| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco José Rodrigues Costa | ||
| Date of birth | December 1, 1974 | ||
| 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). |
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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.
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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]
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.
| 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 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 | ||||||||||
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