Alessandro Costacurta

Alessandro Costacurta

Personal information
Date of birth	24 April 1966 (1966-04-24) (age 45)
Place of birth	Orago, Italy
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1986–2007	AC Milan	460	(3)
1986–1987	AC Monza	30	(0)
National team
1991–1998	Italy	59	(2)
Teams managed
2008–2009	Mantova
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Alessandro "Billy" Costacurta (born 24 April 1966) is an Italian former professional football defender turned manager.

Costacurta spent some twenty years at Milan, with a brief period spent in AC Monza on loan. He is best known for his role alongside Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti, forming one of the greatest defences in the Serie A and European football during the 90s. He is mainly central defender, but also can play on the right flank if necessary.

Club career

Costacurta, affectionally known to fans as "Billy", won the Scudetto seven times with Milan, and the European Cup/Champions League five times (1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007 - although he did not actually feature in the squad for the 2007 final). He was set to retire from Milan at the end of the 2005-06 season, but later signed a one-year extension at the age of 40.[1] He became the oldest footballer ever to play in the Champions League, in Milan's 1-0 loss to AEK Athens on 21 November 2006, at 40 years and 211 days, topping the previous record held by Belgian goalkeeper Dany Verlinden at 40 years and 116 days.

On 7 May 2007, at age 41, he announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2006-07 season. He remained with the club, as a second assistant to coach Carlo Ancelotti for a short time afterwards. He made his final home start in Milan's 3-2 loss to Udinese on 19 May 2007, converting a penalty that marked his first Serie A goal since the 1991-92 season (a left-footed volley against Roma on 3 November 1991), and left the pitch near the end of the match to a standing ovation. After the match ended, his teammates entered the pitch wearing a replica of his jersey as a tribute.

International career

A mainstay in the Italian national team throughout the 1990s, Costacurta played for his country in 1994 and 1998 World Cups, as well as Euro 96. After missing out on the 1994 Champions League final through suspension, he also missed the 1994 World Cup final loss to Brazil, again due to suspension. He retired from international duty with 59 caps in 1998.

Coaching career

After his retirement, in the 2007-08 season Costacurta was a member of Carlo Ancelotti's coaching staff as a technical assistant, while earning his own coaching badges. At the end of the season, he successfully earned his badges and various Italian media reported that he was pursuing a managerial role of his own. However he refused a position at Pisa offered by new club owner Luca Pomponi immediately after the completion of his takeover of the club, citing his need to remain at Milan in order to stay at home and take care of his son, while his wife was on tour with the theater.^[1]

On 27 October 2008 Costacurta was unveiled as new head coach of Serie B promotion candidates Mantova, following the dismissal of previous boss Giuseppe Brucato.^[2] However his time at Mantova proved to be unsuccessful, as he failed to improve Mantova's results and ultimately leading him to tend his resignation from the coaching post following a 1–0 loss to Vicenza that left his club only four points above the relegation zone.^[3]

Statistics

Club

Season	Club	League	League		Cup		Europe		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1986-87	Milan	Serie A	0	0	2	0	-	-	-	-	2	0
1986-87	Monza	Serie C1	30	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	30	0
1987-88	Milan	Serie A	7	0	1	-	-	-	-	-	8	0
1988-89			26	0	7	0	7	0	1	0	41	0
1989-90			26	1	3	0	10	0	1	0	40	1
1990-91			25	0	3	0	6	0	1	0	35	0
1991-92			30	1	6	0	0	0	-	-	36	1
1992-93			31	0	6	0	10	0	1	0	48	0
1993-94			30	0	2	0	13	0	2	0	47	0
1994-95			27	0	3	0	8	0	2	0	40	0
1995-96			30	0	3	0	7	0	-	-	40	0
1996-97			30	0	3	0	5	0	1	0	39	0
1997-98			29	0	8	0	0	0	-	-	37	0
1998-99			29	0	3	0	0	0	-	-	32	0
1999-00			27	0	2	0	5	0	1	0	35	0
2000-01			18	0	2	0	9	0	-	-	29	0
2001-02			21	0	3	0	7	0	-	-	31	0
2002-03			18	0	5	0	10	0	-	-	33	0
2003-04			22	0	5	0	8	0	1	0	36	0
2004-05			14	0	3	0	5	0	-	-	22	0
2005-06			15	0	3	0	3	0	-	-	21	0
2006-07			3	1	5	0	3	0	-	-	11	1
Total for Milan			458	3	78	0	116	0	11	0	663	3
Career totals			488	3	78	0	116	0	11	0	693	3

*European competitions include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, and UEFA Super Cup

International

^{[4] [5]}

Italy national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1991	2	0
1992	8	1
1993	5	0
1994	14	1
1995	5	0
1996	6	0
1997	11	0
1998	8	0
Total	59	2

Personal life

Costacurta is married to former Miss Italy Martina Colombari, and has one son, Achille.

References

1. ^ "Costacurta dice no, il Pisa torna su Ventura" (in Italian). Il Tirreno. 2008-07-15. http://iltirreno.repubblica.it/dettaglio/Costacurta-dice-no-il-Pisa-torna-su-Ventura/1487844?edizione=Pisa. Retrieved 2008-10-27. 
2. ^ "ESONERATO GIUSEPPE BRUCATO: COSTACURTA IL NUOVO TECNICO" (in Italian). AC Mantova. 2008-10-27. http://www.acmantova.it/news_estesa.asp?idnews=3047. Retrieved 2008-10-27. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "COMUNICATO STAMPA" (in Italian). AC Mantova. 2009-02-09. http://www.acmantova.it/news_estesa.asp?IDNews=3229. Retrieved 2009-02-09. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=11174
5. ^ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/costacurta-intl.html

• View from America - BBC Sport, 8/3/04
• Costacurta to assist Ancelotti on Milan bench - sports.filbalad.com, 5/7/07
• Costacurta signs off at San Siro - UEFA.com, 5/20/07

External links

• Profile at ACMilan.com
• European Champions Cup/UEFA Champions League Winning Squads

Persondata
Name	Costacurta, Alessandro
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	24 April 1966
Place of birth	Orago, Italy
Date of death
Place of death