Soccer
‘MLS Soccer Show’ Who’s Who: Los Angeles Galaxy’s Douglas Costa
Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.
Get to know Tim Crean betterPublished14 May 2022
On this week’s MLS Soccer Show’s “Who’s Who” segment, we look at LA Galaxy winger Douglas Costa. In the video above, we take a deep dive into Costa’s European career, talk about what made them great before they got to the U.S., and which young MLS prospect most resembles the talented winger in his prime.
Who is LA Galaxy winger Douglas Costa?
Douglas Costa de Souza, better known as simply Douglas Costa, hails from Sapucaia do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As a young boy, Costa started his football career at Grêmio, his home-state club.
At 19, Costa made a move to the Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk. In Eastern Europe, he joined a host of other talented Brazilian prospects on the squad, such as Fernandinho, Willian, Luiz Adriano, and Fred. Other international stars like Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Darijo Srna played on these loaded Ukrainian teams.
After 203 appearances, 38 goals, and 40 assists, Bayern Munich splashed the biggest transfer fee in club history at the time ($33 million) to bring Costa in for the 2015-16 season.
Under legendary manager Pep Guardiola, Costa replaced Xherdan Shaqiri and flourished in Germany. In 43 appearances, Costa scored seven times and added 18 assists.
Unfortunately for Costa, Guardiola left after his first season in Munich, and Carlos Ancelotti took over. The Italian manager preferred French veteran Franck Ribery to Costa. Costa still got 34 caps and scored seven goals with nine assists, even with a diminished role.
A loan spell to Juventus followed by a $44 million move to the Italian club came next. The winger played well in his time in Turin, getting on the pitch 103 times while adding 10 goals and 21 assists to his resume.
In 2020, Costa went on loan the other way, with Juve loaning him back to Bayern for a season. Then, his Italian club loaned him to his boyhood club of Grêmio.
Despite the loan back home — which usually signals the end of a career — at 31, Juventus loaned him to the LA Galaxy, with the MLS club agreeing to sign him to an 18-month deal when the loan ends.
Which young MLS star most resembles Douglas Costa?
Douglas Costa is a slick, speedy, diminutive winger who excels at playmaking but can also score a goal from deep with his booming left leg as well. He’s also versatile enough to play centrally and loves tracking back to help on the defensive side of the pitch, too.
Costa lost his place in teams at times due to fit or falling out of form for long stretches, but when he was on, there were few wingers defenses feared more.
Of the young MLS wingers today, five have the potential to develop into Douglas-type attackers. Here’s the tale of the tape on the candidates.
| Player | Country | MLS Team | Age | Height | Weight | Games | Goals | Assists |
| Talles Magno | Brazil | NYCFC | 19 | 6-foot-1 | 154 lbs. | 34 | 7 | 4 |
| Facundo Torres | Uruguay | Orlando City | 22 | 5-foot-10 | 157 lbs. | 12 | 2 | 2 |
| Alan Velasco | Argentina | FC Dallas | 19 | 5-foot-6 | 139 lbs. | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| Kevin Cabral | France | LA Galaxy | 22 | 5-foot-10 | 152 lbs. | 39 | 6 | 4 |
| Jairo Torres | Mexico | Chicago Fire | 21 | 5-foot-6 | 147 lbs. | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Which of these young MLS talents is closest to Douglas Costa in his prime? Check out the video above to find out who we decide.
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Stats and transfer fees courtesy of Transfermrkt
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