“FC Porto isn't just a football club, it represents people and region” | OneFootball

João Costa describes himself as “a player/fan, like a museum with legs” and believes that “you have to be an example on and off the pitch, with everything that entails,” because “first and foremost, you have to serve FC Porto with body and soul.” Speaking to the newspaper Público, the goalkeeper, whom his teammates “used to call the ultra of the team,” assures that “this Club is not like the others” and that “beyond the history, what you experience at FC Porto is special”: “It’s not just a football club, it belongs to the people and represents a region.”

After “fulfilling a dream” at the age of 30, the keeper, whose “job is to serve FC Porto,” says his goal is “to make everyone better players and better people” and believes that “this team will always be remembered as a true Porto-style team”: “From the very first moment of this season, I saw that we were going to have a Porto-style team. I saw how willing my teammates were to suffer, how much they wanted to win.”

Throughout a long conversation, João Costa lavishes praise on Diogo Costa, “one of the best goalkeepers in the world and a friend for life,” speaks about FC Porto’s group of goalkeepers as “a small team within the big team,” underlines the importance of “closing the inner circle in the dressing room,” and sadly recalls the death of Jorge Costa: “It was an irreparable loss that brought us pain that will never heal, but that we managed to turn into energy, into strength, into fuel for something much greater. That fed us over time, kept us united, made us put all egos aside.”

His debut for the first team“I arrived at FC Porto when I was seven or eight years old, and I think every Porto-supporting kid who comes here that early has this dream. For me it had even greater meaning: if making it here is already difficult, leaving, going through everything I went through, and managing to come back and fulfill my dream at 30 means even more. Receiving the captain’s armband added even more energy and strength to the moment, I think. Wearing the armband at our club is special and only shows the kind of person I am.”

Wearing the armband“You have to be an example on and off the pitch, with everything that entails. First and foremost, you have to serve with body and soul. Beyond being an example, you have to lift others up, help others become better professionals and people, and also help them perform better on the pitch. I think that’s a gift I have.

In service of the Club“My job is to serve FC Porto. It was one of my purposes in coming here, and it’s not within the reach of just any player. I did it with body and soul, in a unique way, both for the older ones and the younger ones. I had thousands of conversations with (Jan) Bednarek, Thiago Silva, and the younger players. If that helped in any way for us to reach the 31st league title, I’m very proud and happy.”

The title-clinching match“On the day we became champions, I felt unwell all day and I wasn’t going to play. I knew I wasn’t going to play. I was left out of the squad, but I always stay with the team, in every match and every training camp. I couldn’t even eat. I felt sick. I think it was the first time in my career that had happened to me. And in this game it was 100% the opposite. For me, they were the 30 minutes of a lifetime. I had every reason and then some, because of the emotion and the greatness of the moment for me, to be anxious and nervous. The feeling I had was that my moment had arrived; I had prepared all my life and career for it. There was no way it wasn’t going to work out. I know how I work, how I prepare, recover, and care about every detail.”

The crowning moment“I was in a state of complete lightness, just enjoying and making the most of every second on the pitch. And it wasn’t only on the pitch, I enjoyed every second of that day, from seven in the morning when I woke up until half past four in the morning, when the Aliados celebration ended. I enjoyed every second of that day, until I couldn’t stay on my feet any longer.”

The goalkeeping options“There are several ways of looking at it. We can look at it from that angle, the comfortable one, and think: ‘I’ll go there, do my little job, and leave. I know I’ll never play and that’s that.’ I think that’s the easier way, but I have an outlook on life where I like to spread my energy to everything and everyone. Neither Diogo (Costa) nor Cláudio (Ramos) are exceptions. I think I managed it through the way I am, through my daily work and my example. This is a team, it’s FC Porto, and here we all make everyone better players and better people. Our group of goalkeepers was something unique.”

The guardians of the mystique“I think we often raised the team’s standards, pushed the other teammates upward, making them work harder. We represented FC Porto as it should be represented. Beyond that, it’s also an enormous source of pride to be able to learn from Diogo (Costa), enjoy one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and have a friend for life. Him and Cláudio (Ramos) alike, it’s something special and not something you find on every team. I’m 30 and already have some experience, and I don’t think I’ll ever find a group like this again.”

A fan on the pitch“I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of the player/fan in there, it’s like being a museum with legs. The group quickly understood who they could ask that kind of thing about the Club, and I also take enormous pride and pleasure in sharing it. They called me the ultra of the team, but that’s part of it, and it’s important for them to understand that this club is not like the others. Beyond the history, what is lived here is special. It’s not just a football club, it belongs to the people and represents a region.”

