Jose Cordoba is a name which will linger around Rangers circles for a little while yet.
The Ibrox side presented the Panamanian defender, 23, with the Ibrox trophy room and club’s raucous crowd as they looked to convince him of a summer move.
But when Levski Sofia moved the Jose Cordoba transfer goalposts Rangers pulled out of a deal and the rest is history.
Cordoba moved to Norwich City but it’s clear the left-sided centre-back was the club’s number one choice in the position this summer.
Whilst Rangers moved quickly for back-up option Clinton Nsiala, there’s still some interest about what might’ve been with Jose Cordoba.
And fans will note the defender’s unceremonious exit from the Copa America with his country as Panama are destroyed by a resurgent James Rodriguez and Colombia.
Cordoba at centre of Colombia collapse
Panama can probably say they’ve done themselves proud getting to the Copa America quarter-finals.
But Colombia were quite simply a step too far as they ran riot over their Latin American cousins with a rampant 5-0 James Rodriguez-inspired victory in Phoenix, Arizona.
The ex-Real Madrid and Bayern playmaker now turns out for Sao Paulo and led a rampant Colombia on a famous night, scoring one and creating another two for Los Cafeteros.
But if James was the Man of the Match, the worst performer on the night was early summer Rangers target Jose Cordoba.
The towering 6ft1 centre-half lost Jhon Cordoba for the opening goal from a corner and the defender’s night only got worse from there.
Cordoba (4.9) was also caught on the hop defensively as Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera – the only player rated lower than the Norwich defender by FotMob (4.2) on the night – hauled one-time reported Rangers target Jhon Arias down for a penalty kick.
James duly dispatched.
A quick free kick then caught out Cordoba and the rest of the Panamanian defence for Luis Diaz to add a third before half-time.
Jose Cordoba was once again found wanting for Colombia’s fourth goal, straying into midfield before Richard Rios found space to hammer home.
To add final insult to injury, the summer Rangers target then calamitously conceded a penalty in injury time by wiping out Colombia star Santiago Arias, earning a yellow card in the process.
Miguel Borja completed the rout from the spot.
Rangers dodge defender bullet
As Colombia march on to a semi-final clash with Uruguay, Jose Cordoba and Panama are now out of the competition.
Rangers fans will note the performance of Cordoba and it might perhaps soothe any lingering pain surrounding the failed transfer bid for the defender.
Whilst we’re sure Jose Cordoba has plenty of redeeming qualities, in this match the centre-back toiled significantly and contributed to a disastrous night for his country.
Cordoba will now head for a period of downtime and lick his wounds before making the permanent switch to the UK with the Canaries.
But as Rangers alternative Clinton Nisala jets out with the team to this summer’s training camp, there will be renewed optimism that we perhaps dodged a particularly reckless bullet.
