Leopoldo Costa

Leopoldo Costa Payá, better known as Rino Costa (7 May 1901 – 20 November 1979), was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward for Valencia CF, and later a manager, taking charge over Valencia.

He was one of the first footballers to play his entire career for Valencia CF, and thus be part of the so-called one-club men group.

Playing career
Leopoldo Costa was born on 7 May 1901 in the Chella, Valencia, and he began his footballing career in his hometown club Valencia CF in 1922, at the age of 21 after having played briefly for Atlético Saguntino. He quickly established himself and became an undisputed starter as a right winger for more than a decade since his debut in a friendly match against FC Barcelona on 2 August 1922, which ended in a 2–4 loss. He was the only survivor from the Camp de l'Algirós era who was a member of the Valencia team that reached promotion to the First Division in 1931, playing two games in the highest category until his official retirement in 1932.

His goal-scoring productivity was notable, above the average for his position, netting 78 goals in 402 games played, although without a doubt his greatest virtue was assisting the forward; he won eight Campeonato Regional de Valencia. With the arrival of professionalization, he began to lose his space and so in 1932, at the age of 30, he decided to hang up his boots to focus on the drugstore that he had opened on Calle San Vicente and that almost survived into the 21st century.

Playing style
Rino, whose nickname comes from "Risetes", which according to himself is what his friends called him as a child, knew how to adapt with great intelligence to the frenetic changes in football during his sporting career. A player with good dribbling and an ability to score measured crosses ahead of his time, he became the perfect partner for Montes and Eduardo Cubells.

According to the chroniclers of the time, his physical capacity was far superior to that of his teammates and rivals, which allowed him to turn his runs on the sidelines almost into a triumphant walk. His diagonal runs wreaked havoc on the opposing defenses and his hard shot used to become a goal when he went between the three posts.

Managerial career
After the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, Rino took his first steps as a coach, turning the Valencia amateur side into a national champion in 1942, and his feat led him to become coach of the first team on 11 July 1942 after the departure of Ramón Encinas, who had led Valencia to its first-ever titles after the first titles won: the 1941 Copa del Rey and the 1941–42 La Liga. In doing so, he became the first Valencia player to became the club's coach, something that has happened a further 17 times since. He made his debut in a preseason match in Burjassot, which ended in a 3–2 win. Despite a promising start (second place at the midway point) and being advised by Eduardo Cubells, a man of great experience, the season turned out to be somewhat gray, so he left on 11 April 1943 without completing a year in the position to return to work with the amateur team again.

Such was his enthusiasm for the lower categories, that it was his idea to propose a subsidiary team located on Cuenca Street, which would be created under the presidency of Luis Casanova Giner and baptized as Club Deportivo Mestalla, now known as VCF Mestalla. He remained linked to the Mestalla club until his retirement, except for one season, 1950–51, as coach of Castellón.

Gennaro Gattuso, also known as Rino Gattuso, became the coach of Valencia in 2022, thus becoming the second "Rino" to do so.

Death
Rino died on 20 November 1979, at the age of 78.

Honours
Valencia Championship:
 * Valencia CF
 * Winners (6): 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1931, 1932

Segunda División:
 * Winners (1): 1930–31