Manuel da Costa

Manuel Marouane da Costa Trindade Senoussi (born 6 May 1986) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Belgian club Waasland-Beveren. He has previously played for Nancy, PSV, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, West Ham United, Lokomotiv Moscow and Nacional. Born in France to parents of Moroccan and Portuguese descent, he played for Portugal Under-21s before switching to play senior international football for Morocco.

Club Career

Nancy

Manuel da Costa began his career at Ligue 1 club AS Nancy. As well as his ten appearances in Ligue 1 in the 2005–06 season with his debut coming in January – da Costa scored a memorable individual goal to help Nancy defeat Le Mans in the French League Cup semi-finals. Nancy went on to lift the trophy and qualify for the UEFA Cup.

PSV

After rejecting offers from Bordeaux and Newcastle United, Da Costa opted to play in the Netherlands with PSV, where the glamour of Champions League football caught his eye. The 20-year-old centre-back agreed a five-year contract with the Dutch champions to become new coach Ronald Koeman's second summer signing at €1 million. Da Costa was given the number 14 shirt, and he stated: "It will be a beautiful base to grow and develop with PSV."

Da Costa, after a first season to get acquainted to a new challenge, gradually became more important in Koeman's side in 2007–08, establishing himself as a versatile defender. He played his first Champions League match on 12 September 2006, in a 0–0 home draw against Liverpool.

Fiorentina

On 29 January 2008, it was confirmed by PSV that an agreement had been reached on the transfer of da Costa to ACF Fiorentina, subject to a medical.

Da Costa did not manage to make a breakthrough into Fiorentina's first team, making just one appearance in the Italian Serie A.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Мануэл да Кошта (russian)