Costinha

For other people named Costinha, see Costinha (disambiguation).

Costinha

Personal information
Full name	Francisco José Rodrigues Costa
Date of birth	December 1, 1974 (1974-12-01) (age 36)
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Retired
Youth career
1990–1994	Oriental
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1995	Oriental	26	(3)
1995–1996	Machico	30	(5)
1996–1997	Nacional	27	(4)
1997–2001	Monaco	84	(3)
2001–2005	Porto	108	(13)
2005–2006	Dynamo Moscow	10	(0)
2006–2007	Atlético Madrid	24	(0)
2007–2010	Atalanta	1	(0)
National team
1998–2006	Portugal	53	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Francisco José Rodrigues da Costa, OIH (born 1 December 1974), aka Costinha (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɔʃˈtiɲɐ]), is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Best known for his tackling and positioning,^[1] he played professionally in five different countries - having arrived in the first division of his own at nearly 27 - and was also a Portuguese international. In 2004, he helped F.C. Porto win the UEFA Champions League, winning a total of eight trophies with that club.

Costinha gained more than 50 caps with Portugal, appearing with the national team in one World Cup and two European Championships, being part of the squad that reached the final in Euro 2004.

Club career

Costinha was born in Lisbon. After years of playing in the lower leagues, he caught the interest of French side AS Monaco FC while playing with C.D. Nacional, then in the Portuguese second division. After a tentative first season, he became an important first team member, helping with 28 matches and one goal to the club's 1999–2000 Ligue 1 conquest.

Aged almost 27, Costinha made his Portuguese top flight debut when he signed with F.C. Porto, going on to be an instrumental midfield element in the northerners' two consecutive national championships. Arguably, his finest club moment came on 9 March 2004 when he scored against and effectively knocked out Manchester United in 2003–04's UEFA Champions League first knockout round;^[1] Porto went on to win the title, beating former side Monaco 3–0 in the final.

An undisputed starter again in 2004–05, Costinha was sold to FC Dynamo Moscow in May 2005 for €4 million, alongside teammates Maniche and Giourkas Seitaridis, following Derlei (left in January).^[2] Unsettled, he left for Atlético Madrid, where he would play in the 2006–07 season.^[3]

Costinha would be released by the Colchoneros in August 2007, joining Serie A outfit Atalanta BC,^[4] where he would appear very rarely throughout his spell (only one match, in his first season) due to serious injuries and, later, technical choices from his club, who considered the player unfit to play competitively, despite him having the highest salary in the first team (€700,000 per year, in a contract due to expire in June 2010). The club tried to agree a mutual termination of the contract with the player, and also attempted unsuccessfully to obtain rescision of his contract through the Italian Football League.^[5]

On 23 February 2010, 35-year old Costinha finally rescinded his link to Atalanta.^[6] He immediately retired, being named shortly afterwards Sporting Clube de Portugal's director of football, succeeding sacked Ricardo Sá Pinto, his former international teammate. On 9 February 2011, the day after conceding an interview to Sport TV in which in criticized the club's board of directors, he was relieved of his duties.^[7]

In June 2011, in the same capacity, Costinha joined Servette FC, with the Swiss team being managed by countryman João Alves.^[8]

International career

Costinha made his debut for Portugal on 14 October 1998, during a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier 1–0 home win against Slovakia, going on to appear in the tournament's final stage, where he scored an injury time header against Romania (1–0).

He also played at Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. During the latter, on 25 June, he took part in the Battle of Nuremberg, being one of four players sent off in the round of 16 success against the Netherlands (1–0), after two bookable offenses, the second being a handball.

Costinha finished his international career with 53 caps and two goals, having been rarely called during the Euro 2008 qualifying stage.

Costinha: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	17 June 2000	GelreDome, Arnhem, Netherlands	Romania	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2000
2	7 September 2002	Villa Park, Birmingham, England	England	1–1	1–1	Friendly

Club statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
1997–98	Monaco	French League	11	0
1998–99			21	2
1999–00			28	1
2000–01			24	0
Portugal			League		Taça de Portugal		Taça da Liga		Europe		Total
2001–02	Porto	Portuguese League	28	3
2002–03			23	5
2003–04			27	2
2004–05			30	3
Russia			League		Russian Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2005	Dynamo Moscow	Russian League	10	0
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Copa de la Liga		Europe		Total
2006–07	Atlético Madrid	Spanish League	24	0
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		League Cup		Europe		Total
2007–08	Atalanta	Italian League	1	0
2008–09
2009–10
Total	France		94	3
	Portugal		108	13
	Russia		10	0
	Spain		24	0
	Italy		1	0
Career total			237	16

Honours

Club

• Porto:
  • UEFA Champions League: 2003–04
  • Intercontinental Cup: 2004
  • UEFA Cup: 2002–03
  • Portuguese League: 2002–03, 2003–04
  • Portuguese Cup: 2002-03
  • Portuguese Supercup: 2003, 2004

• Monaco:
  • French League: 1999–2000

Country

• UEFA European Football Championship: Runner-up 2004

Orders

• Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)^[9]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Costinha carrying the fight; UEFA.com, 23 March 2004
2. ^ Porto pair move to Moscow; UEFA.com, 12 May 2005
3. ^ Costinha aims high with Atlético; UEFA.com, 10 August 2006
4. ^ Costinha off to Atalanta; UEFA.com, 24 August 2007
5. ^ "Offresi Costinha disperatamente Atalanta stufa dell' amico di Mou" (in Italian). Gazzetta dello Sport. 10 January 2009. http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/2009/gennaio/10/Offresi_Costinha_disperatamente_Atalanta_stufa_ga_10_090110031.shtml. Retrieved 6 January 2010. 
6. ^ Atalanta e Costinha - Rescissione consensuale (Atalanta and Costinha - Mutual rescision); Atalanta's official website, 23 February 2010 (Italian)
7. ^ "Sporting sack Costinha". PortuGOAL. 9 February 2011. http://www.portugoal.net/index.php/more-sporting-news/20924-sporting-sack-costinha. Retrieved 20 April 2011. 
8. ^ "Costinha nommé Directeur Sportif du Servette FC [Costinha named Servette FC director of football]" (in French). Servette FC. 14 June 2011. http://www.servettefc.ch/fr/actualite/article-3752.html. Retrieved 22 July 2011. 
9. ^ "Selecção distinguida pelo Duque de Bragança [National team honoured by Duke of Bragança]" (in Portuguese). Cristiano Ronaldo News. 30 August 2006. http://cristianosantosronaldo.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html. Retrieved 30 August 2006. 

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)
• PortuGOAL profile
• L'Équipe stats (French)
• BDFutbol profile

Persondata
Name	Costinha
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1 December 1974
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Date of death
Place of death