Alberto Costa

Born into a family of FC Porto fans in Santo Tirso the day after FC Porto's 110th anniversary, Alberto took his first steps in the Tirsense youth teams, scored 20 goals in 24 games for his hometown club's under-11s and caught the attention of Vitória SC. At the age of ten, he moved to Guimarães and progressed through all the youth ranks until he reached professional football. He played in the Liga Revelação as an under-23 player, the following season he played in Liga 3 for the B team and ended up being called up to the Elite League to represent the national under-20 team. He made his senior debut at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in a Portuguese Cup match and added more minutes in a league match at Alvalade. Reinvigorated after the 2024 summer holidays, he performed at a high level during the pre-season and earned his place in the starting line-up for European competitions. His good performances in the Conference League opened the door to the starting eleven and the right fullback continued to impress game after game - so much so that he was named Best Defender in the Portuguese League in December. Alberto Costa's excellent form did not go unnoticed abroad and, the following month, Juventus reached an agreement with Vitória SC for the transfer of the 1.86-metre athlete. The trend continued in Turin, where the Portuguese defender had a brilliant end to the season. Wearing Ciro Ferrara's number 2 shirt, the young Portuguese international took part in the final rounds of Serie A, helped secure qualification for the Champions League and was a starter in all of the Bianconeri's matches in the Club World Cup. The invitation from the “club of his heart”, the one he learned to “love from an early age”, allowed him to fulfil “a childhood dream” and brought him back to his native country, “the best decision” he could have made.