Jorge Nuno Pinto Da Costa
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Jorge Nuno de Lima Pinto da Costa (28 December 1937 – 15 February 2025) () was a Portuguese sports executive, who was president of Portuguese sports club
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
from 1982 until 2024. He was the president with most titles won (69) in the history of
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
and most days in charge as a president of association football club. Pinto da Costa was involved in the Portuguese football corruption scandal '' Apito Dourado'', from which he was eventually absolved in April 2009 after receiving a two-year suspension and a €10,000 fine in May 2008. His whole career was marked by corruption allegations.


Early years

Pinto da Costa was born in Cedofeita, the son of José Alexandrino Teixeira da Costa and Maria Elisa Bessa Lima de Amorim Pinto, who fathered other four children, including future forensic pathologist José Eduardo. In his late teens, Pinto da Costa started working as a
bank teller A bank teller (often abbreviated to simply teller) is an employee of a bank whose responsibilities include the handling of customer cash and negotiable instruments. In some places, this employee is known as a cashier or customer representative. T ...
. He began collaborating with
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
, while keeping his day job; in 1953, on his 16th birthday, his maternal grandmother registered him as a club associate and he was a frequent attender of the team's football and
roller hockey Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using wheeled skates. It can be played with traditional roller skates (quad skates) or with inline skates and use either a ball or puck. Combined, roller hockey is played in nearly 60 cou ...
games, eventually going on to work in directorial capacities in the latter department, in his early 20s.


Directorial beginnings

Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa's career at
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
started when he was just 20 years old, after accepting the club's invitation to join the
rink hockey Roller hockey (in British English), rink hockey (in American English) or ball roller hockey is a team sport played on roller skates. It is a quad-skate team sport where two teams face-off against one another, trying to drive a hard ball with t ...
administrative commission. In 1962, he became chief of the rink hockey department, a job he would eventually accumulate after also taking over as chief of the boxing department in 1967. In 1969, he integrated Afonso Pinto de Magalhães's Chairman candidacy list as Head of all Amateur Departments. Their list won the elections and he held the job for the three following years. Despite being invited by future president Américo de Sá to join his then candidacy list, he refused the offer as he felt the candidate should bring forward a renewed list. He left the club in 1971 after Pinto de Magalhães's mandate was over.


Return

In 1976,
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
's most popular department,
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
, was facing the longest title drought in the club's history, having not won the
Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...
for 19 years. This period coincided with the rise of neighbors Boavista, who under the guidance of Pinto da Costa's friend and Porto's former player and coach, José Maria Pedroto, would win later that season the
Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...
. On the same night, Porto's transfer target Brazilian player Amarildo, fled to city rivals Boavista at the last-minute; Pinto da Costa was provoked by friends, some of whom were directors of Boavista, with allegations that Boavista had surpassed Porto as the city's major sporting force. He considered this an outrage and vowed on that night to return to his beloved club. Soon after, he contacted then Porto's chairman Américo de Sá and both arranged his return through the formers re-election list, this time as
director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...
. Before the elections, he agreed terms with José Maria Pedroto, who was still coaching Boavista at the time. In May 1976, chairman Américo de Sá was re-elected and Pinto da Costa returned to the club as
director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...
, alongside Pedroto as a coach.


Rise and first victories

It was under Pinto da Costa's and José Maria Pedroto's guidance that, in 1976–77, Porto won the
Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...
, their first silverware in 18 years. During the following season, their success continued when they finally broke their 19-year-old title drought and won the 1977–78 league. The 1978–79 season would mark a
back-to-back Back to Back or back-to-back may refer to: Film and theatre *Back to Back (film), ''Back to Back'' (film), a 1996 American action film *Back-to-back film production, the practice of making two films as a unified production *Back to Back Theatre, ...
league title for both men. Subsequently, though, in 1980 after failing a third title in a row, internal disputes regarding other sporting departments having too much influence in
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
football section led to their resignation. Following their resignation 15 first team players refused to play for the club. This specific period of time is dubbed as "Verão Quente" (Hot summer).


Pinto da Costa and Pedroto, Chairman and Manager

On 17 April 1982, following internal disputes in
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
, Pinto da Costa was elected the 31st Chairman of the club and took office on 23 April. He chose Pedroto as the
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
manager and this partnership was to have a lasting effect on Porto's whole structure. Pedroto was a visionary, a highly talented football player whose charisma as coach was unique. Under Pedroto, in 1984, Porto reached its first European final. Porto lost 2–1 to
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
in
Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
, in the
Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...
final. By then, Pedroto was already ill, having been diagnosed with cancer. He would resign his duties and died shortly afterwards, in 1985.


European Champions

Artur Jorge was appointed Pedroto's replacement, and European recognition would finally come under his spell. In 1987, Porto faced Bayern Munich for the European Cup final. At half-time, Bayern took a 1–0 lead. But the rookie Portuguese side would come back to claim a historic victory. Algerian Rabah Madjer scored with his heel to draw the match, and Juary later sealed the 2–1 win that ensured Porto the biggest feat of its near centenary history.


Years of domestic success – association football

Domestic success continued to be a hallmark of Porto in subsequent years, and 1995–99 became the highest note of Portuguese domestic competition ever, following titles by Bobby Robson (1995 and 1996) and António Oliveira (1997 and 1998); Fernando Santos captured a record-setting fifth consecutive title in 1999. Porto later achieved second place in the championship, but won the 2000 and 2001 Portuguese Cups (whilst reaching the European quarter-finals in both seasons), only to replace Fernando Santos with Octávio Machado. Octávio however only had a short stint at Porto. His replacement would be
José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...
.


