Rui Costa

This article is about the Portuguese international footballer. For other people, see Rui Costa (disambiguation).
In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is César and the second or paternal family name is Costa.

Rui Costa
Costa in 2019
34th President of Benfica
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 October 2021
Preceded byLuís Filipe Vieira
Personal details
Born
Rui Manuel César Costa

(1972-03-29) 29 March 1972 (age 52)
Amadora, Portugal
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
OccupationFootballer
Association football career
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1977–1990 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1994 Benfica 78 (13)
1990–1991 → Fafe (loan) 38 (6)
1994–2001 Fiorentina 215 (38)
2001–2006 AC Milan 124 (4)
2006–2008 Benfica 43 (5)
Total 498 (66)
International career
1990 Portugal U18 4 (1)
1991 Portugal U20 11 (1)
1992–1994 Portugal U21 19 (7)
1993–2004 Portugal 94 (26)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Portugal
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up 2004 Portugal
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Belgium-Netherlands
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Winner 1991 Portugal
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Runner-up 1994 France
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rui Manuel César Costa OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁuj ˈkɔʃtɐ]; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club S.L. Benfica.[2] He also succeeded Luís Filipe Vieira as president of the club's SAD board of directors.

Costa spent the majority of his football career with Benfica in Portugal and Fiorentina and AC Milan in Italy. In a top-flight career spanning 17 years, he won several trophies, including one Primeira Liga title, one Taça de Portugal, one Serie A title, three Coppa Italia, one UEFA Champions League and one UEFA Super Cup. A Portuguese international, he amassed 94 caps and scored 26 goals for A Seleção and represented the country in three UEFA European Championships and one FIFA World Cup.

Costa usually played as an attacking midfielder and was particularly known for his excellent technique, playmaking ability, and eye for goal from midfield. He is regarded as one of the best midfielders in world football and one of Portugal's best players of all time.[3][4][5] In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 as one of the 125 greatest living football players.[6]

  1. ^ "Rui Costa". S.L. Benfica. Archived from the original on 24 June 2007.
  2. ^ "Rui Costa eleito o 34.º presidente do Benfica com 84,48% dos votos". TSF Rádio Notícias. 10 October 2021.
  3. ^ "SportMob – Best Portuguese Players of All Time". 25 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Euro 2000 Profile – Manuel Rui Costa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  5. ^ Siciliano, Vincenzo (12 November 2016). "Rui Costa, il Maestro che ha incantato in Italia". tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian). Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pele was invoked but never defined (see the help page).