Jose Mourinho fights back tears after Champions League-winning captain dies aged 53

Jorge Costa, who captained Jose Mourinho’s Porto to Champions League glory in 2004, has died at the age of 53 with Fenerbahce boss among those to pay tribute

A tearful Jose Mourinho paid tribute to Jorge Costa after the former Porto centre-back died aged 53. Costa, who also played in the Premier League, wore the captain’s armband when Mourinho’s Porto won the Champions League in 2004.

Costa, who retired from playing in 2006, returned to Porto as director of football in 2024. He is understood to have suffered a cardiac arrest while at one of the club’s training sessions on Tuesday, and was pronounced dead at Sao Joao hospital in the Portuguese city.

The defender spent almost his entire career with Porto, playing more than 350 games for the club. He also spent a year in the Premier League with Charlton Athletic before returning to the Dragao.

It was at the end of his Porto spell that the team sealed European glory under Mourinho. Costa wore the armband for their UEFA Cup triumph against Celtic in 2003, and again as they beat Monaco in the Champions League final 12 months later.

“It’s part of my history that goes,” Mourinho, 62, said at a press conference ahead of a Champions League qualifier involving his team Fenerbahce. The Turkish side will face Feyenoord in the third qualifying round, with the first leg held in Rotterdam.

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‘You have captains and you have leaders. It’s not always about the armband but what you represent,” Mourinho continued. “And Jorge was one of these guys who cleaned the garbage and let the coach do his job as a coach.

‘That’s perfection for a coach when his captain does this work. Of course, I’m very sad it’s part of my history that goes. But let’s forget football, let’s focus on him, on Jorge, on his kids, who I met when they were really kids, but now are grown men.

“And I’m here now because if he could speak with me now he would tell me, come on, do your press conference. And he would say tomorrow play the game Mister, win the game and forget about me. That would be Jorge.

‘”So that’s what I’m going to try and do, do my job today, do my job tomorrow and then cry after. But today and tomorrow I have a job to do and I know Jorge would tell me to do my job.”

Porto shared a tribute of their own following the news. “Futebol Clube do Porto expresses its deepest sadness and consternation at the passing of an inescapable figure in the Club’s history,” the club wrote, calling for respect for his friends and loved ones.

“Throughout his life, Jorge Costa embodied, on and off the field, the values that define FC Porto: dedication, leadership, passion, and an unwavering spirit of conquest. He influenced generations of fans and became a major symbol of Porto.”

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