Alessandro "Billy" Costacurta (born 24 April 1966) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Throughout his club career, Costacurta spent over twenty years with AC Milan between 1986 and 2007, as well as a brief season-long spell on loan at Monza. He is best known for his role alongside Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, and Mauro Tassotti, forming one of the greatest defences in Serie A and European football during the late 1980s and 1990s, under the success of managers Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello. He mainly operated as a central defender, and was a leading exponent of the position, receiving international acclaim, winning 7 Serie A titles and 5 Champions League/European Cup trophies throughout his career, along with many other trophies. Costacurta retired from professional football at the age of 41, on 19 May 2007. In his final match for Milan, he scored a goal from a penalty in a 3–2 defeat against Udinese, becoming the oldest goalscorer in Serie A, a record that was broken by Zlatan Ibrahimović in 2023 who also scored from the spot against Udinese aged 41 five months and 15 days.
Along with his Milan teammates, Costacurta was also an important member of the Italy national side during the 1990s. He made 59 appearances for Italy, scoring 2 goals, and he participated in two World Cups (in 1994 and 1998), as well as a European Championship in 1996. With Italy, he managed to reach the 1994 World Cup Final, Originally an AC Milan youth side product, during his professional career Costacurta would go on to play for the senior club for over 20 seasons, after a brief spell on loan at Monza in Serie C1 during the 1986–87 season. Costacurta was already a young member of the senior squad during the 1985–86 season, but failed to make a single appearance. Before being sent to Monza on loan, Costacurta would make his Milan debut in the Coppa Italia during the 1986–87 season, but would not make his Serie A debut with Milan until the following year, under Arrigo Sacchi. Costacurta made his first Serie A appearance on 25 October 1987 against Hellas Verona on the sixth matchday of the season. Milan would go on to win the match 1–0, as well as the Serie A title, but Costacurta received limited playing opportunities that season, due to the presence of the more experienced Filippo Galli in his position. Overall, Costacurta managed 7 appearances in Serie A, and one appearance in the Coppa Italia that season.
Success under Sacchi and Capello
thumb|upright|Costacurta in 1992
The 1988–89 season would see Costacurta gain more playing opportunities and appear more frequently for the club, as he would feature in Milan's 3–1 win over Sampdoria in the 1988 Supercoppa Italiana. He would make 26 appearances in Serie A that season, and would also win his first European Cup title after Milan defeated Steaua București 4–0 at the Camp Nou, Barcelona. Costacurta played the first 74 minutes of the final before being substituted by Filippo Galli. He also featured in Milan's Intercontinental Cup win in Tokyo over Atlético Nacional, and in the European Supercup victory over Johan Cruyff's Barcelona. Costacurta also scored his first goal in Serie A during that season, in a 3–1 away defeat to Milanese rivals Internazionale in the Derby della Madonnina. Milan would also reach the Coppa Italia final that season. In Sacchi's final season at the club, Costacurta would become a starting centreback alongside Franco Baresi, as well as full-backs Mauro Tassotti and Paolo Maldini, in Sacchi's four-man defensive line, which is regarded as one of the greatest defences of all time. Costacurta would make 25 appearances in Serie A that season, and he would also win his second consecutive Intercontinental Cup and European Super Cup trophies. Milan also managed to reach three consecutive Champions League finals between 1992–93 and 1994–95. However, Costacurta missed the 1994 Champions League final win over Barcelona on 18 May because of a suspension, having been sent-off in the semi-final match against Monaco. Costacurta also helped Milan to win the 1991–92 Serie A title undefeated, as Milan went on an Italian record of 58 matches unbeaten. He also played a key role in Milan's defensive line in the 1993–94 title, by only conceding 15 goals all season, as Milan finished the season with the best defence in Italy. However, Milan lacked defenders in their squad due to injuries, and Adriano Galliani recalled Costacurta to renew his contract the night before the second leg of their crucial UEFA Champions League playoff match against Czech side Slovan Liberec. Milan qualified with difficulty, winning 1–0 in Milan, but being defeated 2–1 in the away match, progressing only on away goals. Milan finished third in Serie A that season, and Costacurta won his first ever Coppa Italia with the club, overcoming Roma in the final. Under Ancelotti, Costacurta would be employed at both centre-back and right-back during this season. Despite difficulties encountered in qualifying, Milan reached the Champions League final that season, in the first ever all-Italian final against Serie A rivals Juventus. On 28 May 2003, Milan captured the Champions League after defeating Juventus 3–2 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra time. Costacurta started the match at right back, and was substituted in the 65th minute, coming off for Roque Júnior. This was Costacurta's fourth career Champions League title.
