A teary-eyed Jose Mourinho paid a touching tribute to his Portuguese compatriot Jorge Costa, stating that “it’s a part of my history that goes”, with the 53-year-old FC Porto legend’s passing on Tuesday.

Costa was the cornerstone of Mourinho’s inspirational charge to Porto’s 2004 Champions League triumph. Costa hung up his boots in 2006 and returned as Porto’s director of football in 2024 before his tragic passing due to a reported heart attack. “Costa began to feel unwell throughout Tuesday morning and, after losing consciousness, was treated there by the club’s doctors, who used a defibrillator until the national services Medical Emergencies (INEM) arrived to take him by ambulance to the hospital,” reported Spanish media outlet Diario AS.

However, Mourinho was pushed to tears when he addressed the media on the eve of his Turkish side Fenerbache’s Champions League match against Feyenoord. Over his career, Costa played 530 games in all competitions, including 383 for Porto and 50 for Portugal’s national team. He earned the nickname “Bicho” (animal) from teammate Fernando Couto during their partnership in central defense. Under Mourinho at Porto, Costa wore the captain’s armband during the UEFA Cup win over Celtic in 2003 and in the Champions League final victory over Monaco the following year.

“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.