Sebastián Córdova’s options with Mexico shrink under Cocca

Diego Cocca has been drafted in to shake up Mexico’s national team and turn their fortunes around. Like all coaches, Cocca has his own preferences and ideas about what he is looking for and that will mean some players will be left out in the cold. That doesn’t bode well for Sebastián Córdova, who may not have the profile that the coach is looking for - as evidenced by the lack of playing time Cocca gave him during his brief spell in charge of UANL Tigres.

Córdova’s quality isn’t in question but he has suffered from inconsistency and that cost him periods of exile during his time as an Americanista, and also when he was sent on loan to Alebrijes de Oaxaca in the Promotion League and his short spell at Necaxa. He impressed with América which in turn, prompted Tigres to sign him in January last year. Under Miguel Herrera, he was a regular starter in the Apertura 2022, scoring four goals and setting up another four.

Mexico

• México

NewsStatistics

But when Diego Cocca arrived to take the Tigres job at the start of the New Year, it became instantly evident that he didn’t have any time for Córdova’s inconsistency or his misunderstood character. In the five games that Cocca was on the bench in the Clausura 2023, Córdova was used just twice, coming on at the end of the first two games against Santos Laguna and Pachuca - after that he was an unused sub in the following three games.

Since then Cocca has accepted the Mexico job, which could suggest that opportunities with the national team from now on will be few and far between for Córdova.

So far in the Liga MX his best moments have been in the Guardianes 2020 tournament where he totalled 1,316 minutes with América and with Tigres in the Apertura 2022 he had his second most regular run of his career with 1,249 minutes.

We will see what Cocca decides but by omitting the 25-year-old attacking midfielder, he would effectively deprive the national team of a high quality player - much in the same way that Cuauhtémoc Blanco was excluded at Germany 2006 for his differences with Ricardo La Volpe or Chicharito Hernández with Tata Martino, among other cases.