In a recent interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, former Juventus player Douglas Costa, now with Sydney FC, shared his thoughts on various topics related to Italian football and his former club.
Costa began by discussing Douglas Luiz’s adaptation to Serie A, emphasizing the need for patience: “An adaptation period is normal when you arrive from another league. It happened to me too. I came from a top club like Bayern, but Serie A is a particular tournament. To give you an idea: a 1-0 win at Juve was like a 5-0 win at Bayern. At Juve, when we scored a goal, we closed the door… While at Bayern we didn’t even stop after 4-5 goals. It’s a different mentality and it takes time to assimilate. It took me several months.”
Comparing Douglas Luiz to former Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic, Costa said, “Mire was a master. But Douglas Luiz’s quality is undisputed, and I’m convinced he will carve out an important role like Pjanic had in our Juve. I wish Douglas to win 3 Scudetti as I did.”
Costa also expressed nostalgia for the Brazilian contingent at Juventus and praised Thiago Motta’s coaching abilities: “It makes me nostalgic… Leo Sena, who plays here with me in Sydney and had him as a coach at Spezia, spoke very highly of Thiago. He told me he’s a top coach.”
Regarding Danilo’s first start of the season, Costa commented, “Danilo was my teammate, he’s strong and knows what it takes to play. Bremer seems more like an Italian defender than a Brazilian: he can continue the Juventus tradition of Barzagli, Bonucci, and Chiellini.”
Costa also revealed how Alex Sandro played a role in his move to Juventus: “I have to thank him too if I played for Juve. Once, while we were on retreat with Brazil, I confided to Alex that I would join him in Italy because I was in contact with Inter. He wanted me at Juve and within a minute he had the then-DS Paratici call me.”
The Brazilian winger praised young talent Kenan Yildiz: “The Turkish kid has incredible talent and Brazilian-like technique. I like how he moves on the field and also how he behaves with the fans.”
On Dusan Vlahovic, Costa said, “Dusan is very strong. We met when he was playing in Fiorentina’s youth team. Strikers just need one goal to turn things around. You’ll see: Dusan will score and then make 25-30 goals from now to June.”
Finally, when asked about Juventus’ Scudetto chances, Costa stated, “Juve must always fight to win. My only regret is the Champions League, we were very strong.”