First contact with the senior team“I remember the first training session as if it were today. They had already been preparing me for it a few months earlier; I was in the youth setup and at the time the third goalkeeper was Kadú. But because he had been through Padroense, he didn’t count as a homegrown player, and FC Porto had to have one registered for European competitions. At the time, I was the youngest goalkeeper ever to be registered by the Club. I remember perfectly that Helton was ill that day, and I wasn’t supposed to train that day.”

Memories of that day“At the time, I had to knock on the dressing-room door and ask to come in, ask for a place to get changed, wear an XL size, sit in a corner, listen, and learn. Nowadays it’s very different; I can’t forget those memories. There was something very curious: all my gloves were torn, and Helton asked me if I wanted some new ones. He said he’d give me some if I went and cleaned his boots. The first thing I did was get up, and I really was going to clean his boots. It was just a simple joke to see what kind of attitude I would have; then he called me back, didn’t let me clean the boots, and gave me the gloves. These are things that don’t exist nowadays, but in my day I think it was very important for us to understand that entering that closed circle, that dressing room, had to be something sacred or something special. That’s something the homegrown players tried to instill this year, to close our inner dressing-room circle. I think that was one of the keys to success.”

Working with Helton and Casillas“The one who left the biggest mark on me was Helton. He was at my wedding, and I made a point of inviting him to attend. He is a living legend of the Club. Back then I had two role models: (Iker) Casillas, five times the best goalkeeper and a player at my Club, and Helton, who was the goalkeeper of my Club. I had the privilege of spending time with both, but Helton affected me deeply because he was the first great leader I was able to live alongside. He’s someone I hold in great esteem and affection, and he continues to be a reference point.”

Advice to the younger ones“It’s the old story of ‘if I knew then what I know now…’. Nowadays I usually say that I am the master of my own destiny, and back then maybe I wasn’t. I still had a lot to learn. I know I’m ready now to represent the first team, and back then, although I might have thought so, I wasn’t ready in the way I am today. Now I value much more the things that don’t have a price.”

An example in life“Being an example to others. Sometimes we have this idea that being successful in life is only about looking at results, titles, or, in my case, minutes played. It’s much more than that. It’s understanding, when we finish our career, what impact we had on people’s lives. If there’s something I would improve in João Costa at 16, it would be being an example to everyone. Back then I valued other things; I was only worried about playing. That was normal, that youthful passion. We don’t value what happens off the pitch, rest, what we can add to others.”

Leaving home“It wasn’t something that came from the Club, but from me, because I’ve always been a competitor. At 21, after a serious injury, I felt I needed to compete and I needed to show people again what I was capable of. At the time, I asked coach Sérgio Conceição to let me leave also because I wanted to try to get into the under-21s. I had gone through all the youth national teams and didn’t get the chance to go to the under-21s because I had a serious injury. I was still old enough to go, and I tried to get minutes so I could have that possibility again. I left here with tears in my eyes, but I felt I could come back.”

The injury at 21“There was only one moment that was lower than that. At that time, being as young as I was, I thought I would never play football again. I felt like the world had collapsed on top of me, that no one would ever believe in me again. You’re never prepared for a serious injury and it’s very difficult. After that, unfortunately, I suffered another serious injury, and I know the differences between how I handled one and the other. The second time, I accepted it from the very first moment and just focused on doing everything within my power to recover as quickly as possible. But I think the most fragile moment of my career was when I left Granada, which was a Spanish top-flight club. I wasn’t getting minutes, and I had to go back to Spain’s Third Division on the last day of the transfer window, earning the lowest salary of my career.”

The move to Murcia“That was the moment when I questioned everything, because I had been discussed by dozens of clubs and they all said I had quality, but I was always second on the list. Having to accept going back to train in Spain’s Third Division on the last day of the transfer window, earning the lowest salary of my career, already 26 or 27 years old… taking my family, leaving the country on a salary that, if you did the math, people would say it wasn’t even worth leaving Portugal for… I think that was the most fragile moment of my career because, for the first time, I questioned everything. That’s also when the people around you help you endure those moments and remind you what kind of person you are. From there, the new João Costa was born. I went through a unique personal transformation, which is what has brought us to where we are today.”

