{"id":463338,"date":"2025-08-05T21:38:55","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T21:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=463338"},"modified":"2025-08-06T00:14:55","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T00:14:55","slug":"mourinho-in-tears-after-sudden-death-of-ex-captain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=463338","title":{"rendered":"Mourinho in tears after sudden death of ex-captain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jorge Costa, who captained Porto to the 2004 Champions League<\/a> title, died Tuesday of cardiac arrest, the club said. He was 53.<\/p>\n

Costa, a central defender who made 50 international appearances for Portugal, was Porto\u2019s director of football at the time of his death.<\/p>\n

The club said in its announcement that Costa embodied Porto's values: \u201cdedication, leadership, passion, and an unwavering spirit of conquest.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Portuguese media reported that Costa suffered cardiac arrest at the club's training centre and was transported to S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o Hospital.<\/p>\n

Costa's finest achievement in his playing career was as captain of Jose Mourinho's Porto team that was a surprise winner of the Champions League in 2004. A year earlier, he lifted the second-tier UEFA Cup.<\/p>\n

Costa also helped Porto win eight Portuguese league titles.<\/p>\n

Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro offered his condolences and praised Costa's \u201cdedication and commitment\u201d to both Porto and the national team.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mourinho posted a tribute that said \u201cyour legacy will stay with us".<\/p>\n

The Fenerbahce coach wrote that he could imagine what Costa would be telling him: \u201cMister, stop crying, tomorrow you have a match and your boys need you ready and strong".<\/p>\n

Mourinho fought back tears speaking about his former captain at a news conference before Wednesday's Champions League third-round tie against Feyenoord.<\/p>\n

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"I'm going to try and do my job today and tomorrow, and then I'll cry after."<\/p>\n

Costa won 24 trophies before leaving in 2005, including the Champions League, Uefa Cup and eight Primeira Liga titles.<\/p>\n

Deco, who was also part of Porto's Champions League-winning side, labelled Costa a "legendary captain".<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"Today, Portuguese football and FC Porto lose one of its greatest symbols," Deco posted on Instagram.<\/p>\n

"Jorge Costa was the embodiment of Porto's spirit and determination. A legendary captain who inspired us all.<\/p>\n

"It was an honour to share so many titles and joys with you. Your name will forever be remembered. My condolences to the entire family. See you always, 'Bicho'."<\/p>\n

Another former teammate Pepe said: "My deepest condolences to all your family.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"Your dedication and legacy will always live in the unparalleled history of victories of FC Porto. Rest in peace, Jorge Costa."<\/p>\n

Costa spent a short period on loan at English team Charlton in the 2001-02 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo hear of a life taken at 53 is never nice to hear, but he\u2019s a former teammate who had such a great standing in the game and captained a Champions League winning side,\u201d said Steve Brown, chair of Charlton's ex-players\u2019 association.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was loved at Charlton, a man mountain of a player and a great guy too.<\/p>\n

"He was a fantastic person who always got his point across.<\/p>\n

"Everyone respected him because of his ability. He was a great lad."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jorge Costa, who captained Porto to the 2004 Champions League title, died Tuesday of cardiac arrest, the club said. He was 53. Costa, a central […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":463340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=463338"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":463344,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463338\/revisions\/463344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/463340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=463338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=463338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=463338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}