Rui Manuel César Costa (; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...

. He also succeeded

Luís Filipe Vieira Luís Filipe Ferreira Vieira (born 22 June 1949) is a Portuguese real estate businessman who was the 33rd president of sports club S.L. Benfica, from October 2003 to July 2021. He was also president of the club's SAD board of directors until ...

as president of the club's SAD board of directors. Regarded as one of the best midfielders in world football and one of Portugal's best players of all time, Costa usually played as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and was particularly known for his excellent technique, playmaking ability, and eye for goal from midfield. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fou ...

as one of the 125 greatest living football players. Nicknamed "The Maestro" and "Il Musagete" ( The leader of Muses), Costa spent the majority of his career with Benfica in Portugal and

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

and

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

in Italy. In a top-flight career spanning 17 years, he won several trophies, including one Primeira Liga title, one

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...

, one

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

title, three

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, one

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

and one

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

. A Portuguese international, he amassed 94 caps and scored 26 goals for ''A Seleção'' and represented the country in three

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

s and one

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

Club career

Benfica

At age five, Costa joined the infant indoor football team of Damaia Ginásio Clube. Costa tried his luck at Benfica. Within ten minutes of training, Portugal legend

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

, who was supervising the youngsters, was impressed with Costa's skills. Up until 1990, Costa played for Benfica's youth squads. In his first full season, he was loaned to A.D. Fafe on a season-long deal. In 1991, after the Under-21 World Cup, which Portugal won after a penalty kick scored by Costa, he returned to Benfica. In his first full season with Benfica, he was featured regularly in Benfica's team. In his next two seasons, his role in the team would prove to be pivotal as Benfica captured two trophies. He formed a formidable midfield partnership with

João Vieira Pinto João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below. Kings * ...

. During his last two seasons with Benfica in his first spell with the club, he won the

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

and the Portuguese First Division title in 1993–94. This would be Benfica's last league title for 11 years.

Fiorentina

At the end of his third season in Benfica's senior squad,

offered for the young midfielder. Since Benfica were struggling with financial problems, Costa had to leave. Despite the heavy competition with the best midfielders in that time such as Zinedine Zidane, Costa was named the best number 10 player in

a few times. His departure from Fiorentina was discussed every season, since many clubs constantly showed interest in signing him. However, he only left Fiorentina one season before their bankruptcy in the 2001–02 season. With the Florentine club, Costa won the

twice, also winning a Supercoppa Italiana. In June 2001, Fiorentina agreed to sell both Costa and Francesco Toldo to

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

for 140 billion lire. Despite both players refusal to join, Costa and Toldo were sold to AC Milan and Inter Milan, respectively, for the same total transfer fee.

AC Milan

Fatih Terim Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish association football manager and former player. He is the former manager of Galatasaray, a position he previously held four times. Terim has managed several clubs in Italy (Milan and Fiorentina) ...

was the coach of Fiorentina in the 2000–01 season. When he was leaving Fiorentina for

, he took Costa with him, paying 85 billion lire (€43,898,836) for the player. In so doing, Costa became Milan's most expensive transfer of all-time. On 27 September 2001, Costa scored his first goal for Milan to open a 4–0 home win (6–0 aggregate) in the first round of the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

against BATE Borisov. He added further goals in wins over

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...

(second round) and Hapoel Tel Aviv (quarter-finals) in a run to the last four. Costa scored his first domestic goal on 18 December 2002, equalising in a 5–1 win (6–2 aggregate) against

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

at the

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums i ...

in the second leg of the last 16 of the

. In the 6–3 aggregate final win over Roma in May, he played only 30 minutes as a substitute as Brazilians

Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo (), is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as a ...

and Serginho were preferred in attacking midfield. This was to rest him for the

2003 UEFA Champions League Final The 2003 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on 28 May 2003 to decide the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. The match was contested by two Italian teams: Juventus ...

against Juventus, in which he was substituted injured for

Massimo Ambrosini Massimo Ambrosini (; born 29 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a defensive midfielder. At club level, he is mostly known for his successful time at Italian team AC Milan, where he spent eighteen years of ...

near the end of regulation time in a goalless draw that the ''Rossoneri'' won on penalties at Old Trafford. On 29 August, he played in the 1–0 victory over

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

in the 2003 UEFA Super Cup, in which he crossed for the only goal by Andriy Shevchenko. From 2003–04, Costa's playing time was limited by the emergent Brazilian youngster Kaká. He contributed his first three league goals to Milan's title-winning campaign, starting with one in a 5–0 home win over Ancona on 25 January.

