“In the second game against Chile it was more of the same. In attack, the impotent Diego Costa continued to look out of place. Unfit and not used to the style of the Spanish side, he failed to adapt to the movement and intelligence needed to operate at the top level. Consistently spinning off of his defender and going in behind, as he had done with Atletico, forced the midfield generals of Busquets and Alonso, as well as the architects of Iniesta and Silva, to look long to find him. Playing the ball into spaces for him to run into, as opposed to the false number nine approach favoured in the past. This lack of joining up play left gaping holes between the lines of the Spanish side. The defence, after being exposed the pace and skilful running of Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben in the first group game, meant that the usually composed and dominant Sergio Ramos was sitting deeper than usual. This drop of ten yards meant that they were further away from their midfield, therefore reducing the capacity for short, sharp passing and movement that had been the trademark of the past six years. With Costa running in behind and not seeing any of the ball – he lost all three areal duels in the second game – and not seeing any of the goal either, posting zero shots on target in the two matches, meant that the Chileans were able to exploit the gaps in the Spanish ranks, albeit not to the same ruthless extent as the Dutch.”
This was written when covering the Spanish national side during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. I believe most of it still holds true after watching the recent autumn internationals, in which Diego Costa ended up goalless and continued to struggle.
The Spanish national team had struggled in the wake of the retirements of Xabi Alonso, Xavi and David Villa. They left holes in the squad which Vicente Del Bosque initially struggled to fill. He has answered the question of Alonso and Xavi by using Andres Iniesta more as a traditional midfielder alongside Sergio Busquets and Cesc Fàbregas, and is giving the squad players such as Juan Mata, Santi Cazorla and Isco further opportunities to challenge the excellent David Silva and Chelsea new boy, Pedro, in the advanced attacking roles. One position that is still causing Del Bosque a headache is that of centre forward.
During their run of three successive tournament victories, Spain had some superb forwards to call upon. David Villa and Fernando Torres had been playing together since their time in the Spanish junior ranks and had built up a great understanding of each other’s game; Fernando Llorente and Álvaro Negredo, both to a lesser extent, had shown prowess at scoring goals at international level and on the club scene. Del Bosque also used a false number nine at times to fit to the style of play and to achieve the objectives of the scenario they found themselves in.
However, the Spanish style of play is something that needs the art of understanding the game in a different way, and also one to have been culturally immersed and taught from a young age.
When considering why Diego Costa has failed to live up to the expectations placed upon him since choosing to play for his adopted Spain instead of his country of birth, Brazil, his upbringing and footballing experiences are important. The education in football that most of his international team-mates have had is something that Costa, bought up in Lagarto, Brazil — remote and poor even by Brazilian standards — will not have had access to. In fact, Costa did not have access to much at all in the way of a football education. Lagarto is a small city in the region of Nordeste, one of the poorest regions in Brazil, along the North East Atlantic Coast. His opportunities to get coaching — as is experienced by many in Brazil — was severely limited and he grew up playing street football.
He eventually found his way to Sao Paulo, aged 15, to work in his uncle’s shop. It was there that he got to meet world-renowned football agent Jorge Mendes when playing for Sao Paulo club side Barcelona Esportivo Capela. Mendes took Costa to Europe, and the rest is history.
Given his upbringing in the Brazilian football league, which can be tough and at times a bit ‘agricultural’, as well as his street-wise style, it is easy to see why Costa had struggled to reach the top table of European Club football. There were seven clubs that Costa played for in the eight years since he left Barcelona Esportivo Capela and joined Chelsea. In that time he has had to work hard, remain patient, and take with venom the opportunities when they have come his way.
His final season with Atlético Madrid, prior to moving to England, saw Costa at his most productive. He was their talisman on their way to winning a first La Liga title since Diego Simeone was the captain of the 1996 double winners. That Simeone was his boss at the Rojiblancos when winning the title, playing in such a swashbuckling style, is entirely appropriate and encapsulates his footballing personality.
He plays with passion and purpose and is still quite raw and reasonably uncultured, albeit in a good way. There is a real dearth of top level centre forwards at the pinnacle of world football. Of these, there is a high percentage of which that is South American. This is due to the hunger and desire they play with; see Luis Suárez, Edinson Cavani and Jackson Martinez. Costa is in this mould and as such he plays with that swagger, determination and grit.
It therefore makes it all the more strange that he decided to play for Spain over Brazil, especially given that the upcoming World Cup was in the place of his birth and Brazil lacked the sort of line-leading striker they needed. Spain’s style of play does not suit him. The short, sharp passing style, the need for intelligence in movement and the skill in being able to adapt from link man, to wide forward, to false nine and back again, is something that he does not possess.
In eight caps for La Furia Roja he has one goal. In this last round of qualifiers, Costa failed to score again and looked lost in the Spanish system. The possession-based game that Spain play allows the opposition to pack the defensive areas and close down space does, which not suit Costa, whose game is much more about stretching the defence with runs into the channels, getting onto crosses or being played through on goal whilst being on the shoulder of the last defender. This is why he was so successful at Atletico Madrid and has been so far at Chelsea; both teams set up to play his way: counter attack and pressing opponents.
When he was replaced by Paco Alcácer against Macedonia, it was instantly obvious that Spain improved. Alcácer’s movement was reminiscent of a mix of David Villa in his pomp, and the Spanish and Real Madrid legend, Raúl. Alcácer created space and options to those with the ball and was generally always looking to pull defenders out of position with his movement.
This obvious difference in performance from Spain when Costa plays is becoming an even bigger worry for Del Bosque, as well as Costa, as the European Championships draw closer. Del Bosque is a man who stands by his players, in some cases, to his and the team’s detriment. To stand by Costa would be admirable, and no doubt easier if he starts scoring for Chelsea, but if it equals a poorer Spain and damages the team’s chances in France next summer, is it better to look to the emerging pair Alcácer and Álvaro Morata instead of Costa?
The chances of Costa turning around his international form and becoming a leading Spanish international goalscorer are at present appearing slim. His style and that of the national team are incompatible and quite obviously so. The way he is asked to play at club level does not help this and his footballing experiences as a youngster on the streets of Brazil do not aid a natural transition from the rough and tumble of Brazilian league football, to the smooth silky Spanish style that is taught by youth academies across the Spain. Conversely, Spain should not abandon their identity in order to fit one player, that would do a huge disservice to their achievements over the past decade, coming from perennial underachievers to the being the best in the world in 2010.
Who will start as Spain’s Number nine in France next summer is a tough question. Is Diego Costa the right man for Spain and what should Vicente Del Bosque do to improve the team’s performances seems a little easier to answer.