Costacurta began the 2004–05 Serie A season winning his fifth Supercoppa Italiana after Milan defeated Lazio. Milan would finish the season in second place in a closely fought title race against Juventus. Milan would also suffer a huge disappointment in the UEFA Champions League. Milan reached the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul as heavy favourites over Liverpool. At half-time, Milan were leading 3–0, but Liverpool made a second half comeback, scoring three goals to tie the match and send it into extra time. Liverpool ended up winning the title in the resulting penalty shootout in what became known as "The Miracle of Istanbul". On 21 November 2006, he became the oldest footballer ever to play in the Champions League, in Milan's 1–0 loss to AEK Athens, at 40 years and 211 days, topping the previous record held by Belgian goalkeeper Dany Verlinden at 40 years and 116 days. Costacurta's record was later broken by Marco Ballotta, who on 11 December 2007, played a match at age 43 years and 253 days for Lazio against Real Madrid.
Costacurta began his final professional season with the club at age 40. During the season, he won his fifth UEFA Champions League title with Milan. On 7 May 2007, at age 41, he announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2006–07 season. He remained with the club as a second assistant to manager Carlo Ancelotti for a short time afterwards. He made his final home start in Milan's 3–2 loss to Udinese on 19 May 2007, converting a penalty that marked his first Serie A goal since the 1991–92 season (15 years after his left-footed volley against Roma on 3 November 1991), and left the pitch near the end of the match to a standing ovation. With this goal, he became the oldest goalscorer in Serie A, at the age of 41 years and 25 days, surpassing the previous record held by Silvio Piola, who in Novara–Milan, on 7 February 1954, scored a goal at 40 years, six months and nine days.
A mainstay in the Italy national team throughout the 1990s, Costacurta played for his country in three major tournaments: the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, as well as Euro 1996. He received his first senior call-up under Azeglio Vicini on 22 December 1990, but he made his debut for the senior team on 13 November 1991, at age 25, in a 1–1 draw against Norway in Genoa. He later became a regular first-team member under his former Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi, who replaced Vicini in 1991 after Italy failed to qualify for Euro 1992 in Sweden. Costacurta scored his first goal for Italy on 4 June 1992 from a penalty in a 2–0 against the Republic of Ireland during Italy's U.S. Cup run, where they finished in second place to the host nation in the friendly tournament. putting in strong defensive performances alongside Milan teammate Paolo Maldini, in particular following fellow Milan centre-back Franco Baresi's injury, and fellow Milan right-back Mauro Tassotti's suspension. He notably helped a ten-man Italy to keep a clean sheet in their second group match against Norway. However, after missing out on the 1994 Champions League final through suspension, he also missed the 1994 World Cup final loss on penalties to Brazil, again due to suspension, after receiving a yellow card in the semi-final match against Bulgaria. Costacurta started in Euro 1996 for Italy, as they were eliminated in the first round, in a group with the two eventual finalists, the Czech Republic and Germany.
Costacurta was once again a key member of Italy's defence in the 1998 World Cup under manager Cesare Maldini, starting in all five of Italy's matches and helping the team to keep three clean sheets. Despite Dino Zoff's intention to use him in the Italy squad for the Euro 2000 qualifying campaign, Costacurta retired from international duty in 1998, with 59 caps and two goals, after Italy's elimination from the World Cup.
His professional longevity was supported by his ability to play in many positions; while he primarily operated as a man-marking center-back, he also played as a sweeper, full-back, or defensive midfielder. This adaptability contributed to a high volume of domestic and international trophies with both Milan and the Italian national team.
Costacurta was a complete, hard-working and experienced defender who was also gifted with good distribution and crossing ability, as well as a solid technique and first touch, which he developed further as his career progressed, despite not initially being the most naturally skillful player on the ball; this enabled him to be comfortable in possession, carry the ball forward into midfield, and start attacking plays from the back-line. He was a tenacious yet disciplined defender with fast reactions who was known in particular for his exceptional tactical intelligence as well as his timing and strong, precise tackling ability. He was also quick-thinking, mobile, effective in the air, and had an outstanding ability to read the game and anticipate plays, despite his lack of notable pace, physical strength or athletic attributes, due to his slender build. He was an extremely precise and attentive footballer who excelled both at man marking as well as in a zonal marking system, due to his excellent positional and organisational sense, communication, awareness and his ability to play the offside trap effectively. Despite being a defender, he was an accurate penalty taker who often took penalties for his team in shoot-outs. He also stood out for his class, leadership and professionalism on the pitch, as well as his longevity throughout his career.
