Profile of Jorge Paixão da Costa on Famous Like Me

Jorge Paulo Costa Almeida (born 14 October 1971 in Porto, Portugal) is a professional footballer.

Nicknamed Bicho (animal) and Tanque (tank) by his colleagues and fans for his aggressive and physical playing style, he has been the captain of Portuguese side FC Porto since longtime captain João Pinto retired.

A promising player (he was a 1989 Youth World Cup champion) he debuted in the 90-91 season with Penafiel (on loan from Porto), playing 23 games and scoring two goals. The following season he was loaned to Madeira side Marítimo, playing 31 games including a controversial game in the Estádio das Antas where he scored an own goal. Despite 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 Porto, a decision that still stands. In the 92-93 season he finally joined FC Porto, slowly making his way. In the 97-98 season he inherited both the number 2 shirt (he played with the number 22 shirt before) and the captain's armband from captain João Pinto.

His career only met three black spots: two serious knee injuries (during the 95-96 season, which ruled him out of Euro 96 and during the 97-98 pre-season in Sweden) and a feud with coach Octávio Machado early in the 01-02 season, which forced him into "exile" at Charlton Athletic. However, the image of Costa as the captain went untouched, and Porto fans turned against Octávio with massive criticism of his team management and coaching, eventually forcing him outside the club.

With José Mourinho in charge, he returned next season to FC Porto, and was unanimously chosen as captain of a side that went on to win a Championship-Cup-UEFA Cup treble, making him the third Porto captain in a row to lift cups at international level (following João Pinto and Fernando Gomes). The winning streak for Costa continued as the next season he lifted the UEFA Champions League, following the legacy of João Pinto, and in December 2004 the Intercontinental Cup.

With age slowing him down on every season, Jorge Costa place in the team was put in check by the fourth manager in one year, Co Adriaanse. Days after he presented his book, Jorge Costa - Capitão, rumours about him and recently signed Tomislav Sokota being released from contract hit the press, but while the newspaper (Record) is known for presenting inacurate or especulative rumours as news, Adriaanse left him in Porto for the Amsterdam Tournament and a friendly against Tottenham Hotspur. With his contract ending in Summer 2006, the 2005-06 season is expected to be the last of him.

At international level, he and Fernando Couto were considered the best defensive duo in UEFA's Euro 2000, retiring from international football after the 2002 World Cup, with fifty caps and two goals.

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