Jorge Costa

For other people named Jorge Costa, see Jorge Costa (disambiguation).

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Costa and the second or paternal family name is Almeida.

Jorge Costa

Personal information
Full name	Jorge Paulo Costa Almeida
Date of birth	October 14, 1971 (1971-10-14)
Place of birth	Porto, Portugal
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	CFR Cluj (coach)
Youth career
1983–1984	FC Foz
1984–1990	Porto
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1990–2005	Porto	263	(15)
1990–1991	→ Penafiel (loan)	19	(3)
1991–1992	→ Marítimo (loan)	31	(1)
2001–2002	→ Charlton Athletic (loan)	24	(0)
2005–2006	Standard Liège	20	(2)
Total		357	(21)
National team
1991	Portugal U20	10	(0)
1993–1994	Portugal U21	8	(1)
1995–2002	Portugal	50	(2)
Teams managed
2006–2007	Braga (assistant)
2007	Braga
2008–2010	Olhanense
2010	Académica
2011–	CFR Cluj
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Jorge Paulo Costa Almeida (born 14 October 1971), known as Costa, is a retired Portuguese professional footballer who played as a central defender, and a current manager.

Nicknamed Bicho (animal) and Tanque (tank) by his colleagues and fans for his aggressive and physical playing style, he played most of his professional career with F.C. Porto, being team captain for several seasons and winning a total of 24 major titles, notably eight national championships and the 2004 UEFA Champions League.

Having gained 50 caps for Portugal, Costa represented the nation at one World Cup and one European Championship. After retiring he worked as a manager for several clubs.

Club career

Born in Porto, Costa made his professional debuts with F.C. Penafiel, on loan from hometown's F.C. Porto. The following season, he was also loaned, to fellow top flight outfit C.S. Marítimo, playing 31 games, including a controversial one in the Estádio das Antas where he scored an own goal. Despite being clearly unintentional, the accusations of "scoring for his team" continued, forcing Porto's president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa to forbid further loaned players to play against Porto, a decision that still stands.

In 1992–93, Costa finally joined FC Porto, slowly making his way. Six seasons later, he switched to jersey #2, previously worn by right defender João Domingos Pinto, also being named team captain, as Pinto retired. His career three only met four black spots: two serious knee injuries (during the 1995–96 season, which ruled him out of UEFA Euro 1996 and during 1997's pre-season in Sweden) 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.

Additionally, in 1996–97's UEFA Champions League, Costa was involved in an incident with A.C. Milan's George Weah on 20 November 1996, with the Liberian striker breaking his nose, alleging that he had been racially abused. Costa strenuously denied the accusations of racism and was not charged by UEFA as no witnesses could verify Weah's allegations, not even his Milan teammates. Weah, on the other hand, was suspended for six matches, and later attempted to apologise to Costa but this was rebuffed by the Portuguese, who considered the charges of racist insults levelled against him to be defamatory and took the Liberian to court; the incident resulted in Costa being sidelined for three weeks, also having to undergo facial surgery.

With José Mourinho in charge, Costa returned to Porto next season, and was unanimously chosen as captain of a side that went on to win a championship-cup-UEFA Cup treble, making him the third Porto captain in a row to lift cups at international level (following Pinto and Fernando Gomes). The winning streak for Costa continued as the next season he lifted the Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup.

In January 2006, after having been deemed surplus to requirements by new club coach Co Adriaanse, Costa signed for Standard Liège from Belgium, reuniting with former Porto teammate Sérgio Conceição, and helped his new side to a runner-up spot in the league. He decided to retire from the game (claiming "personal reasons") in June, despite having a running contract until 2007.

In 2006–07, Costa began his coaching career, with Sporting Clube de 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 semifinals of the domestic cup, also reaching the round of 16 in the UEFA Cup, being ousted by Tottenham Hotspur 4–6 on aggregate.

After again guiding Braga to the UEFA Cup group stage, Costa was fired midway through his second year. He then moved to second level's S.C. Olhanense, in the following campaign, eventually finishing the season as champions, with the Algarve side returning to the first division after 34 years. After helping Olhanense to the 13th position in the following campaign – thus safe from relegation – he left the club, joining another top division team, Académica de Coimbra.

On 21 December 2010, Costa announced his departure from Académica and his retirement from coaching, citing personal reasons. The team was placed in ninth position after the 14th round, eventually narrowly escaping relegation. In May 2011, however, he announced his comeback, signing a contract with Romanian side CFR Cluj.

International career

At international level, Costa and Fernando Couto were considered the best defensive duo in UEFA Euro 2000. Costa retired from international football after the 2002 FIFA World Cup, having won fifty caps, with two goals. In the latter competition, he scored an own goal as the national side lost 2–3 to the United States, eventually exiting in the group stage.

Previously, in 1991, Costa was an undisputed starter as the Portuguese team lifted the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Jorge Costa: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	15 November 2000	Estádio Primeiro de Maio, Braga, Portugal	Israel	2–0	2–1	Friendly
2	13 February 2002	Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain	Spain	0–1	1–1	Friendly

Club statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Portugal			League		Taça de Portugal		Taça da Liga		Europe		Total
1990–91	Penafiel	Portuguese League	23	3
1991–92	Marítimo	Portuguese League	31	1
1992–93	Porto	Portuguese League	8	1
1993–94			13	0
1994–95			13	1
1995–96			21	1
1996–97			26	4
1997–98			13	0
1998–99			33	2
1999-00			31	1
2000–01			20	1
2001–02			6	1
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2001–02	Charlton	Premier League	24	0
Portugal			League		Taça de Portugal		Taça da Liga		Europe		Total
2002–03	Porto	Portuguese League	26	2
2003–04			19	1
2004–05			22	1
2005–06			0	0
Belgium			League		Belgian Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2005–06	Standard Liège	Belgian League	13	0
Total	Portugal		305	20
	England		24	0
	Belgium		13	0
Career total			342	20

Honours

Player

Club

• UEFA Champions League: 2003–04
• UEFA Cup: 2002–03
• Intercontinental Cup: 2004
• Portuguese League: 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04
• Portuguese Cup: 1993–94, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03
• Portuguese Supercup: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004

Country

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1991

Manager

• Second Division: 2008–09

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)
• PortuGOAL profile
• Jorge Costa career stats at Soccerbase