Gil Vicente, Granada, Murcia, Feirense and Estrela da Amadora“I remember still being at Feirense, during my second serious injury, and me and two other former FC Porto teammates having a FIFA team. We managed to set up a partnership with the Club, and one day there was a FIFA tournament here at the Dragão and we came to watch the final. One of my best friends told me he would still see me play here, and I replied that I no longer had the knees for that. Incredibly, one or two months later, I recovered in time to play in a relegation playoff and had the best game of my career. From then on, it was always upward, and I started saying: ‘One day it’ll happen.’”

Coming home“I didn’t believe it that much because it seemed like I was getting farther and farther from the goal. My main concerns were already my family, being able to give them as much stability and as many possibilities as possible. My focus wasn’t so much on my dream, but on my family’s dream. Over time, I came to understand that my family’s dream was exactly the same dream I had. I had proof of that in these celebrations, seeing the joy of all my family and friends.”

The opportunity of a lifetime“At Feirense I was already having one of the best seasons of my career, I was breaking all the records. Half of the Primeira Liga was after me and, at the time, one of the clubs that asked about me was FC Porto. Even at that moment, I told my agent that for us to come back here one day, we were still missing one step: we had to show in the Primeira Liga that we were capable. That’s what allows us to walk through the front door, to be seen as a valuable signing and not just another one.”

Playing against FC Porto“I shared this in the first conversation I had with the president: it was the hardest victory of my career. I saw how much the club was suffering and how important that win was for my team, Estrela da Amadora. I am an excellent professional, but I felt pain deep in my heart. I knew that, in a way, I was making my own people suffer. It was also a moment when I felt I had to switch sides, and I think that helped me make this decision.”

Pre-match rituals“I have two. The first is when we all greet each other in the tunnel before we go out for the warm-up, the goalkeepers and their respective coaches. It’s a message passed on from a small team within the big team. The other thing is when the goalkeeper on the bench always waits for his teammate at half-time, even if it’s just for a few words or to offer comfort. These are two rituals that left their mark on me; I had never done them before, and they make perfect sense.”

Being a goalkeeper“I think our position is different from all the others. A goalkeeper can only play at his best level after getting through a few matches, especially in decision-making. It’s normal that when we haven’t played for a long time, some decision may not come out as fluidly. But in my case, and for someone who has already gone through that, I think what keeps us always prepared is daily work. If we work hard every day and have a clear conscience, knowing we’ve done everything within our power to prepare ourselves, then when the time comes, that’s what will make the difference.”

Who surprised him the most“(Victor) Froholdt with his running. We made some cards on matchday one with predictions for the season, and one of the things I put down was that Victor would be the breakout player of the season. And he was. He was one of the ones who surprised me. As a Porto fan, in past seasons, I felt there was some criticism of certain players. I can give the example of Pepê and Eustáquio himself, but we saw them play and they were players at FC Porto’s level. This team surprised people a lot; sometimes we draw conclusions without knowing what’s going on and what people are really worth.”

La Famiglia Portista“I think the coach’s arrival was very important in the sense that he too was coming off a difficult season. We shared common pain, together with the passing of Jorge Costa. It is an irreparable loss that brought us pain that will never heal, but that we managed to turn into energy, into strength, into fuel for something much greater. That fed us over time, kept us united, made us put all egos aside.”

The start of the season“We felt we were starting behind our rivals because they had a foundation that we didn’t have. We had little time to work, we had a completely new team, a new coach, and supporters carrying deep pain. Changing that so quickly is not within the reach of just any team.”

A Porto-style team“I can only speak about what I saw as a fan in the previous season and what I saw as a player this season. From the very first moment of this season, I saw that we were going to have a Porto-style team. I saw how willing my teammates were to suffer, how much they wanted to win. As someone who has also gone through many difficult moments throughout my career and life, I knew the pain they had and how much that can transform a person and a professional. I immediately believed that we could go on to do something great. And I think this team will always be remembered as a true Porto-style team.”

Predictions for the future“I usually say that the best is always yet to come. I think I managed to make history at FC Porto. Playing more or playing less, I managed to make it felt that I was part of it and that my work was well done within the Club. So at this moment, there is no other way than to continue my story at FC Porto.”

Would you like to finish your career at FC Porto?“I don’t like talking too much about the end of my career, because for me that is still very far away. I’m one of those people who think they’ll be very old and still be around here kicking a ball about. If you asked me whether I would leave happy if my career ended today, I would leave with the greatest happiness and pride in the world, because I know I left my mark on the people here and that my work and my purpose were fulfilled.”

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