Rui Costa: The Elegant Trequartista Who Became The Prince of Florence

Juventus' victory over Ajax in the 1996 Champions League final signalled the changing of the guard in regards to European football ascendancy.

The Bosman ruling midway through the 1995/96 campaign would eventually decimate Louis van Gaal's babyfaced Amsterdamers, with six stars making the switch to Serie A - 'mirroring the shift in power', as Michael Cox notes in his book Zonal Marking.

Italy was the place to be for footballing superstars in the mid-to-late '90s. It was a time where Marcello Lippi's flexible Bianconeri were the continent's dominant force - reaching three consecutive Champions League finals between 1996 and 1998 - and a place where the ideological battle between Arrigo Sacchi's unItalian, revolutionary principles and catenaccio purists emerged.

Sacchi's high-pressing 4-4-2 left no room for the country's much-loved trequartista. Although, the majority of Italian string-pullers still loved their innovative playmakers, and following a period of Sacchi-dominated ideals leading the way in Serie A at the turn of the '90s, the previously outcast number ten came to define the division by the end of the millennium. Giovanni Trapattoni pioneered the return of the Italian style made famous by Helenio Herrera and Nereo Rocco in the '60s.

Italian football was so strong during this period that seven sides would start the campaign with genuine title aspirations. These outfits became known as the 'Seven Sisters', and the majority were built around the revived trequartista.

Parma had the talented but inconsistent Ariel Ortega, Francesco Totti was emerging at Roma, Zinedine Zidane spearheaded Juventus' supremacy, Zvonimir Boban proved key in Milan's 1998/99 Scudetto success, while the finest of his time, Roberto Baggio, bounced around the division.

As for Fiorentina, an ever-evolving force under the ownership of Cecchi Gori, their play was centred around Portuguese star Rui Costa.

Signed from Benfica in 1994 for €6m, Costa, was your archetypal number ten; remarkably elegant in possession, equally adept at gliding past challenges and penetrating opposition defences with the most intricate of through balls, while his futsal roots meant he was the master of tight spaces; able to manipulate the ball and opponents through the subtlest of touches.

Costa joined a newly-promoted Fiorentina side led by Claudio Ranieri, although the gradual additions of Gabriel Batistuta, Brian Laudrup and Francesco Baiano meant La Viola were poised to send shockwaves through the top-flight after finally discovering the heir to Baggio's throne in Florence, who departed in 1990 in favour of Juventus.

The Portuguese's impact was instant, injecting a fresh dynamic into Ranieri's attack and striking a telepathic relationship with one of the deadliest forwards of his era, Batistuta.

"“Out of all the strikers I played with, he had the best knack of scoring goals,” "

- Costa on Batistuta

The Argentine had finished the previous three campaigns as the club's top scorer with goal tallies of 14, 19 and 19. His total in 1994/95 - Costa's debut season - rose meteorically to 29 which was enough to see him crowned Capocannoniere. Their relationship was nothing short of scintillating, with the killer instinct of the number nine harmoniously complementing the overwhelming technical quality of the number ten.

Costa's impressive spatial awareness and physical strength to hold off desperate tacklers meant he often put himself in positions to tee up his partner in crime, while the frequency at which he executed the final pass was frightening.

The Costa x Gabigol tandem was certainly one of the most iconic calcio had to offer at the time, although they were only good enough for a mere two pieces of silverware - the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, both in 1996 - during their time together in Florence.

While the beguiling grace and artistry of Fiorentina's attack was mesmerising, a sub-par supporting cast meant La Viola were in no position to challenge for the Scudetto under Ranieri considering the sheer strength of the division.

It wasn't until catenaccio disciple Trapattoni arrived at the Artemio Franchi in 1998 when La Viola emerged as genuine title contenders.

Trapattoni switched to a 3-4-1-2 to accommodate a libero and, of course, Costa as the trequartista. A new-found security was discovered in defence as libero Alessandro Pierini partnered aggressive man-markers Tomas Repka and Daniele Adani, while Batistuta and Costa maintained their deadly dynamic in attack - complemented by Brazilian Edmundo, well, when the Rio Carnival didn't take priority.

Nevertheless, La Viola were well on their way to their maiden Scudetto in 30 years before Gabigol's knee buckled in a stalemate with title rivals Milan in early February. He'd return a month later but with Fiorentina's charge in tatters. They'd go on to finish third, with Costa enjoying a career-high return in front of goal with ten strikes.

That was the closest the enigmatic Costa ever got to a title in Italy, however. Despite Michael Cox describing La Viola's attack the following season - with Italy international Enrico Chiesa replacing Edmundo - as the most 'cohesive attacking trident' in the division, they'd slump to ninth, before Batistuta departed for Roma in the summer of 2000.

Although Costa would add another Coppa Italia in 2001 there's no doubting that he, alongside Gabigol, perennially underachieved during their awe-inspiring spell together in Florence.

But a lack of shiny pots and pans isn't enough to damage Costa's reputation and overlook the impact he had in a foreign land. He was a maverick fulfilling the game's most beautiful function to the highest standard.

From the greasy hair to the tape under the knee; the rolled down socks to the half tucked-in shirt, Rui Costa was the embodiment of Italian football style and justly denoted The Prince of Florence amid a seven-year spell of graceful nonchalance and instinctive trequastista play for La Viola.