Porto legend Jorge Costa dies after heart attack | OneFootball

Portuguese football is in shock today after the sudden death of Porto’s football director Jorge Costa at 53 years of age.

The legendary centre-back, known affectionally as “o Bicho” (the animal) by Porto fans owing to his fierce competitiveness, was rushed to hospital this morning after feeling unwell at the club’s Olival training complex. His passing was announced early this afternoon.

Costa played a total of 342 matches during a golden era for the Dragons, winning the Portuguese league eight times among a glittering array of domestic and international silverware.

It was he who lifted the European Cup aloft into the Gelsenkirchen sky in 2004 as José Mourinho’s Porto won the biggest prize in club football - the second time the club were crowned champions of Europe.

Jorge Costa played 50 times for Portugal, in addition to two brief stints abroad at Charlton Athletic and Standard Liège, and he also represented both Penafiel and Marítimo on loan early in his career.

But it is as an authentic Porto icon that he will be remembered. RIP.