Ex-Portugal defender Jorge Costa named Mumbai City coach

Former Portugal central defender Jorge Costa was named head coach of Indian Super League (ISL) side Mumbai City FC on Tuesday, signing a one-year contract.

Going into the fifth season of ISL, the 46-year-old Portuguese will become Mumbai's fourth head coach after Peter Reid, Nicolas Anelka and Alexandre Guimaraes.

After playing for Porto for 12 seasons, Costa also has experience as a coach in Europe, such as Portuguese clubs SC Braga and Paços Ferreira, Romania's CFR Cluj, Greek sides AEL Limassol and Anorthosis Famagusta. He was also in charge of Gabon during 2014-16. Recently, Costa coached French Ligue 2 side FC Tours.

Costa has had considerable success during his previous managerial stints and has proven his winning capabilities in the past when he won the Portuguese second division with SC Olhanense and the Romanian League title with CFR Cluj.

Costa captained Porto to UEFA Champions League glory under the guidance of current Manchester United head coach Jose Mourinho.

Club CEO Indranil Das Blah said in a release that Jorge's professionalism, hunger and philosophy convinced them.

Costa said, "I am very excited to be here, at Mumbai City FC. To be trusted with the responsibility of taking Mumbai City to newer heights is a huge honour for me. The management and the owners have great ambitions and are committed to bringing success to the club.

"I cannot wait to start, meet the players and have a fruitful pre-season. I believe that we have some of the finest Indian talents in our side and I'm excited at the prospect of working with them. I hope to bring entertaining football to the Arena and to the people of Mumbai, and challenge for trophies, giving this city the success it deserves." added Costa.

--IANS

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