Thanks to Shakhtar Donetsk owner Rinat Akhmetov, Douglas Costa signed for the Ukrainian Samba School along with Alex Teixeira in January 2010 for €6 million each. Moving from Grêmio as a teenager Costa developed into a destructive beast under club’s boss Mircea Lucescu. 
 

Lucescu took charge of Shakhtar in May 2004, with a Brazilian conspiracy in mind that soon turned out to make the club one of Eastern Europe’s powerhouses. The Romanian coach worked on convincing U20 Brazilians to move to Ukraine to twitch their European journey. 
 

Although he partnered the likes of Willian, Fernandinho and Luiz Adriano, nothing was enough to overshadow the talent of Costa. Deployed by his coach on both flanks and as a No 10, Costa’s sublime footwork made him a serious attacking threat to every opposition. 


 

With his explosive pace and dancing feet, Costa turned into an expert in beating defenders in one-on-one situations, providing nine goals for Shakhtar the wing wizard was named the Ukrainian Premier League’s leading assist provider in 2012/13. Shakhtar was only a stepping stone for the Brazilian winger, in a comparison drawn by Shakhtar’s Captain Darios Srna: "I would say that Douglas Costa is no worse than Robben, potential-wise." And it was only a matter of time until Costa joined the Bavarians to witness the comparison on the training ground. 
 

Costa signed for Bayern Munich in 2015/16 for a €30m fee, which was considered excessive, knowing he could be warming the bench for most of the season as Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery are guaranteed starting spots. However, some wishbone must have been cracked in the Brazilian’s favour, as a Ribery injury resulted in the launching of a top heir ruling the left flank. In this position, Costa's predominantly left-footed ability made him much less of a scorer, yet a brilliant wing-playmaker rated by Bild newspaper as the best Bundesliga player that autumn.


 

Under Guardiola, Costa thrived in assists on the left flank and scored some stunning curling efforts when deployed as a right winger. Costa marked himself as one of the hottest prospects in Europe, only for Carlo Ancelotti to take charge of Bayern Munich tearing up his next chapter. 
 

Costa spent a frustrating spell with the Italian tactician in charge, starting only 14 Bundesliga games, he kept no secret in requesting a move from Munich.
 

As the season unfolded, his former coach Lucescu urged him to move to Juventus: “If you ask me, I'd tell him to go to Juve.” He continued "That's because Serie A remains one of the most complicated leagues tactically. In the Bundesliga, all the teams play the same way, while in Italy there's great variety.” 
 

Following Lucescu’s wishes, Costa has just been welcomed in Turin and the Juventini are expecting the Brazilian fireball to become a masterpiece in their armoury.
 

In his first explosive season for Bayern Munich Costa provided 18 assists in all competitions, better than what Dani Alves achieved in Turin last season and topping what Mandzukic, Cuadrado and Alex Sandro have achieved throughout their careers with the Old Lady. 
 

Will Douglas Costa wear his golden boots in Turin? 


Ramez Nathan