Jose Mourinho broke down in tears as he paid tribute to his former Porto captain Jorge Costa, who has died at the age of 53 after suffering a cardiac arrest at the club's training ground.
Costa, who was a key figure in Mourinho's Champions League-winning side in 2004, collapsed on Tuesday and was rushed to Sao Joao Hospital in critical condition but could not be saved. He had returned to Porto last year as director of football.
Speaking at a press conference with his current club Fenerbahce, an emotional Mourinho said: 'It's part of my history that goes. You have captains and you have leaders. It's not always about the armband but what you represent. And Jorge was one of these guys who cleaned the garbage and let the coach do his job as a coach. That's perfection for a coach when his captain does this work.'
Mourinho added: 'Let's forget football, let's focus on him, on Jorge, on his kids. If he could speak with me now he would tell me, come on, do your press conference. And he would say tomorrow play the game Mister, win the game and forget about me. That would be Jorge.'
Porto president and former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas also paid tribute, calling Costa 'our Beast' and 'the eternal Legend of the Club'. Costa won 21 trophies with Porto, including eight Portuguese league titles and the UEFA Cup, and earned 50 caps for Portugal.
