Jorge Costa

Born in Porto, Costa made his professional debut in 1990–91 with Penafiel, on loan from hometown club Porto. The following season he was also loaned, to fellow Primeira Liga side Marítimo, appearing in 31 games including a controversial one in the Estádio das Antas where he scored an own goal; despite it being clearly unintentional, the accusations of scoring for his parent team continued, forcing Porto's president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa to forbid further loaned players to play against them, a decision that stood for several decades. Costa finally joined Porto in the 1992–93 campaign, eventually becoming a starter. Five seasons later he switched to jersey No. 2, previously worn by João Pinto, also being named team captain as the veteran retired. His career there only met four black spots: three serious knee injuries (one of them ruled him out of UEFA Euro 1996) and a feud with coach Octávio Machado early in 2001–02, which forced him into "exile" at Charlton Athletic. However, the image of Costa as the captain went untouched, and Porto fans turned against Machado with massive criticism of his team management and coaching, eventually forcing him outside the club; during his time in South London, he played in defence alongside Luke Young, Mark Fish and Jonathan Fortune, in a back-line remembered for its pun name of "Young Fish Costa Fortune". Additionally, in 1996–97's UEFA Champions League, Costa was involved in an incident with AC Milan's George Weah on 20 November 1996,…

In 1991, Costa was first-choice as Portugal won the FIFA U-20 World Cup. In the final against Brazil, he converted his team's first attempt in the 4–2 penalty shoot-out victory at the Estádio da Luz. Costa made his full international debut for Carlos Queiroz' Portugal on 11 November 1992 in a 2–1 friendly win over Bulgaria in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, France. He played alongside Fernando Couto as the team reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands. Costa scored the first of two goals on 15 November 2000, in a 2–1 exhibition defeat of Israel at the Estádio 1º de Maio in Braga. He retired from international football following group-stage elimination at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, having played 50 games; in that competition, he scored an own goal in the 3–2 loss to the United States.

2000s

In the 2006–07 season, Costa began his coaching career with Braga, first as assistant to Rogério Gonçalves, whom he replaced in February 2007. In his first season he led the Minho side to the fourth place and the semi-finals of the domestic cup, also reaching the round of 16 in the UEFA Cup, being ousted by Tottenham Hotspur 6–4 on aggregate. After again guiding Braga to the UEFA Cup group stage, Costa was fired midway through his second year. He moved to Segunda Liga club Olhanense ahead of 2008–09, eventually finishing as champion and returning the Algarveans to the first division after 34 years. After helping them to 13th place the following campaign – thus safe from relegation – he left, joining fellow top-division Académica de Coimbra. Costa announced his departure from Académica and his retirement from coaching on 21 December 2010, citing personal reasons. The team was placed ninth after the 14th round, eventually narrowly escaping relegation.

2010s

In May 2011, Costa reneged on his retirement and signed a contract with Romania's CFR Cluj. He was dismissed the following 8 April with the team five points clear in first place with nine games to go in Liga I, following a 5–0 home loss to nearest challengers Dinamo București. On 24 October 2012, AEL Limassol appointed Costa as their new manager, on the eve of a Europa League group stage tie against Fenerbahçe. He stayed in Cyprus the following summer, agreeing to a 1+1 deal with Anorthosis. Costa…

Costa was married to Isabel for 18 years. They divorced in 2012, with national media outlets at the time reporting he had assaulted her while he was manager of Cluj; however, she later clarified this had never happened. While working in Gabon, Costa met Estela Rito, who would stay with him for the rest of his life. They married in September 2017 in Ponte de Lima. In May 2022, Costa was admitted to the Santa Cruz Hospital in Oeiras with a heart condition. For this, he had to undergo surgery. On 5 August 2025, Costa suffered a heart attack at a pre-season training session of the Porto first team. He died shortly afterwards at the University Hospital of São João; he was 53, and was survived by his three children with Isabel: 31-year-old David, a football analyst at AVS, 23-year-old Guilherme, who worked in the hotel industry, and 18-year-old Salvador who played for Leça. Just two days before the 2022 heart problems, he had become a grandfather.