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Alessandro Costacurta was a permanent fixture in AC Milan's defence for about 20 years where played as a centre-back in some truly historic defensive partnerships. Costacurta enjoyed and illustrious career but was more significantly the darling of the Milan fan base who nicknamed him 'Billy’ for his stature early on and his affinity for basketball. Costacurta was one of the finest Milan youth products as he managed to go on and become the third most capped player in Milan's long history.
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Costacurta grew up with Milan's Primavera and was initially loaned out to Monza for a season but when he returned he impressed Arrigo Sacchi enough to be included in the starting team alongside Franco Baresi and Costacurta had the faith of Fabio Capello with whom he was part of one of the tightest defences in Italy's history. Although, Milan struggled post Capello, Costacurta grew in dominance as he was named Milan's vice Captain to support Paolo Maldini and returned to winning ways under Carlo Ancelotti. Costacurta managed to haul in 24 trophies with Milan over 20 years and was inducted into Milan's Hall of Fame. One thing about Costacurta is he knew how create memorable moments and in his last home game with Milan at the San Siro he scored a goal against Udinese breaking a record for the oldest player to score in the Serie A at 41 years and 25 days - he still holds the record.
Achievements with Milan
- Serie A: 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
- European Cup/UEFA Champions League: 1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94, 2002–03, 2006–07
- Coppa Italia: 2002–03
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2004
- European Super Cup/UEFA Super Cup: 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003
- Intercontinental Cup: 1989, 1990
Top Highlight
Although Costacurta was a defensive marvel, one of his best highlights was his incredible vision and awareness to launch the attack that led to Frank Rijkaard's winning goal against Benfica for Milan to Lift the 1990 European Cup. Watch this highlight here or below.