Douglas Costa reflected on his career journey from Shakhtar Donetsk to Bayern Munich to Juventus in an exclusive interview with Chiamarsi Bomber. He spoke about goals, dribbling, the great teammates he played alongside, and his new adventure in the UAE. This interview is part one.

You're about to start a new chapter in Dubai. What motivated you to decide to play in the UAE? Both professionally and personally, what aspects of this new experience appeal to you most?

First of all, I've played in many places, but the UAE is the only major footballing nation where I haven't played yet... (laughs). Beyond that, the project itself is very good. And it's not just me—Mario Balotelli and Danny Baselli, who played with me at Torino, are joining too. I think we can accomplish great things, and I'm very passionate about my choice.

Since you mentioned Balotelli, how did your friendship begin? What is he like away from the spotlight?

I've known Mario Balotelli for about two years. I ran into him frequently whenever I was in Milan. At that time, I was preparing to go to Qatar, and the club there asked me to contact Mario Balotelli because they wanted to sign him too. Later I called him, and he told me he was planning to go to Dubai and asked if I'd be interested in joining him.

I told him it depended on the conditions. Later, he introduced me to Laterza, the club owner and also the owner of Chievo. Laterza presented me with this project.

As for Mario away from the spotlight? He's a very quiet and peaceful person, and he truly loves football. That's one of the reasons I was excited to join. I've played with almost all the top strikers, and now Mario Balotelli is the only one left. I think he was one of Italy's greatest strikers. We were already friends, but we never had the chance to be teammates until now.

Did you ever play together before?

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

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

I joined Chievo because all the foreign player slots in Dubai were filled. This club really impressed me. The facilities and the people working here made me feel very welcome. I arrived in Verona when only three or four months of the season remained. If I'd arrived earlier, I could have done more and perhaps even helped the team achieve my goal of Serie C promotion.

To be honest, when I first came to Chievo, I saw it as a temporary "waiting room" before going to Dubai. But gradually I fell in love with the place. They treated me really well. My teammates welcomed me warmly and helped me a lot. At first, I had to adapt to the Serie D environment. Later, I started playing my natural game, and everything went very smoothly. Of course, this wouldn't have been possible without my teammates' support. Even opposing players always treated me very well. After matches, the stadium was always lively with fans.

This summer, owner Laterza has assembled another very strong squad. Do you think Chievo has everything it needs to continue climbing and return to Serie A in the near future?

Absolutely! Owner Laterza made an enormous effort. Last Friday, I went to watch a cup match in person. The team has undergone significant changes, and I believe they have everything to compete for the league title. It will be difficult and challenging, but this project is very ambitious.

During your career, you were coached by Mircea Lucescu. What are your memories of him? How important was his presence to your development as a player?

Lucescu was my first coach when I came to Europe. I was 19 years old coming from Grêmio, and it was an enormous change—from Brazil to Ukraine, and the cold weather there was shocking. At the time I only spoke Portuguese, so I was a bit worried about the language barrier, but he mixed Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian, so communication was easy.

He was very patient and taught me how to integrate into the team, how to play, and how to participate in defense. He understood well that Brazilian players love to attack and dribble. Of course, life was much easier because there were about eleven other Brazilian players on the team at the time.

In any case, Lucescu is one of my mentors. He always encouraged and believed in me. After I left Ukraine, we maintained a very good relationship. At that point I was already playing for Bayern Munich, but he still wanted to bring me back to Dynamo Kyiv. I told him, "Coach, I can't do that."

I can say he was like a father to me. I was 19 years old, in a foreign country, and he gave me all the time I needed. If I'm the player I am today, part of that credit belongs to him.

Let's go back to 2015. At that time, Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich came calling for you. How did that opportunity come about? What went through your mind when you learned that Guardiola wanted you?

At that time I was playing for Shakhtar Donetsk, and we faced Bayern Munich in the Champions League Round of 16. The first leg was held in very cold weather in Ukraine, and we drew 0-0. In the second leg, we lost 0-7, and we were down to ten men about five minutes into the match...

For us Brazilian players, the Champions League is like a stage to showcase ourselves and catch the eye of Europe's biggest clubs. But after a 0-7 loss, I thought it would be hard for anyone to find talent in our team.

I maintained a good relationship with Bayern's left-back David Alaba. After the match, he came asking for my phone number and said one of the club's coaching staff wanted to talk to me. I thought at the time they probably just wanted to give me some compliments. It turned out the person who really wanted to talk to me was Pep Guardiola.

He called me and asked if I wanted to learn "real" football. Of course, I said yes. I naturally wanted to play for Bayern. But then I explained that I also wanted to achieve my goals and there was the World Cup, so I was hesitant. At that time Bayern had players like Robben and Ribéry, so I thought I might not even get to play...

He said that if I could continue to show what I demonstrated in those two matches, he would play me. Of course, he couldn't guarantee I'd start. Later, under him, I started every match of the season and had one of my best seasons. There I understood what true winning mentality meant. I learned so much from him and from champions like Lahm, Neuer, and Xabi Alonso. That experience was one of the happiest moments of my career.

You worked with Coach Guardiola every day. Is there a special story that still makes you smile when you think about it, perhaps something funny?

He wasn't a coach who focused heavily on locker room management. He had a very clear philosophy: if you had the will to follow him, you played; if not, you sat on the bench and waited. He's a football obsessive—always talking about football and always wanting to improve. From day one to the last day, it was pure football. Of course, we did fitness training, but training always involved the ball. He always wanted us to perform at our best and constantly pushed us to do better.

AI 번역.

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