Costinha

Francisco José Rodrigues da Costa, OIH (born 1 December 1974), known as Costinha (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɔʃˈtiɲɐ]), is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and the current manager of Académica de Coimbra.
Best known for his tackling and positioning, as well as his athleticism, stamina and workrate, he played professionally in five countries, reaching the first division of his own at nearly 27. He helped Porto win the 2004 Champions League, conquering a total of eight trophies with that club.
Costinha played more than 50 times with Portugal, appearing with the national team in one World Cup and two European Championships and being part of the squad that reached the final in Euro 2004.

Player

Costinha was born in Lisbon to an Angolan father, who had emigrated to the Portuguese capital in the 1960s. In the 1997 summer, after years of playing in the lower leagues, he caught the interest of French club AS Monaco FC while playing with C.D. Nacional in the second division. After a tentative first season he became an important first-team member, helping with 28 matches and one goal to the 1999–2000 conquest of the Ligue 1 championship; he was part of a talented side which ousted Manchester United from the UEFA Champions League in 1998, on the away goals rule.

Aged almost 27, Costinha made his Primeira Liga debut when he signed with FC Porto in 2001, going on to be an instrumental midfield element in the northerners' two consecutive national championships. On 9 March 2004, he scored against and effectively knocked out Manchester United in the Champions League first knockout round; Porto went on to win the title, beating his former side Monaco 3–0 in the final.

Again a starter throughout most of the 2004–05 campaign, Costinha was sold to FC Dynamo Moscow in May 2005 for €4 million, alongside teammates Maniche and Giourkas Seitaridis, following Derlei (left in January). Unsettled, he left for Atlético Madrid, where he would play in 2006–07.

Costinha would be released by the Colchoneros in August 2007, joining Serie A's Atalanta BC, 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.

Director

On 23 February 2010, 35-year-old Costinha left Atalanta by mutual consent. He immediately retired, being named shortly afterwards as Sporting Clube de Portugal's director of football, succeeding the sacked Ricardo Sá Pinto, his former international teammate. On 9 February 2011, the day after an interview to Sport TV in which he criticised the club's board of directors, he was dismissed.

In June 2011, in the same capacity, Costinha joined Servette FC, with the Swiss team being managed by countryman João Alves. It was reported that the pair did not see eye to eye on certain issues, and in November 2011, Alves was fired and replaced by João Carlos Pereira. The team's results worsened under Peireira and in April 2012, both Pereira and Costinha were fired, with Alves being reinstated as manager; Costinha reportedly contested the terms of his removal, claiming that his contract extended until June 2013.

Manager

Costinha was hired as manager of S.C. Beira-Mar on 18 February 2013, replacing Ulisses Morais. He left the club on 22 May after its top flight relegation.

On 12 June 2013, Costinha was appointed at fellow league team F.C. Paços de Ferreira, who had made the qualifying rounds of the Champions League for the first time in its history. His midfield partner for Portugal and three clubs, Maniche, was hired as assistant; but Costinha was sacked after only four months, however, due to poor results.

On 20 June 2016, Costinha took over at Académica de Coimbra, recently relegated from the top division; Maniche again assisted him, until leaving for personal reasons in October.

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

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 1–0 round-of-16 success against the Netherlands 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

As of 28 August 2016

Club

Porto

• UEFA Champions League: 2003–04
• UEFA Cup: 2002–03
• Intercontinental Cup: 2004
• Primeira Liga: 2002–03, 2003–04
• Taça de Portugal: 2002–03
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2003, 2004

Monaco

• Ligue 1: 1999–2000

Country

• UEFA European Championship: Runner-up 2004

Orders

• Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)

• ^ "Costinha – Trophies". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 January 2016. 
• "Selecção distinguida pelo Duque de Bragança" [National team honoured by Duke of Bragança] (in Portuguese). Cristiano Ronaldo News. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2006.