Top 10 Colombian players in Serie A

South American footballers have enjoyed growing success in Europe’s top five leagues in recent times.

Colombia has especially produced some fantastic players during a somewhat “golden era” for the country.

Due to their fantastic skills and technique, they have mostly taken Serie A by storm. That is why we take a look at the Top 10 Colombian players in Serie A:

10. Victor Ibarbo

Ibarbo joined Cagliari from Atletico Nacional in 2011, managing to make over 100 Serie A appearances and scoring 15 goals for the Sardinia side. Before leaving for Cagliari, he had the chance to move to Udinese. The forward may not have been so efficient in his Rossoblu spell, but he was very respected and loved by his fans.

Despite having later penned a new a three-year contract, that was supposed to keep him tied until 2017, he left to join Roma on loan back in 2015. There he featured only 15 times, but failed to deliver to the coach, which saw him being loaned out once again, this time in England.

9. David Ospina

The Colombia starting goalkeeper spent last season on loan at Napoli, where he made 24 appearances and kept eight clean sheets, which left coach Carlo Ancelotti impressed by the 30-year-old during his temporary spell in Naples. The good first impression was the reason to why they make the move permanent by securing his services on a long term basis this July.

With 98 international appearances, David is the most capped goalkeeper in Colombia’s history and also represented his country at two World Cups – in 2014 and 2018. With opportunities few and far at Arsenal, the move to Serie A allowed the Colombian to get more playing time, games he needed in order to remain first choice for his country.

8. Freddy Guarin

In January 2012, Guarín joined Inter Milan for €1.5 million, on loan, with the player replacing Paris Saint-Germain-bound Thiago Motta. During the summer, they made his move permanent paying up €11 million.

Guarin is also one of the many Colombians to have managed to play more than 100 games for a single club, having appeared in a total of 114 matches and netted 15 times. However, it was when the Chinese powerhouse Shanghai Shenhua came knocking at the door, that he left the Nerazzurri for a staggering €10 million per season deal in China. In 2018, he was quoted to be willing to return to Italy.

Italy is unique – there is nowhere like it, dear Guarin.

7. Cristian Zapata

Since leaving Deportivo Cali back in 2005, Zapata has spent the majority part of his career in Serie A.

He started his Italian adventure in Udine, where he made almost 170 appearances during his six years stay. Villareal lured him to Spain in 2011, but not long after, he returned in Italy to wear the AC Milan jersey. Although sidelined with serious injuries on few occasions, he managed to fight for his place in the starting squad.

However, with the Rossoneri changing management and head coach, the club equally changed its plans for the players and decided not to extend his already running contract. Since this summer, Zapata has become a Genoa player, again opting not to leave Italy.

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6. Luis Muriel

Just like his compatriot Cristian Zapata, Muriel also swapped Deportivo Cali for Udinese in 2010.

Despite later having few unsuccessful stints in the Spanish La Liga with Granada and Sevilla, he has left a great mark in Italy. From 2015 to 2017, he had featured in one of Sampdoria’s strongest squads in its history, scoring a total of 21 goals in almost 80 appearances for the Blucerchiati.

This transfer window, the striker completed a €15 million move to Atalanta, in order to get to play in the Champions League. He had also featured for Fiorentina the past season.

5. Mario Yepes

The now retired veteran started off in the French league with Nantes and Paris Saint-Germain, where he won both French League Cups, before moving to Italy where he featured at Chievo, AC Milan, and Atalanta. He even won a Scudetto with the Rossoneri in 2011.

Mario Yepes might not be remembered for possessing wonderful technique like the rest of these Colombians that conquered Europe. However, he was a rock at the back for multiple clubs during a 6-year spell in the Italian top flight.

4. Carlos Bacca

Carlos comes from a pretty unhealthy coastal town in Colombia. Having lived an ordinary fisherman’s life while young, he could have never guessed what the future was holding for him.

His tenure at AC Milan started out well enough, but for a striker that cost €30 million, his goal-scoring record didn’t exactly stand out. He scored 18 league goals his first season at the San Siro, but during the next, his output dipped to 13 goals in 32 Serie A matches. As a result of his poor form, the Devils thought a change of scenery would do the striker good and loaned him out to Villarreal, who later bough him outright.

3. Juan Cuadrado

Cuadrado left his homeland to play for Udinese – the Serie A machine for luring Colombian players, but failed to impress, making only 20 appearances in three season. As a result, he was loaned to Lecce. In spite of numerous splendid performances by Cuadrado, Lecce finished 18th and was relegated to Serie B.

He flourished whilst his time at Fiorentina, which prompted media speculation of a move to a larger club, and that club was Chelsea. In 2015, he returned to Italy to wear the Juventus jersey, and has made 137 appearances since then, racking up 14 goals and 31 assists. Cuadrado has won consecutive Scudettos and played in a Champions League final.

2. Duvan Zapata

Napoli snapped him up in the summer of 2013, but seven goals in 22 outings in his first season in Naples saw him leave on a two-year loan stint at Udinese, with an option to buy, completed in 2015. However, once again a return of 19 goals in 65 appearances hardly set Serie A alight, and he duly returned to Napoli before being shipped out to Sampdoria, again on loan.

The 28-year-old striker finally enjoyed a barnstorming season for Atalanta as the club made history by finishing third in Serie A, reaching the Coppa Italia final and securing Champions League football for the first time. It can be dangerous to suggest their success hinged on one player, but without Zapata’s influence few would have backed the club to have reached such heights.

Finishing the season on 23 league goals, the forward also contributed with seven assists, in turn making parent club Sampdoria most certainly rue their decision to loan the striker to their Italian rivals on a two-year deal with an option to buy.

1. Ivan Cordoba

Who would have known that when Cordoba joined Inter in the early 2000s, he would have helped the club secure five league titles, four Coppa Italias and the UEFA Champions League in 2010. It sure could all have been very different had he moved to Spain at the start of the millennium.

The former Colombian international made 455 appearances in all competitions for the Nerazzurri, staying until his retirement 12 years later. He was always loved by the club for the commitment he displayed. Cordoba even managed to score 19 times during those 12 years, becoming one of many former Inter players that always will be remembered by the fans.