Franco Costanzo

Football player infobox
playername = Franco Costanzo


fullname = Franco Costanzo
height = height|m=1.87
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|9|5
cityofbirth = Río Cuarto
countryofbirth = Argentina
currentclub = Basel
clubnumber = 1
position = Goalkeeper
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 2001–05
2005–06
2006–present
clubs = River Plate
Alavés
Basel
caps(goals) = 87 (0)
31 (0)
71 (0)
nationalyears = 1999
2004
nationalteam = Argentina U-20
Argentina
nationalcaps(goals) = 4 (0)
1 (0)
pcupdate = 5 October 2008
ntupdate = 10 August 2008

Franco Costanzo (born September 5, 1980 in Río Cuarto, Córdoba Province) is an Argentinian football goalkeeper, who is captain of FC Basel in the Swiss Super League. He has earned the reputation of being an eccentric goalkeeper by often dribbling the ball past the opposition's strikers and by making somewhat unorthadox saves. Early in his career, Costanzo was once considered an excellent prospect; however, due to a few lengthy injuries, he has never managed to fulfill his full potential.

Football career

Costanzo started playing professionally with Buenos Aires giants Club Atlético River Plate in 2000 and made his first-team debut in 2001. He had become the first choice goalkeeper by 2002 and was looked upon by many as one of the most talented goalkeepers in South America. However, injury started to plague him and when he returned from the sidelines, Germán Lux had established himself as River Plate's Number 1. His search for first-team action then took him to Spain's La Liga as he transferred to Deportivo Alavés in 2005. He was first choice at Alavés straight away, but when they were relegated into the Segunda División, he asked the manager, José María Salmerón, to be put on thr transfer list. Swiss side FC Basel aquired his services in 2006 for £1.4 million after the departure of veteren goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler. His Basel career did not get off to a great start; he made a blunder in his first match which FC Sion forward Álvaro Saborío capatalised on, and he scored an own goal in his second match against Neuchâtel Xamax. However, he played excellent in the second half of the 2006/07 season and was voted the "FCB Player of the Year". He earned much praise during the 2007/08 season for his form in the UEFA Cup, especially for his part in helping FC Basel earn a valuable away point against NK Dinamo Zagreb in the hostile atmosphere of the Maksimir Stadium.

On 17 July 2008, the day before the Swiss Super League 2008-09 Season kicked off, he was named Basel captain and he signed a new contract until 2011 [http://baz.ch/news/index.cfm?ObjectID=3176855D-1422-0CEF-7007690A54FFC1A7 Basler Zeitung, 17 July 2008 (German)] . His first game as captain was on 18 July 2008, in a 2-1 win over BSC Young Boys at the Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, in which he was named Man of the Match.

Costanzo was an internationalist at Under-20 level and was part of the Argentina squad at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. He made his full-international debut in Argentina's 4-2 World Cup Qualifying win over Uruguay at the River Plate Stadium on October 9 2004.

Titles

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhRCkcdU0RA&mode=related&search=Cupfinal%202007%20Costanzo Franco Costanzo on YouTube]
* [http://es.sports.yahoo.com/fo/profiles/23477.html Franco Costanzo profile on Yahoo Deportes] es icon
* [http://www.fcb.ch/sport/show/playerDetailByID//27580/72/9/36 Profile at FC Basel] de icon
* [http://www.football.ch/sfl/777819/de/Kader.aspx?pId=709181 Profile at Swiss Football League Website] de icon

References