In football, loyalty can be met very rarely; players leave their clubs for various reasons. Some do it for the money, others are looking for a new challenge, others just want to play for a more powerful team, fourth want to win trophies, and so on. Extremely few players remain in their club for life. And Alessandro Costacurta is one of them. This versatile Italian defender can put his hand on his chest and safely say that he spent his entire football career in Milan, which is his native club. As a thirteen-year-old boy, he ended up in the Milan system, and remained there. What path did Alessandro Costacourt take?
Carier start
As you already learned, Alessandro Costacurta played for the youth of Milan from an early age, until in 1985 he was offered a professional contract. Naturally, the defender agreed, but then the club was an incredible competition. Young Alessandro was completely without practice, but the club management saw him as an incredible talent. That is why, after a year, Alessandro Costacurta was sent on an annual lease to the Monza club.
Leasing talent
As it turned out, the club management did not fail, the junior opened in a small club from the best side. He played thirty matches, each of which was closely watched by responsible people. And the result was so amazing that the very next year, the 21-year-old defender began to receive playing practice in Milan itself. Of course, everything happened not instantly, but gradually, but even then it was clear that Alessandro Costacurta is a football player of outstanding caliber.
Star rise
As mentioned earlier, not everything went smoothly right away with Alessandro in Milan. In his first season, he played only eight matches, but this can be understood, given that in those days the club was one of the strongest in the world. However, already in the next season, at the age of only 22 years old, he was fixed in the main team and almost never left him again. This is astounding, but Kostakurta began to play for Milan in 1987 and finished in 2007. That is, he has over twenty years of playing for Milan, during which he played 663 matches - a striking indicator, and one of those that have already gone down in the history of Milan and the history of world football.
But it’s worth it to talk separately about what trophies Kostakurta won with his club. His track record includes seven league titles, one Italian Cup, five Italian Super Cups, and most importantly - five league champions. Most football players cannot imagine what it is like to win one Champions League Cup, the most prestigious trophy of all. And Kostakurta collected five of them, and even secured them with four UEFA Super Cups, as well as two Intercontinental Cups. One cannot but agree that such success is rarely seen in modern football.
After football
In 2007, the 41-year-old Kostakurta announced the end of his football career - this is another striking achievement of this player. Most football players finish their playing career in the region of 33 years, but Alessandro played much longer. Moreover, he did not sit on the bench, he played and was directly involved in the fact that his club achieved incredible success. And despite the fact that he was in one of the best clubs in the world at that time. It's hard to believe, but it's a fact.
When Alessandro nevertheless ended his career, he remained in Milan to work in the headquarters of coach Carlo Ancelotti as a technical assistant. After a year of such activity, Kostakurta announced that he wants to go further and become an independent coach. However, when he was offered the seat of the Pisa coach, he refused, because he wanted to be closer to Milan, where Alessandro Costacurta himself, the football player’s wife, and his little son lived for so long. Therefore, in 2008, he became the head coach of the Mantova club, to which everyone prophesied high positions in the second division. However, just as a great player was Kostakurta, just as unsuccessful he was a coach.
At the end of the season, the club, which had a chance of reaching the major league, was only four points from the relegation zone to the third league. Kostakurta was fired from his post as a coach and no longer attempted to take a similar position. Now the maximum that the former footballer is engaged in is football criticism, for example, on Sky Sports channel. You can hear him as a commentator, expert, read his articles and much more. As already mentioned, he works most closely with Sky Sports.