Costinha plays for Atalanta. Oh you didn’t know? Neither did anybody.

As the title reads, former Portuguese international and ex-Mourinho pupil Costinha plays for Atalanta and is probably the biggest waste of money in all of Italian football today. Back in the summer of 2007, Costinha’s contract expired at Atletico Madrid. Atalanta thought they were making a real steal signing him, as be brought a wealth of international experience to their midfield. A player of Costinha’s quality was a luxury for a side like Atalanta, even at the age of 33. Atalanta gave him a three year contract (expires this June) worth 730,000 euro a season, the highest on the team (even more than captain Cristiano Doni). However he suffered a number of injuries, and only made 1 appearance in his first season, playing 56 minutes. To date, that is his only appearance in a Atalanta jersey. No games last season, no games this season so far. He is still on the team, he trains with the team, but doesn’t play. It’s a mystery. Last season sporting director Carlo Osti said ironically “Costinha? I didn’t even know he was an Atalanta player.” He does drive a Lamborghini to training however, as evidenced in this video. He’s also been spotted at the San Siro many times watching his old boss Mourinho and Inter. It’s been rumored that Mourinho wants Costinha on as his staff as a coach, and maybe if that rumor comes true he would finally rescind his Atalanta contract. But the damage has already been done, they’ve already payed him 1,460,000 euro to play one game in 2 years and continue to pay him as the current season goes on. For a club like Atalanta that doesn’t have much financial power to begin with, that’s a big hit. Ah, Italian calcio, it never ceases to amaze me.

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Category: Players, Rumors & News, Serie A