Nicknamed Bicho (animal) and Tanque (tank) by his colleagues and fans for his aggressive and physical playing style,[2] he spent most of his professional career with Porto, being team captain for several seasons and winning a total of 24 major titles, notably eight Primeira Liga championships and the 2004 Champions League.
Born in Porto, Costa made his professional debut with F.C. Penafiel on loan from hometown club FC Porto.[3]The following season he was also loaned, to fellow Primeira Liga side C.S. 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 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.[4]
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.[3] His career three only met four black spots: two serious knee injuries (during 1995–96, 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.[5] 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".[6][7][8][9]
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 breaking his nose, alleging that he had been racially abused.[10] 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;[11] the incident resulted in the latter being sidelined for three weeks, also having to undergo facial surgery.[12]
In January 2006, after having been deemed surplus to requirements by new coach Co Adriaanse, Costa signed for Standard Liège from Belgium, reuniting with former Porto teammate Sérgio Conceição[18] and helping his new team to a runner-up finish in the league. He decided to retire in June due to personal reasons, despite having a contract running until 2007.[19]
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.[22] He retired from international football following group-stage elimination at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, having played 50 games;[23][24] in that competition, he scored an own goal in the 3–2 loss to the United States.[25]
Costa announced his departure from Académica and his retirement from coaching on 21 December 2010, citing personal reasons.[33] 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.[34] 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 CS Dinamo București.[35]
Costa coached the Gabon national team from 2014 until November 2016, being ousted from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations group stage after one win and two losses.[38] He returned to club duties on 15 May 2017, being appointed at CS Sfaxien.[39] He moved back to his homeland in the following off-season, signing at Segunda Liga side F.C. Arouca[40] and leaving by mutual consent less than three months later due to a poor string of results.[41]
On 22 November 2017, Costa was hired at Tours FC, last-placed in France's Ligue 2.[42] At the end of the season, with the club relegated in the same position, he resigned with a year remaining on his contract.[43]
On 3 February 2022, Costa returned to Sfaxien for the remainder of the season.[54] He was dismissed on 7 April after a six-game winless run, concluding with a 1–1 draw at home to ES Hammam-Sousse.[55]
Costa went back to his country's second tier on 7 September 2022, being hired by Académico de Viseu F.C. in place of Pedro Ribeiro.[56] 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 of the Taça da Liga for the first time;[57] they were eliminated there by Porto, as in the quarter-finals of the national cup.[58] In spite of collecting 20 victories in 34 matches and with his side placed fourth (17th at the time of his arrival), he left by mutual consent on 20 April 2023.[59]
On 10 June 2023, Costa was confirmed as the manager of AVS Futebol SAD of the same league; he was the first manager of the club after U.D. Vilafranquense relocated to Vila das Aves due to bad infrastructures.[60] On 7 December, he received a 17-day suspension and a fine for, five days prior, having insulted and threatened the referee in a match against S.L. Benfica B.[61]
^Cruz Martins, André (19 May 2011). "Jorge Costa confirmado no Cluj" [Jorge Costa confirmed at Cluj] (in Portuguese). Relvado. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
^"Jorge Costa despedido do Cluj" [Jorge Costa dismissed from Cluj]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). 8 April 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
^Ο Ζόρζε Κόστα νέος προπονητής [Jorge Costa the new coach] (in Greek). AEL Limassol. 24 October 2012. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
^ΤΑ ΗΝΙΑ ΣΤΟΝ ΖΟΡΖΕ ΚΟΣΤΑ [Jorge Costa takes the reins] (in Greek). Anorthosis FC. 17 August 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
^"OFICIAL: Jorge Costa deixa Arouca" [OFFICIAL: Jorge Costa leaves Arouca] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
^Rania, Jerbi (7 April 2022). "Tunisie-CS Sfaxien: Jorge Costa limogé" [Tunisia-CS Sfaxien: Jorge Costa sacked] (in French). Africa Foot United. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
^Zaharia, Paul-Daniel (18 May 2012). "Cluj campeão pela terceira vez" [Cluj champions for the third time] (in Portuguese). UEFA. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
