No one knew: ex-São Paulo defender who benched Miranda reveals Russia move | OneFootball

Center-back Diego Costa spent almost ten years at São Paulo, from his arrival in 2015, initially to play for the under-17 team, until 2024, when he transferred to Krasnodar, in Russia. At 20, he was already a starter for Tricolor, even managing to bench club idol Miranda before accepting a European offer and leaving the club that developed him.

But the real reason for his departure has only now been revealed by the former São Paulo player: an injury that caused the defender constant pain and took away his rhythm at Tricolor.

“After the South American final (in 2022), I was already playing in a lot of pain. When I returned to action, it took me a long time to get back into rhythm. I couldn’t recover the form I had at the start,” Diego Costa said in an interview with Trivela.

“Since I came back from injury and didn’t have a preseason, I spent a year playing without being able to train properly. Because of the schedule, I had to come back quickly. I didn’t feel good about what I could offer the club when I returned,” revealed the Cotia academy product.

It was in 2022, after the usual instability in the senior squad, that he fully took over as a starter in Tricolor’s defense under Rogério Ceni, who made Diego the team captain, leaving the experienced Miranda on the bench.

“Rogério Ceni gave me the captain’s armband because I’m someone who has always worked very hard and tried to give my best. On the field, I’ve always liked helping my teammates by guiding them during the game. As a very young leader, you learn a lot, but you also make plenty of mistakes. Fortunately, I learned from the older players.”

Even though he did not feel fully fit the following year because of the injury, he kept playing, now with Dorival Jr. as coach.

“With Dorival, I managed to get a bit of continuity and play in the most important matches of that Copa do Brasil campaign. I also played in the Supercopa with Carpini, but I still didn’t feel 100% physically or fully confident because of the injury”.

“When I started playing again, I wasn’t getting as much space anymore, and that’s when the Krasnodar offer came up,” the defender said.

Even with his destination country banned from European competitions because of the war, Diego Costa was ultimately won over by the project the Russians presented for his move to the Old Continent.

“They presented me with a project here in Russia. Everything they promised me was fulfilled, and I arrived very well supported. I saw that I needed this: a new environment, to grow, mature, and come to Europe. I wanted to experience another culture and a very physical style of football. I’m very grateful for everything I lived through at São Paulo, but this was an important step in my career that is helping me mature a lot,” the player said.

Today, Diego Costa is one of Krasnodar’s leaders, with excellent defensive numbers and more than 60 matches for the team, with three goals scored. The adaptation was, of course, complicated, but the tough center-back plans to remain abroad and is ruling out a return to São Paulo for now.

“To get used to it and adapt to their culture is difficult. You leave Brazil, with all that warmth, the fans, beaches, sunshine all the time, and good weather. And then you come here. Whether you like it or not, you feel the change, but Krasnodar is very warm. In fact, today we spent the whole day with sunshine and pleasant weather,” he said.

“My focus is entirely on this final stretch of the championship. I want to win these trophies for the club and make history here again. That’s what might take me to another club or another place in the future, since things in football change very quickly,” the center-back said.

For Tricolor, between 2019 and 2024, Diego Costa took the field 161 times, scored five goals, and won the 2023 Copa do Brasil and the 2024 Supercopa do Brasil.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.