Midfield dynamos

Rui Manuel Cesar Costa v Paul Scholes

Age before beauty

While Rui Costa turns 32 on the last day of this month, Manchester United’s ‘ginger ninja’ is comparatively young at 29 years of age.

International bows

Rui Costa made his in March 1993 against Switzerland, whereas Scholes scored on his full debut in a 2-0 victory over the Azzurri in Le Tournoi four years later.

Golden generations

Both midfielders were part of a so-called ‘golden generation’ in their respective countries, Rui Costa alongside Luís Figo, Fernando Couto and Co who competed and won the 1991 Under-20 World Cup, Scholes with fellow local boys the Neville brothers and Nicky Butt, as well as London-born David Beckham, in United’s fabled youth team of the early 1990s.

Carlos Queiroz

He was Portugal's coach when Rui Costa scored the decisive spot-kick in his country's penalty shoot-out victory over Brazil in the 1991 World Youth Championship Final, played on home soil. And, eleven years on, Queiroz found himself tutoring Scholes for a season as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Old Trafford.

On top of the world

Both men have scored on the biggest stage of all, the World Cup Finals.

Scholes netted in England’s opening fixture at France 98, against Tunisia in Marseille, with Rui Costa finding the back of the net against Poland in what turned out to be Portugal’s only win in the tournament two years ago.

Brief encounter

The pair have come face to face in a competitive international fixture on just the one previous occasion, during the two nations’ opening Euro 2000 encounter at the Philips stadium in Eindhoven. Scholes scored first for the Three Lions with an early header, but a Rui Costa-inspired Portugal recovered from trailing 2-0 at one point, to eventually emerge triumphant in a five-goal thriller.

Price is right

While Rui Costa joined Milan for a staggering £28m in 2001 after seven sparkling years with Fiorentina, Scholes is the archetypal one-club man, having been with his local team since making his Premiership debut for them in September 1994.



European contrast

The high point of the Portugal international’s distinguished club career ironically came on Scholes’ home ground in Manchester last summer when his new club, Milan, won the European Cup on penalties against Juventus. In contrast, the Englishman suffered despair when he was suspended from United’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Bayern München in the 1999 Final in Barcelona.

International heartbreak

Both players have suffered crushing moments with their respective countries on the international stage. The Portuguese still can't forget Euro 2000 when France controversially won through to the Final on a "golden goal" at his side’s expense, while England international Scholes experienced heart-break during the 1998 World Cup when Glenn Hoddle’s men were knocked out on penalties by Argentina in the Second Round.

Goal drought

Although Rui Costa recently ended a run of almost three years without a goal in Serie A when he scored with a free kick at San Siro against Ancona, Scholes is still waiting to score his first England goal since he found the target against Greece in Athens in June 2001, 24 matches ago.

International facts and figures

Rui Costa has represented his country 85 times, scoring 23 goals, while Scholes has played 59 games for England, netting on 13 occasions, meaning that the former has a strike rate in international football of a goal every 3.7 games, with the latter’s being a slightly inferior 4.5.

Heard it on the grapevine

"I am not a piece of meat," Rui Costa told the Gazzetta dello Sport when his former club Fiorentina tried to offload him against his wishes to Parma in the summer of 2001.

Barcelona’s Dutch international Edgar Davids recently claimed that Scholes "is the best midfielder in the world."

Did you know that...

Rui Costa’s 85 international caps leave him third on his country's all-time appearances list behind captain Fernando Couto and Figo, while his 23 goals for Portugal also leave him third in the goalscoring charts, adrift of Éusébio and Figo.

Scholes became the first-ever England international to be sent off at Wembley when he was dismissed in a European Championship qualifier with Sweden in June 1999.