Unsung Hero: The Footballer Who Outshone Ballon d’Or Winners Like Zidane
In the late 1990s, during Zinedine Zidane‘s prime, many believed that there was a player even better than him. This player was Rui Costa, who was not just some guy in a pub, but rather, articles were being written about which one of them was the best. Many of the greatest names in the sport went on record to say that they ranked Zidane below Rui Costa and considered him to be simply the best in the world. Despite this, Rui Costa ended up being almost forgotten. He won everything at club level, became a legend for three different clubs, and even Pelé named him as one of the greatest players of all time.
At Fiorentina, Rui Costa was known as La Luce, meaning “The Light.” He is truly one of the greatest players to have ever graced the sport, and today is a good day to remember him.
Benfica
Rui Costa loved his club, Benfica, more than everything else. When he was a baby, the first word he ever spoke was Benfica. His whole family was obsessed with the club. When Rui was nine, Benfica organized an event for season ticket holders where their children would come over for a day and play in their training complex. It was not a trial, but a way to thank the fans. However, little Rui saw it as the chance of a lifetime. He was so anxious that he couldn’t sleep the night before. When he got there, he saw 500 kids, and in the middle of all of them was none other than the king himself, Eusébio. Eusébio picked 22 kids at a time so that each of them could play for 10 minutes. Eventually, it was Rui’s turn, and with just two touches of the ball, he left two kids laying on the ground behind him. Eusébio saw Rui’s potential and called him to leave the pitch. Rui assumed he did something wrong and ran towards his father, saying, “Mr. Eusébio doesn’t like me.” In reality, Eusébio had found the heir to his crown. He approached Rui’s father and said, “I’ve seen enough. Bring him back tomorrow, and I’ll make sure he plays.”
A few days later, on a Friday the 13th, Rui played his first-ever game for Benfica, and from there on out, in his own words, he “lived in the club.” However, 10 years later, things began turning for the worse. When Rui was 19, Benfica wasn’t so sure he was good enough to deserve a chance. With the end of his final season at the academy approaching, he was informed that he was going to be dismissed. But it was right there that he was called up for a youth match against FC Porto. Benfica was defeated 4-0. At the same time, scouts from a third-tier club, Fafe, watched from the stands as they were supposed to have a meeting with FC Porto president Pinto Da Costa after the match about getting some players on loan. However, Da Costa stood them up, and the meeting never took place. But right as the whole entourage from Fafe was about to head home empty-handed, one of them said something like, “Well, we could talk to Benfica about that kid Rui Costa. He seemed good.” And that’s the story of how, without meaning to, the president of FC Porto stopped rivals Benfica from wasting the biggest talent to step into their academy in over 50 years.
It was time for Portugal to play Germany in the World Cup qualifying match. Portugal needed a win while Germany just needed a draw. Things began to look favorable for Portugal when they took the lead with only 74 minutes gone. However, things quickly turned sour when Rui Costa was subbed off and then shown the red card for taking too long to leave the pitch. This was an uncommon occurrence in football. Six minutes after Rui Costa left, Germany finally managed to tie the match, causing Portugal to miss the tournament. This was the only tournament they had missed in 26 years. The image of Rui Costa crying on the bench would never be forgotten.
Fiorentina
The following season was equally disappointing. Fiorentina led the league for the first 22 match days. Rui Costa and Batistuta were in the best goal-scoring form of their lives. They had never been more in sync. However, in what should have been their moment of glory, Batistuta twisted his knee and was out for five matches. Even after he made it back, things were not the same, and they lost momentum. By the end of the league, they were in third place, 14 points behind the leaders. To make matters worse, they lost the final of the Coppa Italia on away goals to Parma.
After one more season, where they finally got a taste of Champions League football, Fiorentina was hit with massive financial problems. They began considering the possibility of selling the two players they had always deemed non-negotiable. The duo, who had always been inundated with offers from the biggest clubs in the world, finally began thinking that it was time to leave Florence behind. Over the summer, Batistuta left for Roma, while Rui Costa stuck it out for one more year.
However, before that, it was time for Euro 2000. Rui Costa opened the tournament with a superb performance against England. He assisted all three goals in Portugal’s historic comeback, earning him a place in the team of the tournament. After Portugal was knocked out in the semi-finals, Rui Costa was back in Florence, now alone and wearing the captain’s armband, following in the footsteps of Socrates and Baggio. He took it all as an opportunity to show the world he could do it without Batistuta, carrying the team on his back. He helped Chiesa to outscore Batigol in the league and, above all, matched his highest-ever achievement with his previous partner, winning the Coppa Italia once again.
At this point, Rui Costa had no intention of leaving Fiorentina. However, that summer, he had no choice. The club was struggling to the point that without his money, they would not even be able to register for the next league season, which meant the end of the club. AC Milan had been nearly begging them to sign Rui Costa for years, under Carlo ancelotti they were willing to pay was astonishing. The most expensive 30-year-old ever sold was Batistuta, who was 31 years old when he was sold for 36 million. Rui Costa was nine months away from turning 30 when he was sold to AC Milan for 42 million. The only time a 29-year-old had ever moved more money than that was Zidane, who became one of the first Galacticos a few weeks later.
Fourteen years later, Rui Costa is now the president of his beloved club, Benfica.
Catch you in the next one.