1999 Sweep

In the end of the 1998–99 season, Porto swept the Portuguese professional sports by winning all the competitions in which it had a professional team: football, handball, basketball and rink hockey. It also won the swimming national championship, which made a total of five championship titles in the same year. In Portugal, it was called the "double penta", making reference to the five consecutive championships in football.


José Mourinho era

Mourinho joined Porto in January 2002, the club was in fifth place on the table. Mourinho would ensure a
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
berth for the following season, ending the league in third. The summer of 2002 saw a lot of movement on the transfer market by Porto. The bets consisted mainly on Portuguese players playing in Portugal, yet to prove their true worth, as well as, for the most part, little known foreigners. It most certainly worked, and such was Mourinho's impressive work in Porto, that he managed to lead the club to two glorious seasons in 2003 and 2004, wrapping up consecutive Portuguese titles and a UEFA Cup and Champions League in quick succession. During this period, Pinto da Costa remained somewhat in Mourinho's shadow and allowed him a very firm grip on all matters regarding football.


Post-Mourinho era

Victory in the Champions League final in 2004 meant that Mourinho left Porto, looking for another challenge in a bigger league. He was replaced by Luigi Delneri, who only lasted four weeks on the job. In came Victor Fernandez, who qualified the club for the Champions League last 16 and won the Intercontinental Cup. He was sacked in late January 2005 following a home defeat to Braga, which saw the club lose the championship lead. José Couceiro took over and led the club to a final standing of second in the league. He subsequently resigned his post. In late May 2005,
Co Adriaanse Jacobus "Co" Adriaanse (born 21 July 1947) is a Dutch association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who played as a centre-back. Playing career As a professional player, Adriaanse played for six seasons ...
, the former coach of Willem II, Ajax and AZ Alkmaar, was appointed the new Porto coach. Under his guidance, Porto became an attacking team and the results were mixed, solid performances mixed with severe defensive flaws. European results, in particular, were terrible, and Porto suffered a humiliating exit from the UEFA Champions League in the group stage. However, Adriaanse still guided Porto to a domestic double, wrapping up the title with two games to spare, and beating Vitória de Setúbal in the Cup final. Adriaanse resigned before the start of the 2006–07 season, due to internal disputes with the club's board, and was subsequently replaced by former Benfica and
Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
manager Jesualdo Ferreira, who had only just joined arch-rivals Boavista that season, and left without managing a single competitive match for Boavista. With him, Porto won the league three consecutive times in 2006–07, 2007–08 and 2008–09. In the 2010–11 season, with
André Villas-Boas Luís André de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas (; born 17 October 1977) is a Portuguese sports executive, and former professional Manager (association football), football manager, who is currently the List of FC Porto presidents, president of Port ...
, Porto won the Portuguese Super Cup, the Portuguese league, the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
and the Portuguese Cup. From 2013 to 2017, he failed to conquer any silverware, contributing to the biggest hiatus during his presidency.


''Apito Dourado'' affair

Pinto da Costa was one of the people investigated by the police as part of the '' Apito Dourado'' (Golden Whistle) sports corruption scandal in Portuguese football. The investigation caused him to flee to Spain with his then partner
Carolina Salgado Carolina Salgado (born 14 March 1977) is a Portuguese public figure best known for being a former partner of FC Porto's long-time chairman Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, and subsequently as a witness in '' Apito Dourado''.
in order to avoid detention in 2004. He was formally accused of corruption on 12 June 2007, along with Reinaldo Teles, another member of Porto's administration. Following the inquiry, Pinto da Costa vowed to appeal the two-year ban placed on him by the LPFP's Discipline Committee in order to clear both his and the club's names. In a short interview, he stated: "We will not appeal the points deductions and we will still have a 14 or 15-point lead. But Porto's honour will be salvaged because I, personally, as president and a citizen, will appeal on Monday to the Justice Council. After this appeal, we will wait to see the truth come out and it will allow us to show there is no reason for Porto to have been penalised." In early April 2009, Pinto da Costa was declared innocent in all allegations relating to bribery or any case dealing with ''Apito Dourado''. Later, on 21 January 2010, the Portuguese newspaper '' Correio da Manhã'' revealed that many of the wiretapped phone calls in the Apito Dourado scandal were made public on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. In May 2011, the decision made by the LPFP's Discipline Committee that initially punished Porto (six points were deducted) and Pinto da Costa (suspended for two years) was declared void and was thus annulled by the Administrative Court of Lisbon. Porto recovered those points in July 2017.


Illness and death

Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa was diagnosed with
prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...
in September 2021. He died from the illness on 15 February 2025, at the age of 87.


Football honours


Domestic

*
Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...
: 23 ** 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2021–22 *
Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...
: 15 ** 1983–84, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23 *
Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...
: 1 ** 2022–23 *
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...
: 22 **
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
,
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, 1986,
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
,
1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
,
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
,
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
,
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
,
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
,
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
,
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
,
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
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2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
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2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
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2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
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2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
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2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
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2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
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2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
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2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
,
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
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2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...


International

* Intercontinental Cup: 2 :*
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
,
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
* European Cup/UEFA Champions League: 2 :* 1986–87, 2003–04 * UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League: 2 :* 2002–03, 2010–11 *
European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
: 1 :*
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
In December 2011, he won the "Director's Career" and "Director of the Year" awards at the Globe Soccer Awards hosted in Dubai. (in Portuguese)


References


External links

*
Pinto da Costa: the visionary who transformed FC Porto and portuguese football


See also

*
Carolina Salgado Carolina Salgado (born 14 March 1977) is a Portuguese public figure best known for being a former partner of FC Porto's long-time chairman Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, and subsequently as a witness in '' Apito Dourado''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto da Costa, Jorge Nuno 1937 births 2025 deaths Sportspeople from Porto FC Porto presidents Deaths from cancer in Portugal