José Mourinho is saddened by the sudden death of former FC Porto captain Jorge Costa. The Fenerbahçe coach had Costa under his wing at FC Porto, which surprisingly won the Champions League in 2004.
“Part of my history is gone,” Mourinho said Tuesday at the press conference leading up to the first leg against Feyenoord in the third preliminary round of the Champions League.
Costa died Tuesday afternoon at the age of 53 from cardiac arrest. He fell ill at FC Porto’s training complex. Earlier in the day he was still on Portuguese television. He worked as technical director at FC Porto.
Mourinho became emotional when asked about his relationship with Costa. “Jorge was a player who always cleared the problems out of my way,” the Portuguese said. “That is the perfect captain for a coach. Being a captain is not about the armband, but what you stand for. He meant a lot to me.”
“Of course I am very sad,” Mourinho continued. “But Jorge would want me to give my press conference and he would want us to play and win. That was typical Jorge. So I have a job to do now and maybe I’ll cry afterwards.”
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Mourinho will play with Fenerbahçe against Feyenoord in De Kuip on Wednesday. The 62-year-old coach estimates the chances of the two teams to reach the Champions League play-offs as equally high.
“It’s fiftyfifty. I don’t see a favorite,” Mourinho said. “I have played many games against Feyenoord. It will be a tough game. They have a good, young team with a good coach. It will be a nice challenge for us.”
Mourinho praised Feyenoord’s buying and selling policy. “They are good at selling players and always know how to get good replacements. They immediately make up for the departure of Dávid Hancko and Igor Paixão again. That is clever.”
The first leg between Feyenoord and Fenerbahçe starts at 9:00 PM. The winner of the double match qualifies for the last preliminary round of the Champions League.