Sydney FC head coach Ufuk Talay has confirmed Brazilian superstar Douglas Costa will make his debut for the club when they kick off their AFC Champions League Two (ACL Two) campaign on Thursday evening.
The Sky Blues begin their quest for continental glory when they face current Hong Kong Premier League leaders Eastern FC at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, with Talay confirming Costa will feature for his new side.
“Douglas has been working hard, he’s a great professional,” said Talay when asked specifically whether or not the former Bayern Munich and Juventus winger was in line to start the game.
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“I think he’s fantastic in the changing room, I think he’s lifted a lot of spirits in the changing room and lifted a lot of expectation at the same time with the group. For us, we’ll push him as far as he can go.
Talay continued: “We’ll obviously review as the game goes on whether he comes off or whether he stays on the park but (we’re) very happy so far with what he’s been doing.
“He’s in a good place at the moment. Is he fully match fit? Probably not. But I think what he gives us at the moment, I think he’ll definitely do a good job for us.”
The 34-year-old’s arrival sent shockwaves through the Isuzu UTE A-League when it was announced the 31-time Brazilian international had signed a two-year deal to join the Sky Blues having recently left Fluminese.
Costa’s arrival in the Harbour City marked Sydney FC’s fourth foray into the transfer market following the arrivals of goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares and midfield duo Anas Ouahim and Leo Sena.
Furthermore, the Sky Blues then sealed loan moves for former Celtic striker Patryk Klimala and Gwanju defender Alexandar Popovic to close out their squad ahead of both their Isuzu UTE A-League and ACL Two campaigns.
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“I think Alex Baumjohann (Sydney FC’s Head of Player Management) worked tirelessly to get these signings over the line and I think we’ve done very well in what we’ve recruited.
“You’ve also got to remember we lost four foreign spots last season and also our club captain that was with us so there were five very important positions that we needed to fill and I think we’ve done that.”
Leading the team out on Thursday night will be newly appointed club captain Rhyan Grant, with the defender believing the team is well equipped for success this season judging by what he’s seen in training.
“I think we’ve had a full squad in (training) now for the last couple of weeks,” said Grant, who is playing his sixteenth season in Sky Blue.
“We’ve had a number of sessions where the boys are getting used to each other. Obviously we work on a few different things in combinations and getting used to each other.
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He continued: “We’ve had a few games behind closed doors too which has made it a lot easier so I think at the moment the boys are really starting to gel, just in time for tomorrow night.”
Qualifying for the new-look ACL Two competition care of their 2023 Australia Cup win, Sydney FC were drawn in Group E alongside Filipino side Kaya FC, Japanese outfit Sanfrecce Hiroshima and the previously mentioned Eastern.
Following tomorrow night’s opener against the reigning Hong Kong FA Cup holders, Talay’s team then travel to the Philippines to face Kaya FC before they kick off their Isuzu UTE A-League campaign with a hotly anticipated Sydney Derby away at the Wanderers on October 19.
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