After his brief stint with the Chile U-20 team, when he replaced outgoing coach Hugo Tocalli in 2015, Nicolás Córdova returned to the country and was presented as the head coach of the Male Youth National Teams, and he took up his new role with high expectations.
The 44-year-old strategist, now with more experience as a coach and developer, stated after his official appointment: "It's a challenge that fills me with pride. I am very excited to be part of this process to help new players play for the national team and develop their careers abroad," and highlighted his role: "It is important that we have a project like Chilean football that will yield future results and that motivates me to work in the youth national teams".
Córdova indicated that he will start in September and explained that they will implement a uniform methodology for all age groups, where he also said that they will work together with the clubs, seeking to reach a consensus on how to execute this project.
"We will not impose anything on the clubs, but we do want to have those spaces that are so important for progress. We are aware that the players belong to the clubs, not to the National Team, which is why we want them to believe in us," said the former coach of Palestino and Santiago Wanderers in Chile.
LEARNING IN QATAR WITH SPAIN AS A ROLE MODEL
Nicolás Córdova took the opportunity to comment on his time in the Middle East, a two and a half year adventure that he assures gave him more tools that will serve him in his role with La Roja and youth football.
"Having experienced the World Cup from within, with all the preparations of the Qatar national team and having spent almost two years in the country's football federation, will clearly help me a lot. I will try to implement things in the best possible way," he expressed.
"We want to find a common thread between clubs and the National Team, like what was done in Spain and other countries, where each one, with their exercises, seeks the same goal, to go in one direction. That is our objective and hopefully the clubs are willing to do that," he concluded.