A versatile and experienced defender with a number of major titles under his belt at club level, Ricardo Costa finished his second season with Valencia CF before travelling to UEFA EURO 2012. He did not feature for Portugal during qualifying for Poland and Ukraine but received a late call-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa.

• Groomed at Boavista FC, Ricardo Costa joined Porto's B team in 2000 before graduating to the senior squad two years later.

• Only a fringe player in the Porto side that won the UEFA Cup and Portuguese double in 2002/03, he came on as an early substitute in the European final against Celtic FC.

• Had a similar role the following season when the Dragons retained the Liga title and lifted the UEFA Champions League (he was unused in the final).

• Gained more first-team opportunities at Porto following José Mourinho's departure in 2004, and featured for Portugal in the Athens Olympics that same year.

• Won his first senior cap in February 2005 against the Republic of Ireland and was included in the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, playing only in the third-place play-off.

• Moved to VfL Wolfsburg in 2007 and won the Bundesliga title in 2008/09, scoring three goals in 11 outings; spent the second half of 2009/10 on loan to LOSC Lille Métropole before a summer switch to Valencia and an unexpected second World Cup finals appearance, making two starts in South Africa − at right-back − but receiving a red card in the final minute of the last-16 defeat by Spain.

UEFA honours
UEFA Champions League: winner 2004
UEFA Cup: winner 2003
European/South American Cup: winner 2004