Manuel da Costa (footballer, born 1986): Difference between revisions
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| fullname = Manuel Marouan da Costa Trindade |
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Revision as of 16:35, 10 October 2008
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Marouan da Costa Trindade | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Fiorentina | ||
| Number | 54 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of March 28, 2007 | |||
Manuel Marouan da Costa Trindade (commonly known as Manuel da Costa), (born May 6, 1986) in Saint-Max, France) is a Portuguese football player, who currently plays central defender for AC Fiorentina. Da Costa was born in France, but qualifies to play for Portugal through his parents (born from a Portuguese father and a Moroccan mother).
Club career
Manuel da Costa began his career at Ligue 1 club Association Sportive Nancy-Lorraine. As well as his ten appearances in Ligue 1 in 2005/06 - with his debut coming in January - Da Costa scored a memorable individual goal to help Nancy defeat Le Mans in the French League Cup semi-finals. Nancy went on to lift the trophy and qualify for the UEFA Cup.
After rejecting offers from Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux and Newcastle United, he opted to play in Holland with PSV Eindhoven where the glamour of Champions League football caught his eye. The 20-year-old centre-back agreed a five-year contract with the Dutch champions to become new coach Ronald Koeman's second summer signing at €1m. Da Costa was given the no. 14 shirt, and he stated: "It will be a beautiful base to grow and develop with PSV."
PSV Eindhoven
Da Costa, after a first season to get acquainted to a new challenge, gradually became more important in Koeman's side in 2007-08, establishing himself as a versatile defender. He played his first Champions League match on September 12, 2006, in a 0-0 home draw against Liverpool FC.
AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus were after the player's signature in 2007-08, with several Italian papers linking him to Italy. On the 29th of January 2008 it was confirmed by PSV that an agreement had been reached on the transfer of Da Costa to Fiorentina subject to a medical. [1]
International career
He had never played for Portugal but he was called up for Euro 2008 qualifying matches on October, November 2006 and March 2007. He could have played for France but instead joined the Portugal U-21. Although he does not speak fluent Portuguese, da Costa insists that he feels Portuguese, and the country's place in his heart is his reason for choosing Portugal over France.[2]
He also represented Portugal at the Toulon Under-20 tournament in May 2006, having resisted calls to play for France where he was born.
External links
- Manuel da Costa – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)