Villas-Boas recalls Jorge Costa a year on: “He embodied FC Porto” | OneFootball

In this Wednesday’s edition of O Jogo, André Villas-Boas signs an emotional opinion piece dedicated to Jorge Costa, one year after his death. The FC Porto president remembers him as “an exemplary person, a unique player, a committed director” and “a friend,” stressing that “the pain remains because there are absences that time cannot fill, and men whose importance becomes even more evident once they are no longer physically present.”

The Porto leader sends his “most heartfelt embrace” and “deepest condolences” to the wife of the former Portuguese international, Estela Rito, as well as “to all family and friends.” Villas-Boas also expresses his “certainty” that the club “will never forget one of its greatest symbols”: “The sudden and tragic way he passed away, at Olival, deeply moved the club, the city, and the country.”

“A year has passed since FC Porto lost Jorge Costa,” he begins, acknowledging that “nothing can ease a loss of this magnitude, but there is something profoundly Porto about the fact that Jorge was, until the very last moment, in his home, serving the institution he loved so much.”

“He passed away while working, demanding, and helping to build FC Porto’s future, in the place he had chosen to return to so he could continue giving the club everything he had. Today, the Training and Sports Development Center bears his name and reminds us every day of what Jorge Costa represented. It is not merely a tribute; it is a presence and a standard of excellence for all those who work there,” it reads.

“Every player, coach, or staff member who enters that space encounters the example of someone who showed that talent is not enough without hard work, that leadership does not exist without courage, and that representing FC Porto requires character, honesty, loyalty, and absolute commitment. His career speaks for itself. Jorge Costa played 383 matches, scored 25 goals, and won 21 titles wearing the FC Porto shirt,” it continues.

“He was the captain who led the club to the top of Europe and the world, but no number can fully explain what he was. Jorge Costa never needed to define FC Porto’s mystique because he himself embodied it in the way he protected his own, faced every opponent, and always placed the collective above any individual interest,” he adds.

Day of mass in memory of Jorge Costa

The tribute to the former captain continues with André Villas-Boas recalling that Bicho’s return to FC Porto in 2024 was not to “live off memory or occupy a symbolic place,” but rather to “work, decide, demand, and help rebuild” the club. His contribution would end up being decisive in winning the “31st national championship title.”

“Today, at 7:00 p.m. [mainland Portugal time], a mass will be celebrated in his memory at the Church of Christ the King, in Porto. It will be a moment of reflection, gratitude, and tribute to the man, the player, the captain, the director, and the friend who left an eternal mark on FC Porto’s history. This is a day of remembrance for the entire Porto nation, a day to feel the pain of his absence, but also to give thanks for everything Jorge Costa left us,” he reflects.

“His example remains at Olival, at the Dragão, in the titles he won, in the teams he led, and in every Porto supporter who recognizes in him the purest expression of our club’s values. A year has passed, but his presence, his example, and a legacy that time will never erase remain. Until always, captain,” he concludes.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.