Former Portuguese international Jorge Costa has announced his retirement from football, two years after lifting the European Champion Clubs' Cup with FC Porto, and having been without a club since leaving R. Standard de Liège in the summer.

The resulting break from football has persuaded Costa that it is the right time to hang up his boots, although the 34-year-old has told the Portuguese press that he wishes to remain within the game. A teak-tough centre-half, he made 306 top-flight appearances in Portugal, scoring 20 goals, and captaining Porto. With the Dragons he won eight league championships and five Portuguese Cups, before capping his career with back-to-back successes in the 2002/03 UEFA Cup and the following term's UEFA Champions League.

Costa, who had started out with a season apiece at FC Penafiel and CS Marítimo, and then joined Porto in 1992, eventually left the Estádio do Dragão during the 2005/06 campaign, opting for a new challenge with Standard in Belgium. He left the club after 13 league outings, a period similar to his 24-game loan spell in the English Premiership with Charlton Athletic FC in 2002. The defender was rather more prolific for Portugal, earning 50 caps between 1992 and 2002, including roles at UEFA EURO 2000™, where his country reached the semi-finals, and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
© The Canadian Press, 2007