On 27 October 2008, Costacurta was unveiled as new coach of Serie B promotion candidates Mantova, then 13th in the table, following the dismissal of previous boss Giuseppe Brucato. However, his time at Mantova proved to be unsuccessful, as he failed to improve Mantova's results and ultimately leading him to tend his resignation from the coaching post following a 1–0 loss to Vicenza that left his club only four points above the relegation zone.
In 2010 he was hired by Sky Italia as a football pundit, becoming one of the main sports personalities from the TV channel and being featured in many of the channel's shows.
Personal life
Costacurta is married to former Miss Italia Martina Colombari, and has one son, Achille.
Costacurta is known for his vocal criticism of homophobia and discrimination against women. In a 2012 interview with Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, he stated that footballers should be allowed to be open about their sexuality.
Career statistics
Club
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan=2|Club
!rowspan=2|Season
!colspan=3|League
!colspan=2|Coppa Italia
!colspan=2|Europe
!colspan=2|Other
!colspan=2|Total
|-
!Division
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
|-
|rowspan="22"|AC Milan
||1986–87
|Serie A
||0||0||2||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||2||0
|-
||1987–88
|Serie A
||7||0||1||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||8||0
|-
|1988–89
|Serie A
||26||0||7||0||7||0||1||0||41||0
|-
|1989–90
|Serie A
||26||1||3||0||10||0||1||0||40||1
|-
|1990–91
|Serie A
||25||0||3||0||6||0||1||0||35||0
|-
|1991–92
|Serie A
||30||1||6||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||36||1
|-
|1992–93
|Serie A
||31||0||6||0||10||0||1||0||48||0
|-
|1993–94
|Serie A
||30||0||2||0||13||0||2||0||47||0
|-
|1994–95
|Serie A
||27||0||3||0||8||0||2||0||40||0
|-
|1995–96
|Serie A
||30||0||3||0||7||0||colspan="2"|–||40||0
|-
|1996–97
|Serie A
||30||0||3||0||5||0||1||0||39||0
|-
|1997–98
|Serie A
||29||0||8||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||37||0
|-
|1998–99
|Serie A
||29||0||3||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||32||0
|-
|1999–2000
|Serie A
||27||0||2||0||5||0||1||0||35||0
|-
|2000–01
|Serie A
||18||0||2||0||9||0||colspan="2"|–||29||0
|-
|2001–02
|Serie A
||21||0||3||0||7||0||colspan="2"|–||31||0
|-
|2002–03
|Serie A
||18||0||5||0||10||0||colspan="2"|–||33||0
|-
|2003–04
|Serie A
||22||0||5||0||8||0||1||0||36||0
|-
|2004–05
|Serie A
||14||0||3||0||5||0||colspan="2"|–||22||0
|-
|2005–06
|Serie A
||15||0||3||0||3||0||colspan="2"|–||21||0
|-
|2006–07
|Serie A
||3||1||5||0||3||0||colspan="2"|–||11||1
|-
!colspan=2|Total
!458!!3!!78!!0!!116!!0!!11!!0!!663!!3
|-
|Monza (loan)
||1986–87
|Serie C1
||30||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||1||0||31||0
|-
!colspan=3|Career total
!488!!3!!78!!0!!116!!0!!12!!0!!694!!3
|-
|}
International
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan=8|Italy
|1991|||2||0
|-
|1992|||8||1
|-
|1993|||5||0
|-
|1994|||14||1
|-
|1995|||5||0
|-
|1996|||6||0
|-
|1997|||11||0
|-
|1998|||8||0
|-
!colspan=2|Total!!59!!2
|}
Managerial
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
!rowspan=2|Team
!rowspan=2|Nat
!rowspan=2|From
!rowspan=2|To
!colspan=8|Record
|-
!G
!W
!D
!L
!Win %
!GF
!GA
!GD
|-
|Mantova
|
|27 October 2008
|9 February 2009
| 13 || 4 || 4 || 5 || ||15||19||–4
|-
! colspan=4 style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"|Total
! 13 !! 4 !! 4 !! 5 !! !!15!!19!!–4
|}
Honours
Player
AC Milan
- UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll: #50
- AC Milan Hall of Fame