Brazil starlet Douglas Costa

[abojodeh]

Interesting Read

Douglas Costa – Don’t believe the hype! | FootballFanCast.com

Douglas Costa has a long way to go before his is the new Ronaldinho let alone the old one

If you read the papers it is more than likely you will have heard of Douglas Costa. The young starlet had been dubbed the ‘Jewel of Brazilian football’ and after just a handful of first team games his club Gremio slapped a £20m price tag on him to ward off the advances of Manchester United amongst other clubs.

Dubbed the new Ronaldinho, due to his silky skills and the fact both come from the same club it is easy to see why a person could be fooled into believing that he was the second coming. He is the perfect highlight player and I’m sure if you type him into youtube or google you will find a couple hundred videos of him annihilating players with step overs, flicks and drags but this does not paint the whole picture and if United had paid the £20m that Gremio were demanding, I am pretty sure Fergie would have gone on to regret the move.

It is easy to come to conclusion about a player from youtube videos so I decided to have a proper look at Costa in the U20 World Cup this year in Egypt and in all honesty, I was massively underwhelmed. He had a decent tournament but for te hype surrounding him I expected to see a man that not only scored 5 goals a game but set every one of the 5 up himself.

Of his 4 appearances 3 were from the bench but in the game he did start he scored. He was also an unused sub 3 times as well. I personally was more impressed with Alex Teixeira who won the silver ball award and captain Giuliano who won the bronze ball and was at the center of all Brazil’s creative play.

Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that Costa is completely talentless. He is a very direct dribbler and is very pacy. He has shown he can really hit a ball from distance at times and is useful in build up play but for someone who is so inexperienced it would have been foolish to have spent that kind of money.

It does not help that Costa is not a consumate professional off field either having been arrested and fined for driving without a valid license twice as well as reports of him turning up late for training. He is supposedly quite known on the party scene and although he does not drink his other ‘extra curricular’ activities have made the headlines.

These are all things that will only further put people off him and highlight that £20m is an exorbitant fee for the young player.

United have tried to take a closer look at Costa with 20 day loans and trials being mentioned but Gremio have rejected United’s attempts and it was thought United had cooled their interest in Costa but the rumour has failed to die as we have again been linked with him this month.

If Gremio, who are in financial trouble, are willing to drop their fee by 12 or even 10 million then maybe his talent can attract an offer as currently they have rejected offers in the ball park of £7m, which is totally reasonable for an untested and unproved prospect.

[NateR]

Speculation back on:

Costa still harbours Utd hope

Brazilian starlet Douglas Costa says he still dreams of playing for Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson and his scouts have been tracking Costa for two years, and failed with a bid to take him on loan last summer.

Then in January, in a shock move, Costa penned a five-year deal with Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk.

Since moving to Europe, Costa has impressed and United are understood to be monitoring his progress.

Reports suggest Ferguson could be tempted to make a summer bid for him and the 19-year-old admits a move to Old Trafford is still an attractive proposition for him.

"If I had the choice, I would still like to play for United," he is quoted by the News of the World

Sky Sports | Football News | Premier League | Manchester United | Costa still harbours Utd hope

[Carlo]

Well thats Berba's replacement sorted!!

[djpailo]

We would only make a move in Anderson was sold. It would be a risk considering Anderson hasn't made the biggest impact, but I have faith in Anderson and I reckon he'll turn out to be the better player.

[Aardvarked]

After all that talk of United having to pay £15-20m to get him he went to Shaktar in the end for €6m :/

[NoxiousD]

Hows he doing for them?

[LEGEND7]

At least he wants to play for us- thats a good sign. No idea how good he is though, only have football manager and Sky Sports Scout to give me any info. O yeah, Noxious D, gonna start to love it now when you post^^^^^^^^^

[LEGEND7]

Heres what sky sports have to say

Sky Sports Scout is our exciting feature where we scour the globe looking out for the best talent and bring you a report on what we find.

Our Scout will report back and you can comment on what you think of our appraisal.

Also, in association with Football Manager, we give all readers the chance to win a copy of the latest game by nominating a player.

You can only nominate a player by emailing here, including the word 'Scout' in your subject line.

Should your player get reviewed by our scout, and you were first to send in his name, then you will win a copy of Football Manager Live! - which includes a pre-paid four-month subscription.

Latest under our scout's gaze is Gremio forward Douglas Costa - recommended by Sky Sports reader Andrew McDonnell.

The scout reports...
One of the most requested players in scout history, Douglas Costa is the latest Brazilian to be heralded as a future world superstar.

As ever, the expectation levels on any talented young South American are big and Douglas is a very talented young player.

Labelled as the new Ronaldinho because he has come through the ranks at Gremio, as did the Milan star, and also plays in a similar position off the strikers.

Douglas began his education with Novo Hamburgo but at the age of 11, Gremio spotted his potential and integrated him into their youth setup.

He loves to play just behind the forward-line and loves to beat people with his exceptional skill and close control, although his passing is also very good.

He does have an eye for goal, but his shooting can be wayward at times, and claims of him being a free-kick specialist are yet to come to fruition on the pitch.

He was handed his first-team debut in late 2008 and he scored against Botafogo - but the hype surrounding him was already in place after he was handed a five-year deal with a buy-out of nearly £20million, months before his maiden appearance.

Real Madrid, Villarreal and Manchester United have shown a keen interest, with the latter trying to set-up a trial ahead of a possible move in June 2009 - but this was rejected by Gremio.


The scout says...
There is no doubt his boy is a huge talent and he could indeed by the 'new' Ronaldinho, but at this point nobody can be sure.

It is a little shock that he is being lined up for a big money move to Europe when he cannot command a regular starting spot with Gremio, but there is no doubt has all the natural ability anyone could ever want in a young forward.


The Scout rating...
Shooting: 7 out of 10

Passing: 8 out of 10

Tackling: 5 out of 10

Heading: 6 out of 10

Pace: 8 out of 10

Vision: 8 out of 10

Current ability: 6 out of 10

Potential ability: 10 out of 10

OVERALL SCOUT RATING: 58/80

Current value: £12million

Potential value: £60million

[JJtheRed]

Wouldn't be surprised if that was his intention all along and Gremio were just being arsey....

[NateR]

After all that talk of United having to pay £15-20m to get him he went to Shaktar in the end for €6m :/

Not a surprise. If a massive club with tons of money like Man Utd, Madrid, Chelsea etc came along and bid for ur player,....wouldn't you want to get as much as u can??

[NoxiousD]

A little surprised, given he loves United, that he hasn't asked for a clause in his contract granting talks with us if we put a bid in...

Anyone know if he has a chance of going to WC?

[NateR]

A little surprised, given he loves United, that he hasn't asked for a clause in his contract granting talks with us if we put a bid in...

Anyone know if he has a chance of going to WC?

No chance. Far too young & inexperienced and Brazil have plenty of options in that area. Plus, he is nowhere near good enuff yet to compete at such a level. If he lives up to his hype, then you can expect to see him tearing it up in 2014.