Mourning, on this day, two football celebrities passed away

Reprinted from: Yangzi Evening News

August 5, 2025, it is a sad day for world football - two celebrities, Frank Mill and Joje Costa, died of heart disease one after another.

Frank Mir, who plays as a striker, is a German 1990 World Cup champion, while Joje Costa is known as one of the best central defenders in Portuguese football history. Under Mourinho, he led Porto to win the Champions League title as the captain.

Frank Mill possess the ball

He once scored two goals in a row

After coach Beckenbauer and left-back Bremer, forward Frank Mill became the third player to leave the 1990 World Cup championship team to pass away. The Red and White Essen, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Dortmund and Düsseldorf famous actor died of a heart attack at around 2:30 am local time on August 5, Germany at the age of 67.

Unlike Bremer, who suddenly passed away, although Mill left too early, the outside world was actually mentally prepared. At the end of May, Mir went to Italy as planned to shoot a documentary about winning the 1990 World Cup. As a result, after flying to Malpensa Airport in Milan, he suffered a sudden heart attack in a taxi and was then taken to the hospital and placed in an induced coma. After his condition stabilized, he was transferred to a hospital in his hometown of Essen to continue treatment. But in the end, he lost the battle in life.

Many elderly Chinese fans are no strangers to Mill. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Mir, wearing the No. 11 jersey, scored twice in the first round of the group stage where he defeated China 3:0, and Marin, who deliberately knocked the ball back from the back, received a yellow card.

club, Frank Mill played 386 games for Red and White Essen, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Dortmund and Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga, scoring 123 goals.

Mill's death shocked former teammate Wolal. The German national team director said: "After Beckenbauer and Bremer, we have now lost another 1990 World Cup champion. Mir is a real team player who contributes to the wonderful team spirit and great time in Italy with his positive attitude and sense of humor. He is an excellent football player, a cunning guy in the positive sense, both on and off the court. We will miss him."

Joge Costa (left) and Vitor Baya held up the Champions League trophy to celebrate. He is one of the best central defenders in Portuguese history. It has only been more than a month since Jota died in a car accident, and the Portuguese football world has been hit again.

On August 5, local time, Porto meritorious player and club director Joje Costa died of cardiac arrest at the age of 53. The Porto Club and the Portuguese Football Association have successively issued obituaries.

It is reported that Costa was interviewed at the Olivar training base in Porto on the day of the incident. At about 12:30 noon, because of the hot weather, Costa asked the film crew to move to the staff room to continue shooting, but soon afterwards he suddenly fell into a coma. The club's medical team immediately used a defibrillator to provide first aid to him, and firefighters and the Portuguese national emergency medical team also came to the scene to support him.

Costa was then rushed to Porto San Joao Hospital for treatment. When he arrived at the intensive care unit, he was in critical condition and finally died that afternoon.

It is reported that Costa had a sudden acute myocardial infarction in 2022, and was safe after emergency coronary angiography and stent implantation.

Joge Costa is a member of Portugal's "Golden Generation" and is known as one of the best central defenders in Portuguese football history. In the 2003-2004 season, Costa led Porto as the captain to win the Champions League championship under the leadership of head coach Mourinho. In addition to the Champions League, Costa also won eight league titles, one UEFA Cup, one Intercontinental Cup, five Portuguese Cup and eight Super Cup championships with the team. In terms of the national team, he helped the Portuguese U20 national team win the 1991 World Youth Championship, and the adult national team played 50 times.

After retiring in 2006, Costa entered the coaching industry. As a coach, he coached not only in Portugal, but also in countries such as Romania, Cyprus, France, India and Tunisia. Starting last season, Costa served as the director of professional football at Porto.

After the death of Joje Costa, Figo, Louis Costa, Fernando Coto, Vittor Baya and other members of the "Golden Generation" expressed their condolences, and junior players such as Deco, Quaresma and Cristiano Ronaldo also expressed their condolences.

Proofreading Hu Yanlu