Franco Costanzo
Franco Costanzo ( 2011)
Franco Costanzo (born 5 September 1980 in Rio Cuarto, Argentina ) is a former Argentine football goalkeeper.
Career
Club career
He began his professional career at River Plate in Buenos Aires in 2000. Was predicted to him a brilliant career, but he was thrown back by various injuries. Nevertheless, he was still as talent and won with River Plate three times the Argentine championship. In summer 2005, Costanzo joined the Basque Club Deportivo Alavés to Spain where he played in the 2005/06 season 31 championship games.
FC Basel
In July 2006, the FC Basel Franco Costanzo bought for around three million Swiss francs from the current contract out. After initial blunders in the first round, he played a great second half and was elected FCB Player of the Year. In the 2007 /08 season he won his first Swiss championship with FC Basel.
With the Basel FC Costanzo played in 2008/ 09 and 2010/11 group stage of the UEFA Champions League. From the 2008/ 09 season he was captain of FC Basel and thus the successor of Ivan Ergić, who resigned this office voluntarily.
On 13 April 2011 the club management announced that the current contract, which in 2011 was valid until the end of the championship, will not be extended. After five years of collaboration, Franco Costanzo and the club could not agree on a new contract. He was succeeded by Yann Sommer.
Olympiakos Piraeus
In June 2011, Franco Costanzo signed a three year contract with Olympiakos Piraeus. There he was the successor of the recently retired Antonios Nikopolidis. Following only modest benefits Costanzo lost his place to the young keeper Balázs Megyeri. During the winter break of 2011/12, his contract was dissolved. Costanzo was then without a club until he resigned on 22 May 2012.
National
Costanzo was in 1997 at the U- 17 World Cup goalkeeper of Argentina. In 1999 he was part of the Argentine squad that won the U-20 South American Championship and then took part in the Junior World Cup in Nigeria. At its sole use in the Argentine national team, he came in 2003 in a friendly against Uruguay.
Achievements
- Argentine champion: 2002 ( Clausura ), 2003 ( Clausura ), 2004 (Clausura)
- Swiss Cup: 2007, 2008, 2010
- Swiss champion: 2008, 2010, 2011
- U-20 South American champions: 1999
Person and family
The father of three is the Argentine- Italian dual citizens.