Return to Benfica

On 25 May 2006, Costa's return to Benfica to play in the upcoming season was announced in a press conference. He had been released from Milan after both the player and the club reached an agreement to end his contract. Costa gave up of his €4.6 million per year contract with Milan after he had dreamt of his return to Benfica year after year. His return saw former Benfica and Portugal international Eusébio praise Costa's return. Costa's first match back saw him start in a 2006–07 UEFA Champions League qualifier against Austria Wien in August 2006. The return leg saw Costa score in his return to the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, it ...

in the 21st minute. Benfica would go on to win 3–0 and clinch a place in the group stages of the Champions League. Following the start of the season, Costa would suffer a serious injury which would keep him out of action for three months. Costa returned in January 2007, in a Taça de Portugal fourth round tie against Oliveira do Bairro Following his return, he was used as a regular in Benfica's starting XI under manager Fernando Santos. His first season would see Benfica finish behind rivals

and

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

in the Primeira Liga. In other competitions Benfica participated in, the club would be eliminated in the round of 16 in the Taça de Portugal and bow out of the

against Espanyol. Prior to start of the

2007–08 Primeira Liga The 2007–08 Primeira Liga was the 74th edition of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. It started on 17 August 2007 and ended on 11 May 2008, with the fixtures announced on 12 July 2007. Por ...

, Costa would announce that the 2007–08 season would be his last as a professional. Despite the sacking of Fernando Santos at the beginning of the league campaign, Costa would remain a first team regular under

José Antonio Camacho José Antonio Camacho Alfaro (; born 8 June 1955) is a Spanish former football left-back and manager. He spent 15 professional years at Real Madrid, appearing in more than 500 official matches with the team and helping win 19 major titles, inc ...

. The first match of the season saw Costa be decisive in Benfica reaching the Champions League group stage. He scored two goals in a qualifier against

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in the first leg. He would also play an important part in the second leg where Benfica defeated the Danish side 1–0 away from home to seal Benfica's third consecutive presence in the group stage. Costa would score his first league goal since his return to Benfica against C.D. Nacional in September 2007. His displays in the league would earn him the SJPF Player of the Month award for September 2007. Following qualification to the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

, Benfica was drawn against Costa's former club Milan. The inaugural match of the group stage in September 2007 saw Benfica take on the ''Rossoneri'' at the

, where Milan won 2–1. The return fixture on matchday 5 would see Milan visit the Estádio da Luz, where the teams drew 1–1. Benfica would exit the competition in third place behind Milan and Celtic, thereby dropping into the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup. In the new year, Benfica dropped various points along their campaign to Académica de Coimbra,

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

, Porto, Sporting CP and União de Leiria, which effectively dropped them out of the title race. Their failure to compete for the title resulted in Benfica setting their priorities to capture third place which secured a Champions League qualification. Benfica would fail to capture third place, which instead would go to newly promoted

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória ...

. Benfica would also drop out of the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup to Spanish side

Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...

. Under Costa's captaincy, Benfica would also fall short in the

2007–08 Taça de Portugal The 2007–08 Taça de Portugal was the 68th edition of the Portuguese football knockout tournament, organized by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). The 2007–08 Taça de Portugal began on 2 September 2007. The final was played on 18 May 20 ...

, where they lost to Sporting in the semi-finals despite Costa scoring in a match which ended 5–3. Costa played his final match on 11 May 2008 at the Estádio da Luz against Vitória de Setúbal. He was substituted in the 86th minute to a standing ovation from the spectators.

International career

In the summer of 1991, Costa's displays at Fafe had impressed Portugal Under-21 coach

Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football coach who currently is the head coach of the Iran national team. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirat ...

so much that he was called up to the team to represent Portugal in the World Youth Cup. The Portuguese under-20 national team won a World Youth Championship in 1991. His clinching penalty kick against Brazil in the final helped win the title on home soil and announced Costa as one of the brightest members of what would become known as the "Golden Generation.” Costa was a member of Portugal's most consistent years at senior level as the team reached the quarter-finals of

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

, the semi-finals of

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

and the final of UEFA Euro 2004. Costa was especially instrumental in helping Portugal reach the 2004 final on home soil, scoring a screamer of a goal at the Estádio da Luz against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the quarter-final match, and the sight of a distraught Costa at the end of a 1–0 defeat to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

was one of the enduring images of the tournament. Costa also took part in the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

in Japan and South Korea, scoring Portugal's winning goal in their 4–0 win over

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. The only time in his career that Costa was sent off was in an international game against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Despite being principally a provider, Costa scored 26 goals in 94 games; he is Portugal's eighth-highest capped player and seventh-highest goalscorer.

Style of play

Considered one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, Costa was a classic number 10, who usually played in a creative role as an

behind the strikers, but was also capable of playing as a

deep-lying playmaker A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

, as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, or as a winger. Despite his ability, however, he was also known for being inconsistent.

Media

Costa was sponsored by American sportswear company

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

and appeared in Nike commercials. In 1996, he starred in a Nike commercial titled "Good vs Evil" in a gladiatorial game set in a

Roman amphitheatre Roman amphitheatres are theatres – large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised seating – built by the ancient Romans. They were used for events such as gladiator combats, '' venationes'' (animal slayings) and executions. About 230 Ro ...

. Appearing alongside football players from around the world, including Ronaldo,

Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...

