Sport: Córdoba want Diarra back to his best at El Arcángel

Córdoba CF is rethinking the start of Youssouf Diarra’s second spell after a bright beginning that, according to Sport, has gradually lost bite with the passage of the matches and the team’s ongoing turbulence. The outlet recalls that Diarra was brought in for “immediate performance,” and that it showed in the first two LaLiga 2 fixtures.

From attacking midfielder

Sport links the change in perception to the way Iván Ania is using him inside the plan. The article points to tactical reshuffling at half-time against Albacete: Adnane Ghailan was moved to the wing, and the Moroccan ended up in the half-space/“enganche,” allowing Córdoba to recover the setup with an attacking midfield role that Ania has often exploited. In that context, Sport says Diarra’s second-half role looked less like a pure attacking “volante” and more like a position with greater overall involvement.

The goal: recover his version

Sport argues Diarra could be part of the solution to two needs: give Ghailan the right fit and bring the best version of the Malian back. The piece describes Diarra as a midfielder from Bamako with the ability to cover ground—physical power plus the necessary attack-minded cleverness to unbalance opponents. Still, it adds that until now he has produced more of the forward-facing side than the defensive/containment aspect.

For Sport, the clearest sign is the most recent match against Albacete, which brought the team their second win and first away of the season. It’s highlighted as the first time, or at least with more representative minutes, where Diarra recovered the role that once worked for him at El Arcángel, even if only in flashes. The article also notes that, with Ghailan getting into the system, Diarra could return to a double-pivot look alongside Isma Ruiz—a setup where he had also shone earlier.

That idea matches what Ania said when Diarra wasn’t in the squad: “We haven’t found that profile,” the coach admitted after their first Hypermotion LaLiga campaign without the player, who had already moved to Tenerife once professional football returned for Cádiz in 2024. Now, with those tactical adjustments and the boost from the second half versus Albacete, Sport suggests Córdoba wants to keep finding that profile consistently.