Ahead of Sydney FC’s huge clash with league leaders Auckland FC on Saturday, aleagues.com.au sits down with Brazilian superstar Douglas Costa to get this thoughts on football down under and life in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Growing up in Brazil, football is life and life is football.
For most young boys and girls their colours are hand-picked by a football-obsessed family member at birth and that’s that. You’re a football fan before you can even talk.
In Rio de Janeiro you might end up following the red and black of Flamengo or the black and white of Botafogo. In Sao Paolo it could be the famous white of Santos or in the southern city of Porto Alegre you could be wedded to the blue, white and black of Gremio.
For Sydney FC superstar Douglas Costa it was the latter.
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“Football, for me, was always my passion,” said the former Brazilian international as he sat down with aleagues.com.au at Sydney FC’s Sky Park training base.
“I learned this from my dad. When I was kid I was excited to wait for him to come (home) after his job, to just play some minutes with me.
“I played in the street. The mentality here (in Australia) is like, maybe the kids, they have to pay to play soccer now. But in Brazil, no.
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“You just see a ball everywhere and they play. You just see someone play and you say ‘hey, can I play as well?’ and you just enjoy. And if you’re good enough, they’ll call you forever.”
Costa was and still is certainly good enough and when you think about the sheer number of footballers Brazil produces, that’s saying something.
If you were a kid from Porto Alegre and the surrounding areas in the 90s and 2000s then there’s a very good chance your hero sported a headband, had his hair pulled back in a trademark ponytail and had a distinctive set of teeth but crucially, possessed an array of tricks and skills that left both supporters and defenders mesmerised.
That player is of course Ronaldo de Assis Moreira or, as most people know him, Ronaldinho.
Costa was indeed one of those kids in that the former PSG, Barcelona and AC Milan star was his favourite player. Someone he tried to emulate.
Honing his skills on the streets of Sapucaia do Sul, Costa began his rise to the very top of European football and a journey that would ultimately see him dazzling crowds in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
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“I had talent to do something else but he (his father) put me in an academy, but like a really humble, simple academy. I was one of the best players in the academy and then I went to Gremio and then I think it becomes serious.”
Following in the footsteps of Ronaldinho, Costa spent his formative years at his local club Gremio before eventually moving to Europe to work under the likes of Pep Guardiola – a coach who would one day label him one of the best wingers in the world.
“I just had in my mind to enjoy myself when I was a kid. When I stepped on the field, I think the problems disappear. I don’t have a lot of problems but I mean everyone has a problem.
“So when I step on the field and then I play football it’s just like me trying to enjoy and I still have this in my mind. That’s why I still play.”
Those who have seen Costa play this season for Sydney FC will confirm the 34-year-old samba star is very much still having fun.
Whether it’s a no-look pass to fool a defender or a flip-flap made famous by his idol Ronaldinho, Costa has wowed fans with his technical abilities since moving down under.
But the decision to move to Australia’s top league was one that surprised both his friends back in Brazil and his footballing colleagues at some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
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“My move to the A-League was like, from all (my) friends around the world and in Brazil, they say ‘I never see someone like you ever going there, especially your age’ maybe they go to Saudi Arabia or something like this.
“The move was special for me because I was at home thinking what (am) I gonna do now? If I was to still play or not.
“So they (Sydney FC) gave me another chance and I was like, yeah, why not make this move and challenge myself once again?
“And my friends, when I stepped here, they came here (and) saw the level was (a) pretty good level.
“Of course, (we) need a lot of things to improve, but the A-League (is) growing up year-by-year.”
According to the former Brazilian international, a huge part of that ‘growing’ process is to do with the talent being nurtured in the country.
So while he may have only been in Australia for six months or so, the man from Sapucaia do Sul knows a thing or two about talented footballers.
Whether it’s playing with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus, Robert Lewandowski at Bayern, Neymar with the Brazilian national team or no doubt hundreds of talented youngsters who never got picked up in Brazil, Costa has seen enough talent to know who has the potential to make it big, regardless of nationality.
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So what he says next about the players being produced here in the Isuzu UTE A-League should be music to the ears of football fans in Australia.
