'It's a part of my history that's gone': Mourinho pays tearful tribute to his former Porto captain

When asked about the death of 53-year-old Jorge Costa earlier today , José Mourinho shed his invulnerable managerial mantle. The manager became a man unafraid to show his flaws.

"You have captains and you have leaders. And sometimes it's not just about the armband, but what you represent. And Jorge was one of those guys, one of those who does the dirty work and lets the coach do his job as a coach," the Portuguese coach praised to the press. "It's perfection for a coach when his captain acts like that. Of course I'm very sad, it's a part of my history that is gone."

This Tuesday afternoon, Jorge Costa, the 53-year-old former Portuguese international who won the 2004 Champions League with Porto, coached by a certain José Mourinho, succumbed to a heart attack. Despite being taken to hospital, the Portuguese defender could not be revived.

Speaking of his friend, Mourinho had his say: "If he could talk to me now, he would say: 'Go ahead, do your press conference and tomorrow, play the match and win it, Mister, forget about me.' That would be what Jorge would say," continued the Turkish team's coach. "So that's what I'm going to try to do, do my job today, do it tomorrow and cry afterward."

His job in question is to prepare his Fenerbahçe team for a Champions League third-round match against Feyenoord Rotterdam, a match that could lead to a future clash against Nice in the play-offs .