how he performed against a Bundesliga team gives a better impression of his level.
First Impressions
Data and centre backs is a tricky spot. Most of the things you want in a good centre back happen off the ball and go unrecorded. There is the quote from Maldini about if he has to make a tackle it is due to an earlier mistake and I’m not going to argue about defending with him. However, data can give us clues into the type of defender a player is and how they were used in their team. The most useful insights come around how the player uses the ball in possession.
It is clear to see how Còrdoba plays from his radar. Progessive runs, progressive passes and passes into the final third are all above 90% while the ratio of long passes to short passes is low. This is a defender who is comfortable in moving the ball forward and looks to do so regularly. Levski Sofia are definitely a team that likes to maintain possession, averaging over 60% possession in the Bulgarian League, so Còrdoba is a player that suits that style. It also means he would have been encouraged to keep his passing short, so the radar reflects his own style as well as the teams.
An important factor for centre backs, maybe more than other positions, is their physical attributes. Depending on what source you use, Jòse Còrdoba ranges from around 185cm to 189cm (6ft to 6ft 2). He has a good vertical leap and most pleasingly, considering Norwich’s recent defenders, is quick across the pitch. With these physical attributes combined with his on ball ability it is clear why he clubs have been interested in signing him.
Defensive fundamentals
Còrdoba is a very front footed defender who looks to steal the ball away from his opponent before it arrives to them.
In the below sequence Cordoba spots that the Frankfurt (in black) defender is looking to play a pass through the Levski midfield and into the attacker. Cordoba follows the attacker dropping deep, initially falling behind from a standing start.
However, Còrdoba is able to use his pace to arrive at the ball ahead of the attacker, steal it away from him using his body and then come away with the ball. (Unfortunately, on this occasion given he was surrounded by three Frankfurt players he soon lost possession).
This is one of several examples of where Còrdoba isn’t afraid to come out of the defensive line to track a player and uses his pace and strength to win the ball ahead of his opponent. This is a high risk strategy as should he get rolled by the attacker it can leave a lot of space in behind. It is also this style that leads to him giving away a high proportion of fouls, as he can over commit in the tackle and take the opponent more than the ball.
In the situation below, Còrdoba refrains from aggressively closing down the attacker, but uses his awareness to prevent a dangerous situation before it can arise. Below, Còrdoba notices the run of the Frankfurt midfielder into vacant space. He moves over to cover off this run.
When the ball is played into the space, Còrdoba is already prepared and can easily get ahead of the attacker, winning the ball.
On the ball
Còrdoba displays a good understanding of the defensive fundamentals, but it is his ability on the ball that makes him stand out as a talented prospect.
Not only does he make a large number of progressive passes, he is also well above average for progressive runs. Levski are keen to play out from the back due to their possession based style of play and much of the initial build up phase utilises Còrdoba’s on the ball ability. With Levski often building up in a 3–4–3 shape, Còrdoba will move over to the left centre back position and look to move the ball through the first line of the opposition press. With lots of his passes out to the left hand byline, to the wonderfully named Wenderson Tsunami.
While Còrdoba is relatively comfortable on the ball, he can be prone to a loose first touch which may be punished at higher levels than the Bulgarian League. Again, this is a sign of his desire to be pro-active, often electing to try and push the ball in front of himself in order to be able to move things forward. Sometimes this leads to the ball running away from his feet and given an opponent the chance to jump in. He is also fairly heavily left footed and will take extra touches to move the ball to his more comfortable left hand side
The sequence below shows a full display of his trademark moves. Còrdoba anticipates the through ball against Frankfurt and moves across to cut off the pass. However, an inital heavy touch pushes the ball out of his control.
Còrdoba uses his pace to regain control of the ball and burst past a couple of Frankfurt players attempting to counter-press him. He finishes off by passing through the pressure with the outside of his left foot to a team mate in a good position to initiate a counter attack.
Overall
You don’t have to watch a huge amount of Còrdoba to see why several teams around Europe wanted to bring him out of Bulgaria. He has the physicality you’d hope for in a centre back, although at times does look a little ungainly. He possess composure on the ball and has the anticipation off it that allows him to prevent attacks quickly.
However, this is still a raw player yet to make 100 first team games and spent his career so far in leagues where he is a cut above those around him. His tendancy to jump into tackles or ahead of his opponent is one that could be exploited by better teams and players.
The adaptation to the Championship could be a difficult one for him with an increase in the sheer pace of the game and the level of analysis by opposition teams. He certainly has the potential to step up though and in the home game versus Frankfurt he was tasked with marking Randal Kolo Muani before he made his €80m move to PSG. Còrdoba looked unfazed against the French international and regularly outpaced and outmuscled him. If Còrdoba can keep those levels of performance up, then the Championship will just be another step on his upward trajectory.
The upcoming Copa America games against Uruguay and the USMNT will give another good indication of his level and Norwich have been smart to jump in to sign him before he puts himself on display in the USA. While there is an element of risk in this transfer, with the fundamental building blocks in place Norwich should be able to fashion Còrdoba into a solid Championship performer relatively quickly.
