.jpg) Costa playing forPortugal in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Miguel Moreira da Costa[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1981-05-16)16 May 1981 (age 44)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal[1] | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Feirense (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1992 | Valadares Gaia | ||
| 1992–2000 | Boavista | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2003 | Porto B | 66 | (12) |
| 2002–2007 | Porto | 75 | (3) |
| 2007–2010 | VfL Wolfsburg | 42 | (6) |
| 2010 | →Lille (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2010–2014 | Valencia | 87 | (7) |
| 2014–2015 | Al-Sailiya | 15 | (1) |
| 2015–2016 | PAOK | 26 | (0) |
| 2016 | Granada | 14 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Luzern | 33 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | Tondela | 59 | (3) |
| 2019–2020 | Boavista | 31 | (1) |
| Total | 458 | (35) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999 | Portugal U18 | 7 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Portugal U20 | 13 | (2) |
| 2001–2004 | Portugal U21 | 23 | (0) |
| 2005–2014 | Portugal | 22 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2022–2024 | Porto (under-17) | ||
| 2024–2025 | Dila | ||
| 2025– | Feirense | ||
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ricardo Miguel Moreira da Costa (Portuguese pronunciation:[ʁiˈkaɾðuˈkɔʃtɐ]; born 16 May 1981) is a Portuguese former professionalfootballer who played mainly as acentral defender but occasionally as afull-back. He is the currentmanager ofLiga Portugal 2 clubFeirense.
After making his senior debut withPorto (where he was only a reserve), he went on to play in Germany, France, Spain, Qatar, Greece and Switzerland, mainly spending several years withValencia in the third country. Over ten seasons, he amassedPrimeira Liga totals of 165 matches and seven goals.
APortugal international since 2005, Costa represented the nation in threeWorld Cups andEuro 2012.
Costa, a product ofBoavista FC'syouth system, was born inVila Nova de Gaia,Porto District, and moved to neighboursFC Porto when he was still an apprentice. He made hisPrimeira Liga debut in a 20 January 2002derby precisely against Boavista (2–0 away loss, 90 minutes played),[2] but never became more than a fringe player, being preferred in the stopper's pecking order in consecutive seasons to namesakeJorge,Pedro Emanuel,Pepe andBruno Alves.
On 21 May 2003, Costareplaced the injuredCostinha in the first minutes of the2003 UEFA Cup final inSeville, which ended in a3–2 win overCeltic.[3]
In July 2007, as first-team opportunities appeared few at Porto, Costa signed withBundesliga clubVfL Wolfsburg on a three-year contract.[4] After a shaky start, he finishedthe season as an undisputed starter as the sidequalified for theUEFA Cup.
Costa scored just 15 seconds after his introduction in a match againstKarlsruher SC on 28 September 2008, making it thesecond-fastest goal ever scored by a substitute.[5] In thesummer of 2009, he was about to be transferred toReal Zaragoza, but the deal collapsed after the two parties could not reach an agreement;[6] the move was finally cancelled on 29 July, and the player returned to Wolfsburg.
On 28 January 2010, although he was being used regularly, Costa joinedLille OSC in France.[7]
On 17 May 2010, after having contributed relatively to Lille'sfourth place inLigue 1, he moved teams and countries again, joiningValencia CF of Spain on a four-year contract.[8][9] He scored his first goal on 9 March 2011, putting theChe ahead atFC Schalke 04 in theround of 16 of theUEFA Champions League, a 3–1 defeat (4–2 on aggregate).[10]
In the ensuing off-season, Costa was selected by managerUnai Emery as one of the team'scaptains.[11] However, things quickly turned sour for the former: he was replaced athalf-time of an eventual 4–3 home win againstRacing de Santander,[12] and quickly went from first to fourth choice after unflaterring comments directed against his teammates and management.[13][14][15]
Costa left Valencia by mutual consent on 21 July 2014, as his contract was due to expire in June 2015.[16] One week later, he agreed to a two-year deal atAl-Sailiya SC.[17] He scored his first and only goal for the Qatari club on 30 October, in a 4–3 home victory overAl-Wakrah SC.[18]
PAOK FC signed Costa in late January 2015, following a successful medical;[19] in an interview to Portuguese newspaperA Bola a few months after his transfer, he talked about his experience in Asia by stating: "It was a completely different reality, that I couldn't accept. Everything was so non-professional".[20] During his 12-month tenure he appeared in 37 games in all competitions, his only goal coming on 27 August 2015 in a 1–1 draw atBrøndby IF in theplay-off round of the Europa League.[21][22]
Costa returned to Spain and its top division on 1 February 2016, to joinGranada CF until June 2017;[23] he vowed to defend his new team "to the death".[24] His first appearance took place six days later, as he played the full 90 minutes in a 1–2 home loss againstReal Madrid.[25]
