André Villas-Boas remembers Jorge Costa and can't hold back tears | OneFootball

On Tuesday, FC Porto released a video capturing the moment when André Villas-Boas spoke at the ceremony that changed the name of the Olival academy to the Jorge Costa Training and Sports Development Center, visibly moved.

On a day when the former Portugal international would have turned 54, the FC Porto president could not hold back tears as he honored the man who was his “right-hand” in the Dragons’ management structure, which he joined in April 2024, roughly two months after the tragic death of the former footballer and director, on August 5, due to cardiorespiratory arrest.

“Today, on this day full of emotion and meaning, we gather to honor and immortalize one of the most remarkable people at FC Porto, Mr. Jorge Costa. The choice of this date, October 14, his birthday, could not be more symbolic. It is a tribute to the life he gave to our club, to our identity, to our collective mission, principles and values. A small gesture that should have been made in his lifetime and that expresses the immense will we never forgot. It is with profound respect, moved by memory, that we will see in history the name of this place, which will now be called the Jorge Costa Training and Sports Development Center. From this moment on, all who enter this space will inevitably cross paths with the strength of a captain who represents what it is to be FC Porto. Jorge Costa made every day wearing this shirt a hymn to courage, sacrifice and team spirit,” he began.

“First and foremost, Jorge was a Dragon, one who didn’t know how to play at half throttle, who never turned his face away from a fight, even down the locker room corridors, defending FC Porto’s values. Captain for more than a decade, he led with his voice, but led by example. Nearly 400 official matches for our first team, having lifted the most important titles in our club’s history. It was impossible to ask more of our Bicho. He was capped 50 times by Portugal and served the Dragons and Portuguese football with rare professionalism. Until very recently, he returned to this home and was a director like few others. One of the first to arrive and the last to leave,” the head of the Invicta city club further stressed.

“Concerned for everyone, he injected spirit into the more experienced and taught the younger ones to walk with their heads held high. No one was indifferent to the Bicho in the corridors of Olival. Jorge Costa meant a great deal to FC Porto, to us, and to me. He was, like few others, a true symbol of Porto. The Bicho embodied FC Porto’s DNA. Many will wear this shirt; few have honored it like the Bicho. With this tribute, we want to keep his name alive for the new generation that will be formed here. To all of Jorge Costa’s family, especially Estela, his wife, his children David, Guilherme, Salvador and Bruno, his mother and his sisters, I leave a word of gratitude. Thank you for sharing with us this great man and captain. In this club he will never be forgotten,” he added, already in tears.

“He was a great man and a great companion. I want to leave a hug here, because Jorge died in August, but he left us an impressive legacy. Of charisma, honor and victories, a force of nature. An exceptional man. There is something very curious about David that reminds me of his father, which is his unmistakable walk and his curly hair. He was always by my side. Sometimes I have conflicting feelings about having brought him back here, and about having lost him here, the way it was in my arms,” concluded André Villas-Boas.

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