As Douglas Costa walked towards the touchline, the fans inside Allianz Stadium stood to applaud their star in Sky Blue.
After 87 minutes of Thursday’s clash with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Costa’s number was up.
The Brazilian had just turned the second leg of Sydney’s AFC Asian Champions League Two quarter-final tie on its head, having played a significant role in his side’s first two goals in a comeback performance before icing the contest from the penalty spot.
MATCH REPORT: ACL semis beckon for Sydney FC as Korean giants downed in Costa-inspired clinic
Trickery, power, technique, creativity, and a clinical finish; Costa showed all of his best attributes in a stellar performance that reminded all watching on why Sydney FC targeted the former Juventus and Bayern Munich winger as a marquee signing ahead of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
Commentators Simon Hill and Andy Harper summed it up perfectly as Costa headed toward the bench.
“A standing ovation for Douglas Costa, and why not?” Said Hill.
“What a performance in the second half.”
“Just enjoy it while you can,” Harper replied. “Patryk Klimala got a significant standing ovation, but Douglas Costa’s bettered him!”
Hill continued:
“Just to echo Andy’s thoughts for those watching in Australia: get out and see Douglas Costa while you’re still able to. He is one hell of a player.”
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Costa turned the second-leg encounter on its head in 23 second-half minutes on Thursday night.
Down 2-0 on the night, and back level at 2-2 in the tie, Costa had gone unsighted for large portions of the game before his free-kick in the 59th minute picked out Rhyan Grant’s back post run, and led to Sydney reclaiming the lead in the tie thanks to Alex Grant’s first-ever Sydney goal.
Patryk Klimala put the result beyond doubt with Sydney’s second of the night in the 71st minute and although the Polish striker sprinkled a touch of magic on his touch-and-finish, it was hard to ignore Costa’s role in the build-up to the goal.
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Then came the cherry on top of a devastating second-half showcase: a Costa penalty buried into the bottom-right corner.
His first-ever goal at Allianz Stadium left the home crowd delighted as Sydney surged into the ACL Two semis.
Watching on as Costa put his fingerprints all over Sydney’s second-half display was Jeonbuk head coach, Gus Poyet.
A former star of Chelsea and Tottenham, Poyet has led Brighton and Hove Albion, Sunderland, Real Betis, AEK Athens, Shanghai Shenhua and Greece throughout his managerial career; as both a player and a coach, Poyet has encountered his fair share of talented footballers and, after Thursday’s ACL Two quarterfinal, he marvelled at Costa’s ability to impact a game in bursts like he did against Jeonbuk at Allianz Stadium.
Poyet says there’s a special place for players like Costa in world football – players who can lull their opposition into a false sense of security before taking a game by the scruff of the neck.
“I think if the team plays, and is in control of the game, he is very important,” Poyet said.
“Now, if you need to defend a lot of (the) time, then we can talk about a different part of the game.
“But you can see the quality, the influence. What I like is how the team knows when they can use him. When it’s his time, in a free-kick, in a set play, when he’s got the ball. They know where he’s going to go and they use it well.
“I think the team around knows the player well and they use (him) in the best way. I’m sure that when they are defending they are not thinking the same – but it’s nice.
“I think it’s nice for football to have players like him, (and) playing as much as he’s playing as well – because he’s playing a lot.”
Costa and Sydney FC are next in action THIS WEEKEND, at home against Wellington Phoenix in the Isuzu UTE A-League on Saturday, March 15.