On 5 July 2016, after contributing 14 starts and one goal[26] to his side's eventualsurvival, Costa had his contract terminated by mutual consent.[27] He resumed his career atFC Luzern in Switzerland days later.[28]
The 36-year-old Costa returned to Portugal after one decade in June 2017, signing a two-year deal at top-flight clubC.D. Tondela.[29] On 1 July 2019, he returned to Boavista.[30]
On 13 August 2020, shortly after having announced his retirement, Costa was namedsporting director at Boavista.[31] He resigned the following 29 January due to conflicts with the fanbase.[32]
%2c_Ricardo_Costa_(R)_-_Croatia_vs._Portugal%2c_10th_June_2013.jpg)
Costa played forPortugal atunder-21 level and was also a part of the Olympic team thatplayed in the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens. A full international since 2005, he was called up to the squad for the2006 FIFA World Cup, where he appeared againstGermany in the 3–1 third-place playoff loss.[33]
On 10 May 2010, national team bossCarlos 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 a four-year absence. He played twice in the tournament, always asright-back: in the 0–0 group stage draw againstBrazil,[34] and the round-of-16 defeat toSpain (1–0, where he wassent off in the last minute, receiving a three-match ban for his actions).[35][36]
Costa played and started two games in the2014 World Cup qualifying campaign. He scored his only international goal on 11 October 2013 in a 1–1 home draw againstIsrael,[37] and was named by managerPaulo Bento in the final 23-man squad for the tournament in Brazil.[38]
On 16 June 2014, Costa became the second Portuguese to play in threeWorld Cups afterCristiano Ronaldo did so in the same match, coming on for the second half of the first group stage match against Germany, a 4–0 loss.[39] He was then selected to replace the suspended Pepe in a 2–2 draw with theUnited States, making a goal-line clearance fromMichael Bradley in the second half.[40]
On 18 July 2022, Costa was named manager of Porto's under-17 team. Previously, he was part of the staff at the club's under-19s.[41]
On 8 July 2024, Costa was appointed atFC Dila Gori in the GeorgianErovnuli Liga.[42] He achieved a third place in hisfirst season, collecting eight wins from 18 matches.[43]
Costa returned to Portugal in June 2025, on a contract atLiga Portugal 2 sideC.D. Feirense.[44]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Porto | 2001–02 | Primeira Liga | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Primeira Liga | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 6[b] | 1 | — | 20 | 1 | |||
| 2003–04 | Primeira Liga | 9 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| 2004–05 | Primeira Liga | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[c] | 1 | — | 31 | 2 | |||
| 2005–06 | Primeira Liga | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | |||
| 2006–07 | Primeira Liga | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 75 | 3 | 13 | 0 | — | 17 | 2 | — | 105 | 5 | ||||
| Wolfsburg | 2007–08 | Bundesliga | 20 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 2 | |||
| 2008–09 | Bundesliga | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 6[b] | 0 | — | 19 | 3 | |||
| 2009–10 | Bundesliga | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5[c] | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| Total | 42 | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | — | 58 | 6 | ||||
| Lille | 2009–10 | Ligue 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| Valencia | 2010–11 | La Liga | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 7[c] | 1 | — | 38 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5[b] | 1 | — | 18 | 1 | |||
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 26 | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | 6[c] | 0 | — | 36 | 4 | |||
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 9[b] | 1 | — | 32 | 4 | |||
| Total | 87 | 7 | 10 | 0 | — | 27 | 3 | — | 124 | 10 | ||||
| Al-Sailiya | 2014–15 | Qatar Stars League | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| PAOK | 2014–15 | Super League Greece | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | Super League Greece | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 10[b] | 1 | — | 22 | 1 | |||
| Total | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | — | 37 | 1 | ||||
| Granada | 2015–16 | La Liga | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| Luzern | 2016–17 | Swiss Super League | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | — | 38 | 1 | ||
| Tondela | 2017–18 | Primeira Liga | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 334 | 22 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 6 | — | 435 | 28 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal[48] | 2005 | 2 | 0 |
| 2006 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 1 |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 October 2013 | Estádio José Alvalade,Lisbon, Portugal |  Israel | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2014 World Cup qualification[48] |
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