, Eric Cantona,

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Barcelona, Real Madrid CF, Real ...

and

Patrick Kluivert Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch former football player, coach and sporting director. He played as a striker, most notably for AFC Ajax, FC Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. He was part of Ajax's Golden Gen ...

, they defend "

The Beautiful Game The Beautiful Game ( pt, o jogo bonito) is a nickname for association football. It was popularised by the Brazilian footballer Pelé, although the exact origin of the phrase is disputed. Stuart Hall, an English football commentator, used it as ...

" against a team of demonic warriors, before it culminates with Cantona striking the ball and destroying evil. Rui Costa features in

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...

' FIFA football video game series; he was included in the Ultimate Team Legends in '' FIFA 16''.

Post-playing career

Sporting director

The day after his last professional match, Costa was presented as

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

at Benfica. During the summer 2008 transfer window, Costa brought head coach Quique Sánchez Flores, playmaker Pablo Aimar, winger José Antonio Reyes, and striker David Suazo, the latter two on loan. The following Summer, Costa tried to strengthen the team after a disappointing league campaign the previous season; he signed striker

Javier Saviola Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández (; born 11 December 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented both Barcelona and Real Madrid, also having notable spells with Benfica and Olympiacos, and was n ...

, attacking midfielder

Ramires Ramires Santos do Nascimento (; born 24 March 1987), known as Ramires, is a Brazilian former professional footballer. A midfielder, he was comfortable playing in either the centre or right midfielder position. He normally played as a box-to-b ...

, and defensive midfielder Javi García, led by manager Jorge Jesus. Benfica would win the

2009–10 Primeira Liga The 2009–10 Primeira Liga (also known as the Liga Sagres for sponsorship reasons) was the 76th season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. It began on 16 August 2009 and ended on 9 May 201 ...

, the first league title since 2004–05, and the Taça da Liga that season, defeating Porto in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

Administration

On 14 May 2008, Costa was appointed an administrator of Benfica SAD. For the 2020–24 quadrennial, he became a vice-president of the club's board of directors, as part of

's list for a sixth consecutive mandate. After acting as interim president of the club and its SAD from 9 July 2021, in the aftermath of Vieira suspending his presidency due to arrest, Costa was elected the 34th president of Benfica on 9 October, assuming office the following day. With 84.48% of the votes, he defeated candidate Francisco Benitez, who received 12.24%. During election campaign, Costa had promised, among many promises, a forensic audit of the club's SAD, a revision of the club's statutes – both promises yet to be fulfilled – transparency regarding football transfers, retention of players "made in Seixal", a reduction of the number of players, a

maximum wage A maximum wage, also often called a wage ceiling, is a legal limit on how much income an individual can earn. It is a prescribed limitation which can be used to effect change in an economic structure, but its effects are unrelated to those of minim ...

for players, improvements to Estádio da Luz, etc. Including his interim role, the men's football team was trophyless under his first year of presidency.

Personal life

Costa was married to Rute from 1994 to 2013, and fathered two sons. The elder, Filipe, is involved in football agency, while the younger, Hugo, is a footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

: ''Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Costa goal.''

Honours

Benfica * Primeira Liga: 1993–94 *

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

runner-up:

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

Fiorentina *

: 1995–96, 2000–01 * Supercoppa Italiana: 1996 AC Milan *

: 2003–04 * Coppa Italia: 2002–03 * Supercoppa Italiana: 2004 *

: 2002–03 *

runner-up: 2004–05 *

: 2003 * Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 2003 Portugal U18 * UEFA Under-18 Championship runner-up:

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

Portugal U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

Portugal U21 *

Toulon Tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

: 1992 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

runner-up: 1994 Portugal *

UEFA European Football Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

runner-up: 2004 Individual * Toulon Tournament Best Player: 1992 * Toulon Tournament top goalscorer: 1992 * UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1996,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

FIFA XI FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

: 1998 * UEFA Champions League top assist provider: 2002–03 *

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Pl ...

: 1996 (26th place),

(24th place), 2001 (25th place) * SJPF Player of the Month: September 2007 *

Cosme Damião Cosme Damião (2 November 1885 – 12 June 1947) was a Portuguese football player-coach for S.L. Benfica. He is remembered as the main force behind the birth of Benfica and one of the first great Portuguese football players. Benfica's yearly aw ...

Awards – Footballer of the Year: 2007 * AC Milan Hall of Fame * Fiorentina All-time XI *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Portugal All-time XI Orders * PRT Order of Prince Henry - Officer BAR

Officer of the Order of Prince Henry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Rui 1972 births Living people People from Amadora Portuguese footballers Portugal international footballers S.L. Benfica footballers AD Fafe players ACF Fiorentina players A.C. Milan players Primeira Liga players Serie A players Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Italy FIFA 100 UEFA Euro 1996 players UEFA Euro 2000 players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2002 FIFA World Cup players Association football midfielders UEFA Champions League winning players S.L. Benfica presidents Sportspeople from Lisbon District