The sprightly winger has been a revelation at the Allianz Arena, and will be a key man when the club measure up against Dinamo Zagreb in Tuesday's Champions League test
Replacing a player of Franck Ribery’s calibre is not an easy task for even the best of players. But Douglas Costa has made a tremendous start to life at Bayern Munich filling in for the injured France international, vindicating Pep Guardiola’s gamble in signing the talented Brazilian winger.
Fast, direct, extremely talented on the ball and a hard worker to boot, Costa instantly fits the profile Pep seeks when delving into the transfer market. The high-pressing, suffocating style which is almost a religion for the Catalan demands players with the magic combination of technical ability and physical strength, in order to spend the full 90 minutes on the front foot.
It is also a system which needs time to become second nature. The Brazilian, moreover, had long been a fixture in the Shakhtar Donetsk line-up which during his time in Ukraine waltzed to five consecutive league titles between 2009 and 2014, but was yet to try his luck in one of the world’s most intense leagues. With that in mind, Costa’s introduction to the Bundesliga has been nothing short of astonishing.
In seven league appearances, the new kid on the block has already laid on five assists as Bayern have raced to a perfect start to the 2015-16 campaign. The latest came on Saturday, as die Roten once more overpowered their local rivals to inflict a 3-0 away defeat on Mainz. Costa refused to relent even with a two-goal cushion, and accelerated away with a devilish turn of speed down the left flank. His cross bounced invitingly across the penalty area, where Kingsley Coman was all too happy to turn in and end the game as a contest.
Costa leads the Bundesliga in assists, while only Dortmund’s Ilkay Gundogan and Schalke speedster Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting match the Brazilian when it comes to dribbles per match so far this term. If he can carry on that form in the Champions League, he will be vital as Guardiola looks to lift the trophy in his third, and maybe final, year in charge.
“Guardiola has trusted me right from the start. I think I have filled the gap left by Ribery well since his injury,” Costa said in a recent interview. That's an understatement. The 25-year-old winger has made the left side his own, adding his own unpredictable elements to Bayern’s all-powerful offensive machine. German newspaper Bild even christened the next generation of the club’s attackers, introducing the world to “Co-Co”; Costa and Coman, the deadly duo on either side of the field.
Thomas Muller is just one of Bayern’s stars left delighted by the service coming in from both flanks. The Germany star has already helped himself to six Bundesliga goals, while Robert Lewandowski has bagged an incredible 10 even at this early stage. Muller recognised that much of this potency is down to the new faces in the team.
“Douglas is tailor-made for me and Lewandowski,” the forward told Kicker after Saturday’s resounding win.
But the new boy has not just lifted those up front; he has also come in at a crucial rebuilding stage for the German giants.
Towards the end of last season, with Guardiola’s men already well over the finishing line in the Bundesliga but on their way to elimination in the Champions League semi-finals, question marks had started to appear around the Pep era. The principal concern back in May was how to begin to replace the spine of a team which under Jupp Heynckes had won everything there is to win. Injuries to Ribery and then Robben, as well as Bastian Schweinsteiger’s exit to Old Trafford, only brought those issues even further to the forefront.
The response so far has been exhilarating. Costa has already outstripped Mario Gotze in Bayern’s pecking order, and his pace and boldness have electrified the atmosphere at the Allianz Arena. Even when Ribery returns from his lengthy injury lay-off – ironically, the veteran winger’s last competitive match was in March 2015, a Champions League last-16 match against Shakhtar in which the Brazilian and his team-mates suffered a bruising defeat of the kind he is now gleefully doling out – his place will be by no means assured.
There is a long way to go in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League, but the early signs could not be more promising for Bayern and their new star out on the left flank. Already, in a window in which creative players like Angel Di Maria, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne commanded immense transfer fees, the €30 million the Germans sent Shakhtar in return for their star looks very reasonable indeed.
Costa is making waves, and under the tutelage of Guardiola he could establish himself as one of the very best widemen in world football.
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