Sydney FC head coach Ufuk Talay says marquee recruit Douglas Costa could debut for the club as soon as next month after joining the Sky Blues in one of the most high-profile transfers in Isuzu UTE A-League history.
The former Bayern Munich and Juventus winger has signed a two-year contract with Sydney FC; the 31-cap Brazil international is arguably the club’s most high-profile recruit since Alessandro Del Piero in 2012.
Costa is preparing to arrive in Sydney from Rio de Janeiro and will target a debut in Sydney’s next competitive fixture at Jubilee Stadium on September 19 against Hong Kong’s Eastern FC in the AFC Asian Champions League 2.
“We’ll try to build him up so we can try to make him available for our first ACL game,” said Sydney coach Talay after confirmation of Costa’s signature.
“It might not be 90 minutes, but we’ll get him to a certain point where we believe that he can play a part in that game. You’ve got to remember, he’s been out of the game for a couple of weeks now, so he’s still ticking over, even though it’s not in a group environment.
“But like I said, once he comes in, we’ll have a look at him. We’ll see where he’s at and what we need to do and look, I’m pushing to make him available for the 19th. But if it doesn’t happen on the 19th, it doesn’t happen.”
Costa is set to arrive in the Isuzu UTE A-League after a challenging period in his career. The Brazilian’s recent stint at Fluminense garnered 22 appearances and zero goals, and followed two years with LA Galaxy in the United States where he scored eight goals in 51 games.
Talay is confident Costa can live up to the pressure of a marquee contract after injuries truncated the respective marquee stints of Luis Nani at Melbourne Victory and Daniel Sturridge at Perth Glory in recent seasons.
“We’ve done our research,” the Sydney FC boss said. “He was at Fluminense just recently, still playing regular football, which is very important for us. We still believe that he’s at a great age, and the discussions that we’ve had, he’s actually very excited to get over here, which I think is a fantastic positive for us.
“These type of players, it’s very important that (we) keep them fit and we keep them happy and let them do their thing on the park.”
Talay added: “He’s 33, he’s still at a great age where we can get a lot out of him.
“I think him coming in, bringing his experience and knowledge, will be fantastic for the group itself. I think the group will definitely lift with him in the change room.
“You don’t play at that level for such a long time if you’re not a professional, and I think the drawcard to Sydney is obviously he still wants to play in a team that wants to strive to win trophies, and that’s something that we definitely want to do.”
The Sky Blues endeavoured to keep contract discussions with Costa under wraps leading into Monday’s surprise announcement; Talay admitted even the playing group was kept in the dark as Sydney’s head of player management Alexander Baumjohann endured “sleepless nights” to get the deal done.
“I think hearing it today, because we try to keep it as much as a secret as we possibly could, the boys… there (will be) a few discussions that’ll probably happen in the change room at the moment about Douglas, and I think they’re definitely excited we were bringing in a player like that.
“Especially for our young players, to be able to learn what it takes to play at the highest level. And I’m sure, once he gets here over the weekend, I’m sure there’ll be different atmosphere again.”
“A lot of work has gone on in the background, also with our technical core group. Alex Baumjohann had some sleepless nights to get this over the line.
“So look, we’re very excited to bring in a player of Douglas’ calibre to the A-league and also to us, to Sydney FC… I want to thank our chairman, Scott Barlow, for also making this happen. (It’s) not an easy thing to do, in that sense.
“There (are) a lot of processes that we go through, and also Alex [Baumjohann] goes through as well, to get these players over the line.
“The players generally look at how we do things, the way we play, and what competitions we play in. So, you know, we’re playing in the in the A-League, and also we’ve got the ACL2 to play in. So I think that’s quite enticing.”
Costa is Sydney’s fourth signing off the off-season after Harrison Devenish-Meares, Anas Ouahim and fellow Brazilian Leo Sena; boasting 76 UEFA Champions League appearances throughout his career, three Serie A titles, three Bundesliga championships and a further five in Ukraine won with Shakhtar Donetsk, Costa is undoubtedly one of the biggest names to pen a contract with an Isuzu UTE A-League club.
As to where Costa ranks among all of the high-profile players to have called Sydney FC home, Talay says: “I think Douglas is up there with (Del Piero).
“They played in the same competition (Serie A) for a long time. I think different types of players, though, in that sense. But you look at Douglas’s career and what he’s achieved in his career, I think he’s up there with Del Piero.”
“There’ll be fantastic attention on us,” he added. “I think the calibre of Douglas will definitely attract attention from within Australia and also over the world, through social media. So for us, we don’t want to get lost: his first job in his priority is to play football again. So we want him to be fit and do well and do what matters on the park.”
After securing Costa’s signature, Talay revealed the club is targeting a striker and central defender to bring through the doors prior to the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
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