“Yeah that’s the first thing that surprised me a lot here,” said the 31-time Brazilian international.
“Because before I enjoyed Australia, I went to the USA as well to MLS (Major League Soccer) and there they have as well, like, some young players, good young players.
“But yeah, here I didn’t know that they had such talent. One thing that I say is that they need to try to go overseas to see which level they can reach. Because, in my opinion, they are really good here.”
Asked specifically who has caught his eye this season, Costa highlighted three current Sky Blues talents he believes have the world at their feet.
“The young players, they are really humble guys and they try to improve themselves, and they ask me a lot of things.
“I try to help them every day, every time I give my opinion and then I respect their opinion as well. That’s why I think that we both can improve. So yeah, I like a lot of things here.
“Sega (Adrian Segecic) Tiago (Quintal) and Wataru (Kamijo), they have a rich future. I think they’re really amazing.
He added: “They just need to understand the right time to go, the right time to play simple, but they are really good players.”
Should any of those players at Sydney FC – or indeed any other young player in the league – need someone to talk to with regards to making big moves then Costa is the perfect man.
In January 2010, the Brazilian swapped the warmer climates and vibrant music scene of Porto Alegre for the bleak winter of Donetsk, a city located in the south-eastern corner of Ukraine.
Arriving in a city where the average temperature doesn’t even get close to zero in January, Costa set about bedding into life at Shakhtar Donetsk.
Luckily for the 19-year-old he was joined by a cohort of fellow Brazilians at that time including household names such as Fernandinho, Willian, Luiz Adriano and Alex Teixeira but life wasn’t easy.
Fortunately Costa proved to be a huge hit in Ukraine and eventually joined Bayern Munich in a deal worth more than $55 million having won a multitude of trophies with Shakhtar but it’s his experiences in the Donbass region which he now uses when talking to his young teammates.
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“I was already joining the national team (at) under-17 and then 20, so I could see the level and trying to see what’s gonna be my next step. But I never had in my mind to go to Ukraine at 19 years old.
“I went there (and) it was like, really hard, because was winter time with snow – that’s the first time that I faced snow.
“As I say, and I give the example to the young guys here trying to go overseas, I could arrive there and then see the level there, and then play the Champions League.
“So that was the balance for me to to see my level. So I went there 19 years old. So you need, sometimes, to make the big step to go to big clubs. I went there for five years and a half, and then after I said, yeah, now I’m ready to go where I want to go.”
Arriving in Sydney to great fanfare, comparisons were quickly made to when Italian superstar Alessandro Del Piero joined the Sky Blues back in 2012.
However, despite possessing a glittering resume and trophy cabinet to match, the Brazilian admits he struggled in the early days of his time at the club as he got to grips with how things worked.
“For me, (it) was the beginning,” said Costa when asked what the most challenging aspect of his move to the Isuzu UTE A-League has been.
“Because I played my whole life as a winger and then it’s a really transition league, so you have to run a lot.
“With (Ufuk Talay) and the staff, they tried to find the right spot for me to be the special guy in the field.
“So now I think we could find the right spot and then I start to deliver some things for the group and for the team.
“So for me (it) was the beginning, because I had two injuries and then (I came) back and found the right spot.
“It’s that kind of stuff that’s always tough when you change leagues, change championships. So for me, yeah, the hardest thing was this.”
Aside from his skill, Costa’s experience when it comes to winning trophies is likely to be key for Ufuk Talay’s side as they arrive at the business end of the season and looking to challenge for two major trophies.
With a trophy cabinet that already boasts 22 major trophies including multiple Bundesliga and Serie A titles, Costa is looking to add two more pieces of silverware come the beginning of June, the first of which is the AFC Champions League Two crown.
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The Sky Blues will have their work cut out though if they’re to reach what would be a home final after they were defeated 2-0 by Singaporean side Lion City Sailors in the first leg of their AFC Champions League Two semi-final on Wednesday evening.
Having played the full 90 minutes in the Singapore humidity, Costa and Co now turn their attention to hugely important clash with table-topping Auckland FC on Saturday at Allianz Stadium as they bid to lock down a spot in the top six before then hosting the Sailors in the all-important semi-final second leg on Wednesday April 16.
