Jorge Paulo Costa Almeida (born 14 October 1971) is a Portuguese retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, currently

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

of Académico de Viseu. Nicknamed ''Bicho'' (animal) and ''Tanque'' (

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

) by his colleagues and fans for his aggressive and physical playing style, he spent most of his professional career with

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, being

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

for several seasons and winning a total of 24 major titles, notably eight Primeira Liga championships and the 2004 Champions League. Having earned 50

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, Costa represented the nation at one

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

and one European Championship. After retiring, he worked as a manager for several clubs as well as the Gabon national team.

Playing career

Club

Born in

, Costa made his professional debut with F.C. Penafiel on loan from hometown club FC Porto. The following season he was also loaned, to fellow Primeira Liga side

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Lig ...

, playing 31 games including a controversial one in the

Estádio das Antas The Estádio das Antas (officially Estádio do Futebol Clube do Porto) was the third (and longest occupied) stadium of the Portuguese football side FC Porto. It was in use from 1952 to 2004, replacing the earlier Campo da Constituição, 1.6km (1 ...

where he scored an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

; despite it being clearly unintentional the accusations of scoring for his team continued, forcing Porto's president

Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa Jorge Nuno de Lima Pinto da Costa (; born 28 December 1937) is the president of Portuguese sports club FC Porto since 1982. He is the president with most titles won (66) and most days in charge in world football. He was involved in the Portugue ...

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

as the veteran retired. His career three only met four black spots: two serious knee injuries (during 1995–96, which ruled him out of

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

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 Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

. 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 Mark Anthony Fish (born 14 March 1974) is a retired South African footballer who played as a defender. Club career Born in Cape Town, Fish started his career in his native South Africa under the guidance of renowned coach Steve Coetsee, play ...

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 The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

, Costa was involved in an incident with

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

George Weah George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah (; born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as ...

on 20 November 1996, with the Liberian breaking his nose, alleging that he had been racially abused. Costa strenuously denied the accusations of racism and was not charged by

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

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 the latter being sidelined for three weeks, also having to undergo facial surgery. Costa returned to Porto in the summer of 2002 as José Mourinho was now in charge, and was unanimously chosen as captain of a side that went on to win a championship- cup–

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

treble, making him the third Porto skipper in a row to lift cups at international level (following Pinto and Fernando Gomes). The player's winning streak 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 coach

Co Adriaanse Co Adriaanse (born 21 July 1947) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. Playing career As a professional player, Adriaanse played for six seasons with (now dissolved) De Volewijckers (from 1964 until 1970) and ...

, Costa signed for

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...

from Belgium, reuniting with former Porto teammate

Sérgio Conceição Sérgio Paulo Marceneiro da Conceição (; born 15 November 1974) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who mostly played as a right winger. He is the current manager of Porto. Throughout his career, he played for ...

, and helped his new team to a runner-up finish in

the league ''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football leagu ...

. He decided to retire from the game in June after alleging personal reasons, despite having a running contract until 2007.

International

Costa made his full international debut for

Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football coach who currently is the head coach of the Iran national team. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirat ...

on 11 November 1992 in a 2–1 friendly win over

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine (, literally ''Saint-Ouen on Seine'') is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in the Île-de-France region of France. It is located in the northern suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. The commune was ca ...

, France. He played alongside

Fernando Couto Fernando Manuel Silva Couto (; born 2 August 1969) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a centre back. During a 21-year professional career, he played in a number of top clubs in Portugal, Spain and Italy (12 seasons in the latter ...

as the team reached the semi-finals of

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament wa ...

in Belgium and the Netherlands. Costa scored the first of two goals on 15 November 2000, in a 2–1 exhibition defeat of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

at the

Estádio 1º de Maio The 1 May Stadium ( pt, Estádio Primeiro de Maio/Estádio 1.º de Maio) is a multi-purpose stadium in civil parish of Braga (São José de São Lázaro e São João do Souto) in the municipality of Braga, in the district of the same name. Buil ...

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

. He retired from international football after a group stage elimination at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

in South Korea and Japan, having played 50 games; in that competition, he scored an

in a 2–3 loss to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Previously, in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, Costa was an undisputed starter as the Portuguese team won the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

Coaching career

2000s

In the 2006–07 season, Costa began his coaching career with

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga () (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese ...

, 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 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

in the UEFA Cup, being ousted by

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

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 and returning the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

team to the first division after 34 years. After helping them to the 13th position the following campaign – thus safe from relegation – he left, joining another top-division club, 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 in ninth position after the 14th round, eventually narrowly escaping relegation.

