Douglas Costa has achieved a fair amount in his footballing career but one thing he has not ticked off the list is the unique nature of a Sydney Derby.
The pinnacle fixture of the Isuzu UTE A-League, Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers will lock horns this Saturday in the opening match of the 2024/25 campaign.
Costa is no stranger to big occasions though, having played at a World Cup and in the UEFA Champions League but he is excited to experience this new chapter in his career.
“I feel really good [coming into this].
“I’m more than aware that this will be my first Derby and I know there is a lot of expectation in these games and me and my team-mates are working so hard to win this,” Costa said.
“Saturday is going to be the first game of the season and where I go I always try to get trophies and this will be no different.”
The Sky Blue half of Sydney have already had two competitive matches in Asia coming into this while the Red and Black half exited the Australia Cup at the Quarter Final stage back at the start of September.
Regardless of who’s got match fitness, the Brazilian knows that anything can happen in football.
“We have already played two matches so we are really ready for this game.
“We want to push forward, we want to give 100% and I always want to be on the front foot.
“It can be hard to grasp what it means just being here for a month but you can see the atmosphere changing when you call it a ‘Derby”, he added.
“Not only here but in Brazil and Germany they call it Derby and I know I want to win this one.”
With the fan-fare that the number 11 brought to the Harbour City, many are comparing him to the great Alessandro Del Piero who graced Australian shores over 10 years ago.
However, the play-maker was quick to dispel any correlation between the two former Serie A players.
“The expectation and pressure I don’t feel because Ale is Ale, he’s the one and only.
“I am never going to compare to him as he was my idol when I was at Juventus. If he wants to come back, I would love to play with him too,” he joked.
Finally, despite all the noise around the fixture, Costa knows that this will be the opportunity to put a step in the right direction in the 2024/25 season.
“In this Derby, we are going to try to show everything that we can!”
Match Details
Western Sydney Wanderers v Sydney FC
Isuzu UTE A-League Round One
Saturday 19th October 2024
CommBank Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Kick Off: 7:35pm AEDT
Broadcast Live: Paramount+ & 10Bold
Tickets: Click Here
