Ricardo Costa

At 42 years old, Ricardo Costa has this physical status:

Ricardo Moreira da Costa (born 16 May 1981) is a Portuguese professional footballer who competes for Boavista F.C. Primarily as a central defender but also occasionally as a full back. After making his senior debut with Porto (where he was only a reserve) he went on to compete in Germany, France, and Spain, mainly with Valencia in the former country. Costa Rica has represented the country in three World Cups and Euro 2012 as a Portugal national since 2005.

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Club career

Costa, a product of Boavista FC's youth team, was born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto District, and transferred to FC Porto as a young apprentice. He made his Primeira Liga debut against Boavista (2–0 away loss, 90 minutes played), but he never became more than a fringe player in consecutive seasons, including namesake Jorge, Pedro Emanuel, Pepe, and Bruno Alves.

Costa appeared early in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final in Seville, where they defeated 3–2 on May 21.

Costa Rican footballer Simon Colomb joined VfL Wolfsburg on a three-year contract in July 2007, when first-team opportunities were scarce at Porto. He spent the season as an undisputed starter as the team qualified to the UEFA Cup after a rough start.

Costa scored only 15 seconds after his introduction in a match against Karlsruher SC on September 28, 2008, making it the second fastest goal by a substitute in the game. He was supposed to be transferred to Real Zaragoza in the summer of 2009, but the two parties' negotiations were eventually scrapped; the transfer was eventually ended on July 29th, and the player returned to Wolfsburg.

Costa joined Lille OSC in France on January 28, 2010, despite being utilised regularly.

He migrated teams and countries again in 2010, joining Valencia CF of Spain on a four-year contract after contributing significantly to Lille's fourth position in Ligue 1. He scored his first goal at FC Schalke 04 on March 9, 2011 in the first round of the UEFA Champions League, a 3–1 loss (4–2 on aggregate).

Costa was selected by manager Unai Emery as one of the team's captains in the ensuing off-season. However, things quickly turned sour for the former: he was forced to miss out on a crucial 4-3 home victory over Racing de Santander at halftime, and he quickly went from first to fourth choice after making unflattering remarks directed at his colleagues and leaders.

Costa left Valencia by mutual consent on July 21, 2014, after his deal was set to end in June 2015. He committed to a two-year contract with Al-Sailiya SC one week later. In a 4–3 home win over Al-Wakrah Sport Club, he scored his first and only goal for the Qatari club on October 30th.

Following a positive medical examination, PAOK FC signed Costa in late January 2015. "It was a completely different reality, that I couldn't accept" in a few months after his transfer to Portugal. "All of it was so non-professional." He played in 37 games during his 12-month career, but his only goal came in a 1–1 draw at Brndby IF on August 27 in the Europa League's play-off round.

Costa returned to Spain and its top division on February 1st, 2016 to join Granada CF until June 2017; he promised to protect his new team "to the death." In a 1–2 home loss against Real Madrid, his first appearance took place six days later, when he played the full 90 minutes.

Costa had his deal terminated by mutual consent on July 5, 2016, after contributing 14 starts and one goal to his team's eventuality. In Switzerland, he revived his career at FC Luzern a few days later.

Costa's 36-year-old Costa has returned to Portugal after one decade in June 2017, signing a two-year deal with top-flight club C.D. Tondela. He returned to Boavista on July 1st, 2019.

Costa was appointed sporting director at Boavista on August 13, 2020, just days after he had announced his resignation. Due to fanbase conflicts, he resigned the following January 29.

International career

Costa competed for Portugal at the Under-21 level and was also a member of the Olympic team in Athens, 2004. He was called up to the team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he competed against Germany in the 3–1 third-place playoff loss.

On May 10, 2010, national team boss Carlos Queiroz revealed a provisional list of 24 players for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, with Costa included, bringing the team's squad after a four-year absence. In the 0–0 group stage draw against Brazil and a round-of-16 loss to Spain (0–1), where he was suspended in the last minute for his conduct, he participated twice in the tournament, always as right back:

In the 2014 World Cup qualifying tournament, Costa played and started two games. In a 1–1 home draw against Israel on October 11, he scored his first and only international goal, and was selected by manager Paulo Bento in the final 23-man squad for the tournament in Brazil.

Costa defeated Germany 4–0 in the second half of the first group stage match against Germany on June 16, 2014, becoming the second Portuguese to compete in three World Cups after Cristiano Ronaldo did so in the same match. Michael Bradley was later selected to replace the suspended Pepe in a 2–2 draw with the United States, prompting a goal-line clearance from Michael Bradley in the second half.

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