He was captain during the club’s Champions League victory in 2004 and most recently director of professional football at FC Porto. Jorge Costa has died suddenly at the age of just 53.
The Portuguese top club officially announced the death of Jorge Costa on Tuesday afternoon. According to the announcement, the former defender and current director of professional football died of cardiac arrest in a hospital in Porto in the early afternoon. He had given a TV interview at noon, complained of feeling unwell afterwards, and lost consciousness shortly thereafter. Jorge Costa had already suffered a heart attack in 2022. He was only 53 years old.
FC Porto paid tribute to Jorge Costa in a club statement as a “legendary captain” who “shaped generations of fans and became an important symbol.” Jorge Costa was considered one of the club’s greatest icons. Born in Porto, the defender joined his club’s academy as a teenager and played for the Dragons’ professional team for almost 16 years, with a few interruptions – he was loaned out three times in total.
Captain under Mourinho, then globetrotter as a coach
During this time, he won eight league titles and five cups and played a decisive role in what was perhaps the most successful period in the club’s history: he captained the team under coach José Mourinho to victory in both the 2003 UEFA Cup and the 2004 Champions League. The center back played 50 games for the Portuguese national team and was a regular at Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup, among other tournaments. He ended his playing career in 2006 at Standard Liège.
Jorge Costa then spent several years working as a coach, traveling around the world. Among other things, he coached clubs in Romania, Cyprus, Tunisia, India, and the Gabon national team. Last summer, he returned to his beloved club FC Porto as director of professional football.
