.jpg) Costa playing for Portugal in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Miguel Moreira da Costa | ||
| Date of birth | 16 May 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Valencia | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1996–1999 | Boavista | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2003 | Porto B | 69 | (13) |
| 2002–2007 | Porto | 75 | (3) |
| 2007–2010 | VfL Wolfsburg | 42 | (6) |
| 2010 | → Lille (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2010– | Valencia | 74 | (7) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1999 | Portugal U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Portugal U20 | 14 | (3) |
| 2001–2004 | Portugal U21 | 23 | (0) |
| 2005– | Portugal | 16 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 October 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2013 | |||
Ricardo Miguel Moreira da Costa (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁiˈkaɾdu ˈkɔʃtɐ]; born 16 May 1981) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Valencia CF in Spain. Mainly a central defender, he can occasionally play as a full back.
After making his senior debuts with Porto (where he was only a reserve), he went on to play in Germany, France and Spain, namely spending several seasons with Valencia in the latter country.
A Portuguese international since 2005, Costa represented the nation in two World Cups and Euro 2012.
Club career
Costa, a product of Boavista FC's youth system, was born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto, and moved to neighbours F.C. Porto when he was still an apprentice. He made his first division debut in a 2002 derby match precisely against Boavista, but never became more than a fringe player, being preferred in the stopper's pecking order in consecutive seasons to namesake Jorge, Pedro Emanuel, Pepe and Bruno Alves.
In July 2007, as first-team opportunities appeared few at Porto, Costa joined Bundesliga's VfL Wolfsburg, on a three-year contract.[1] After a shaky start, he finished the season as an undisputed starter as the sidereached a UEFA Cup final standing.
In the summer of 2009, Costa was about to be transferred to Real Zaragoza, but the transfer could not be completed because the two parties could not come to an agreement.[2] The deal was finally canceled on 29 July, and the player returned to Wolfsburg.[3]
On 28 January 2010, although he was being used regularly at Wolfsburg, Costa transferred to OSC Lille inFrance.[4] On 17 May, after having contributed relatively to Lille's fourth place in Ligue 1, he moved teams and countries again, joining Valencia CF of Spain on a four-year contract.[5][6]
On 9 March 2011 Costa scored his first goal for Valencia, putting the Che ahead at FC Schalke 04 for the season's UEFA Champions League round-of-16, in an eventual 1–3 loss (2–4 on aggregate).[7] In the ensuing off-season, he was selected by manager Unai Emery as one of the team's captains.
Thing quickly turned sour for Costa however: he was replaced at half-time of an eventual 4–3 home win against Racing de Santander,[8] and quickly went from first to fourth-choice after unflaterring comments directed against his teammates and management.[9][10][11]
International career
Costa played for Portugal at under-21 level and was also a part of the Olympic team that played in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. A full international since 2005, he was called up to the squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he appeared against Germany in the third-place match (1–3 loss).
On 10 May 2010, national team boss Carlos Queiroz announced a provisional list of 24 players in view for the2010 World Cup in South Africa, with Costa being included, thus returning to the squad after an absence of four years. In the tournament he played twice, always as right back: in the group stage 0–0 against Brazil, and the round-of-16 loss against Spain (0–1, where he was sent off in the last minute, receiving a three-match ban for his actions[12]).
Costa played and started two games in the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign. He scored his first international goal on 11 October 2013, in a 1–1 home draw against Israel
