Former FC Porto captain Jorge Costa passed away tragically at the age of 53, and Jose Mourinho has paid heartfelt homage to him.
It is thought that Costa went into cardiac arrest at Porto’s training facility in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. On Tuesday, August 5, the Portuguese team posted on X to notify Costa’s passing. It said:
Jorge Costa is no longer with us. One of us, a captain, a leader, an example. A representation of FC Porto. I appreciate you sticking with FC Porto through everything. Jorge Costa, forever.
Mourinho’s Porto team, which Costa captained, valiantly won the UEFA Champions League in 2004. Since July 2024, he has served as the Primeira Liga team’s director of football.
Jose Mourinho Honours ‘Leader’ Jorge Costa
He remembered working with the Porto legend with tears in his eyes.
When a reporter asked Mourinho how he felt about Costa’s death and how he saw the former Porto centre-back as more than simply a captain, he broke down in tears. Through Voetbalzone, the Fenerbahce manager stated:
It’s a part of my past that endures. You have leaders and captains, and sometimes what you stand for is more important than your armband. When Jorge was one of those men, I would tell him to “clean the garbage” and let the coach perform his job as coach, not as dressing room leader. When a coach’s captain does this task, it’s ideal.”
Costa leaves behind his sons, Salvador Almeida and David Costa Almeida, whom Mourinho remembered meeting as kids, as well as his wife, Rute:
“I’m obviously really depressed since it’s a part of my past. But let’s not talk about football. Let’s concentrate on him, Jorge, and his children, whom I met while they were still very little and who are now obviously adults.”
Tomorrow’s Champions League third-round qualifier pits Mourinho’s Fenerbahce team against Feyenoord of the Netherlands. Speaking before the game, the Portuguese found solace in his belief that his former captain would want him to concentrate on the game:
“I’m obviously really upset, but if he could talk to me right now, he would say, ‘Come on, have your press conference.’ In other words, play the game tomorrow, win it, and forget about me. That’s Jorge’s.
With 325 appearances in defence for Porto, Costa’s physical style earned him the moniker “Tank.” Prior to joining Standard Liege of Belgium and retiring in July 2007, he played in 24 Premier League games during his loan stint in England with Charlton Athletic.
As captain of Mourinho’s first Champions League victory as manager, the former 50-cap Portugal international was a victor. With the Portuguese powerhouses, they won 22 major trophies, including eight Liga Portugal championships.
xz
