Douglas Costa sat down for an interview with Chiamarsi Bomber, reflecting on his career journey from Shakhtar Donetsk to Bayern Munich and then to Juventus. He discusses goals, dribbling, the great teammates he played alongside, and his new adventure set to begin in the UAE. This is the first part of the interview.

You're about to start a new chapter with your team in Dubai. How did you make the decision to play in the UAE? What aspects of this new experience appeal to you most, both professionally and personally?

First of all, it's because I've already played in so many places, and this is the only country I haven't played in yet... (laughs) Beyond that, the project is also very promising. And it's not just me; there's also Mario (Balotelli) and Danilo (Baselli), who used to play in Turin. I think we can accomplish great things, and I'm very excited about my choice.

Speaking of Balotelli, how did your friendship begin? What kind of person is he away from the pitch, away from the spotlight?

I've known Mario for about two years. When I was in Milan, I'd run into him regularly. At that time, I was about to play in Qatar, and the club asked me to contact Mario because they wanted to sign him too. So I called him, and he told me he was going to Dubai and asked if I wanted to join him.

I said, "That depends on the conditions." Then he introduced me to Raterza, who is the owner of this club and also Chievo. Raterza introduced me to the project.

As for Mario away from the spotlight? He's very quiet, a very calm person, and he truly loves football. That's one of the reasons I accepted his invitation. I've played with almost every top striker, and now I get to play with Mario. In my opinion, he's one of Italy's most important strikers. We've been friends, but we never had the chance to be teammates, and now we finally do.

Did you two used to hang out together a lot?

No. But now we'll be living together every day, so maybe something will happen... (laughs)

Last season you played in Serie D for Chievo. How was that experience for you? What did you gain from it?

The opportunity to come to Chievo arose because the foreign player slots at the Dubai club were full. This club positively surprised me greatly; both the facilities and the people working here made me feel welcome. I arrived in Verona when there were only three or four months left in the season. I can say that if I'd arrived earlier, I might have performed better and could have even helped the team earn promotion to Serie C, which was my goal.

To be honest, when I first arrived at Chievo, I thought it was just a "waiting room" before moving to Dubai. But then I gradually grew to love it here; they treated me very well. My teammates welcomed me warmly and were very helpful. At first, I needed to adapt to playing in Serie D. Then, once I started playing the way I know how, everything flowed very smoothly. Of course, that was also thanks to my teammates' help. Even the opposing teams were always very respectful toward me. After every match, the stadium would be packed with fans everywhere.

This summer, club owner Raterza has once again assembled a very strong squad. Do you think Chievo has everything needed to continue climbing and aim to return to Serie A in the near future?

Of course! Raterza (Pétrot) has worked hard. Last Friday, I went to watch a cup match. The team has changed a lot, and in my view, they have everything needed to compete for the league title. It will be difficult and challenging, but this project is very ambitious.

You were coached by Lucescu during your career. What memories do you have of him? How important was he to your development?

Lucescu was my first coach when I came to Europe. I was 19 years old then, coming from Grêmio. It was a big change, from Brazil to Ukraine, and the cold weather there... At that time, I only spoke Portuguese and was a bit worried about the language barrier. But communicating with him was easy because he would mix Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian when speaking.

He was very patient and taught me how to play as part of a team and how to contribute defensively. He knew very well that we Brazilian players love attacking and dribbling. Of course, there were also 11 other Brazilian players there at the time, which made my life much easier.

In any case, Lucescu was one of my mentors. He always encouraged me and always believed in me. Even after I left Ukraine, we maintained a very good relationship. By then, I was already playing for Bayern Munich, and he still wanted to bring me to Dynamo Kyiv. I told him, "Coach, no, you can't do that."

I can say that to me, he's like a father figure. I was only 19 years old then, in a foreign country, and he gave me all the time I needed. If I've become the player I am today, it's partly thanks to him.

Let's go back to 2015. At that time, Bayern Munich, coached by Guardiola, came calling for you. How did this opportunity come about? What were your thoughts when you learned that Guardiola wanted you?

I was playing for Shakhtar Donetsk then, and we faced Bayern in the Round of 16 of the Champions League. The first leg was in Ukraine, in very cold weather, and we drew 0-0. In the second leg, we lost 0-7, and we were already down to 10 men about 5 minutes into the match...

For us Brazilian players, the Champions League is somewhat of a stage to showcase ourselves and get noticed by Europe's big clubs. But after losing 0-7, I thought it would be difficult for them to spot talented players from our team.

I had a good relationship with Bayern's right-back, Rafinha. After the match, he came to ask for my phone number, saying someone from the coaching staff wanted to speak with me. I thought at the time they probably just wanted to give me some simple compliments. Turns out the person who really wanted to speak with me was Pep.

He called me and asked if I wanted to learn to play "real" football. I said of course I did. Clearly, I definitely wanted to play for Bayern. However, I also explained to him later that I wanted to actually play, because I had goals to achieve, and there was also the World Cup ahead. At that time, Bayern had players like Robben and Ribéry, so I thought I might not play at all...

He replied that as long as I could continue to show what I demonstrated in those two matches, he would let me play. Of course, he couldn't guarantee I'd be a starter. Later, under him, I became a starter all season and had one of my best seasons. There, I truly understood the mentality of a winner. I learned a lot from him and also from champions like Lahm, Neuer, and Xabi Alonso. That experience was one of the most rewarding of my career.

You worked with Guardiola every day back then. Is there a particular story, maybe something funny that still makes you smile when you think about it today?

He's not a coach who focuses too much on locker room management. He has a very clear philosophy: those who want to follow him play, and those who don't, wait on the sidelines. He's a football fanatic, always talking about football, and always wanting to improve. From the first day to the last, it's pure football. Of course, we also do fitness training, but there's always a ball involved. He always wants you to perform at your best and constantly pushes you to do better.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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