2010s

In May 2011, Costa reneged on his retirement and signed a contract with

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Club'', whe ...

. He was dismissed the following 8 April with the team five points clear in first place with nine games to go in

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently Sponsor (commercial), sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It ...

, following a 5–0 home loss to nearest challengers CS Dinamo București. On 24 October 2012,

AEL Limassol FC Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λεμεσού, translation=Athletic Union of Limassol) commonly known as AEL, is a Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL also maintai ...

appointed Costa as their new manager, on the eve of a Europa League group stage tie against Fenerbahçe SK. In the following summer he moved teams but stayed in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, penning a 1+1 deal with

Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fo ...

. Costa coached the Gabon national team from 2014 until November 2016, being ousted from the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

group stage after one win and two losses. He returned to club duties on 15 May 2017, being appointed at

CS Sfaxien Club Sportif Sfaxien ( ar, النادي الرياضي الصفاقسي) is a Tunisian professional association football club founded in 1928. History The club was founded in 1928 as ''Club Tunisien'', playing in green and red stripes. The tea ...

. He moved back to his homeland in the following off-season, signing at Segunda Liga side F.C. Arouca and leaving by mutual consent less than three months later due to a poor string of results. On 22 November 2017, Costa was hired at

Tours FC Tours Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tours (), is a French association football club based in Tours, the capital city of the Indre-et-Loire department. The club was formed in 1919 and currently play at the fifth level of French ...

, last-placed in France's Ligue 2. At the end of the season, with the club relegated in the same position, he resigned with a year remaining on his contract. In August 2018, Costa signed for Mumbai City FC for the upcoming campaign of the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

. After a third-place finish, the team lost 5–2 on aggregate to

FC Goa Football Club Goa is an Indian professional football club based in Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 26 August 2014. Nicknamed as '' Gaurs'', the club plays their h ...

in the play-off semi-finals, conceding all of those goals in the first leg at home. On 5 March 2020, after finishing one place off qualification for the post-season, he was allowed to leave.

2020s

On 23 September 2020, Gustavo Ndong Edu, president of the

Equatoguinean Football Federation The Equatoguinean Football Federation ( es, Federación Ecuatoguineana de Fútbol, FeGuiFut) is the governing body of football in Equatorial Guinea. It was founded in 1975, and affiliated to FIFA and to CAF in 1986. It organizes the national footb ...

, announced that Costa would be the new coach of the national team. Six days later, however, he decided to join Romania's

CS Gaz Metan Mediaș Clubul Sportiv Gaz Metan Mediaș (), commonly known as Gaz Metan Mediaș or simply as Gaz Metan, was a Romanian professional football club based in Mediaș, Sibiu County. Founded in 1945 as ''Karres Mediaș'', the team spent most of its exist ...

instead. Costa returned to the Portuguese top tier on 4 February 2021, replacing the dismissed Sérgio Vieira at S.C. Farense on a four-month contract. In spite of relegation to the second division, he signed a new deal; on 30 August, however, he left by mutual consent after only one point in four matches to start the new campaign. On 3 February 2022, Costa returned to Sfaxien for the remainder of the season. He was dismissed on 7 April after a six-game winless run, concluding with a 1–1 draw at home to

ES Hammam-Sousse Espoir Sportif de Hammam-Sousse ( ar, الأمل الرياضي بحمام سوسة), often referred to as ''ESHS'' is a football club from Hammam-Sousse in Tunisia. Founded in 1954, the team plays in yellow and black colors. Their ground is the ...

. Costa went back to his country's second tier on 7 September 2022, being hired by

Académico de Viseu F.C. Académico de Viseu Futebol Clube is a Portugal, Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Viseu. Founded in 1914 as ''Clube Académico de Futebol'', the club went through several changes over the course of the years, f ...

in place of Pedro Ribeiro. On 20 December, he led the team to a 2–1 home win over top-flight club Boavista F.C. to make the

semi-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

of the Taça da Liga for the first time.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Porto * Primeira Liga:

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...

: 1993–94, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, 1996,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, 2001, 2003, 2004 *

: 2003–04 *

: 2002–03 * Intercontinental Cup: 2004 Portugal *

Individual * Portuguese Golden Ball: 2000

Manager

Olhanense * Segunda Liga: 2008–09 Cluj *

: 2011–12 Individual * CNID Breakthrough Coach: 2008–09

References

External links