DIEGO COSTA INTERVIEW
Interview and Translation by Guillem Balague
http://www.guillembalague.com/en/blog/54-diego-costa-interview#.Ufq2NW3dtYY
GB: Diego, this has been an extraordinary season for you. What has happened? What has changed for you to make this progress?
DC: I think it has been hard work. When you change your mentality and start to see things in a different light you take training seriously and things start paying off. This year things are working out for me and I hope that continues. I’m very happy.
GB: Is it sometimes prejudicial that you haven’t been bought in from a big club or broken through from the youth team but have grown up on the streets as a footballer?
DC: Yes it changes a lot. To come to a club like this having not come from a big club it is more difficult to get playing time. You have to work much harder than everyone else but I think things work out if you have patience, stay calm and work hard. [SOUND PROBLEMS IN THIS ANSWER – THEY RESET THE MIC]
GB: Tell us what it was like playing on the streets or on clay pitches and whether you miss it.
DC: I think it’s the best thing that can happen because there we play, we enjoy ourselves, we fight, everything. You live and breathe football. There’s no responsibility, no pressure. You simply play, do things well and enjoy yourself more than at any other time.
GB: Bit obviously it’s not the same playing on the street and playing for an elite club. What is the main difference?
DC: The difference is the pressure. On the street every player seems like he could be a professional or the next star but when you put those players in a team where they have responsibilities everything changes. I think that’s the big difference between playing on the street and playing for a big club.
GB: But you are proof that you can learn to deal with the pressure and mentality of the Primera Division.
DC: Yes, you can learn. You have to be patient and calm and I think the most important thing is your family. If you have your family around you and their support you always have confidence in your potential and confidence in yourself and I think that is the most important thing.
GB: Is it fair to say that there are three Diego Costas: one on the pitch, one off the pitch and one from years passed?
DC: Yes. I changed. In the past I always over-analysed things in my professional life. You are always going to change and I changed for the better, which is the important thing. I change when I go on the pitch because that is where I have to give my all, it is where I have to enjoy myself and do my best for my family. I have to get the best out of myself. Off the pitch I am more relaxed, more fun.
GB: Listening to you now, it is difficult to marry that image with the intense figure we see on the pitch. Do you recognise yourself?
DC: That happens to me a lot. Adrenaline gets hold of you or something winds you up because you want to play and win everything. Lots of times you don’t see a lot of the ball and you want to be on the ball all the time. If the team isn’t playing well or you aren’t playing well you get angry with yourself. I get wound up quite often on the pitch and I get annoyed with myself and think, “Today isn’t my day,” but I try and channel that frustration. Sometimes I go a little bit far but I don’t think it is anything unusual.
GB: How do you cope with the fact that you have 40,000 people in the stadium who all have an opinion about you even though they don’t know you and people in the street who have an opinion about you even though they don’t know you?
DC: It’s normal I think when you don’t know somebody. If you see somebody, like everyone you think, “This guy is arrogant,” but you don’t know what they’re really like. One thing is seeing somebody in the street and another is living with that person on a daily basis. I think living with somebody is everything. Not everyone has the opportunity to get to know not just me but anyone. When you see someone every day you get to know them properly. But just as the adrenaline gets to us players on the pitch it also affects the fans who care about how the club is faring and in most cases it is normal.
GB: What is thing you like least about football? Is it the press, the pressure, training?
DC: I’m not going to say it’s not the training because it’s like a job. You have to be there every day without fail but that’s a good thing. I would say it is the people who try to get close to you and you think they’re your friend but you realise they’re only doing because of who you are. That’s the only thing because you have to get used to everything else. A lot of the time it is good and a lot of the time it’s bad but I think there are more good aspects than bad aspects when it comes to being a footballer.
GB: Sometimes we forget that you footballers are 21, 22, 23. You’re just kids but you are forced to grow up ahead of your time, aren’t you?
DC: Yes that’s part and parcel of our profession. People think we all earn millions and millions of euros like Cristiano Ronaldo… [UNINTELLIGIBLE – Something about being young and making mistakes but having to accept people’s judgement because they’re in the limelight]
GB: How important has Diego Simeone been to your change and what does he ask of you?
DC: The manager has been important not just for me but for the whole team. The difference is he demands that you work really hard. He never allows you to settle into your comfort zone. He will sound you out for the minimal thing and even if you think you are a regular or you did something good you never know with him. Whether he picks Falcao, or me, or Adrian or Raul it is the same. The manager has the type of character that we’re all – I don’t want to say scared – but we’re always on tenterhooks. I always try and give my all because I know that if I don’t he will give me a really hard time.
GB: So is the success of the last year down to the manager’s attitude or the fact that you have a squad with so much quality?
DC: I think it is both of things but the manager deserves a lot of credit because, as everyone knows, they were the same players before he arrived and he hasn’t had a lot of time. The manager is still young but his way of working, the way he interprets things and his up front managerial style give him this special power at the club. I think the most important thing is that he has united us. We have great togetherness. There is no in-fighting, no envy. At the moment things are going perfectly well.
GB: Would you describe yourself as a modern centre forward who can play in various positions or how would you describe yourself?
DC: I don’t really like playing as an out and out centre forward. I like getting the ball in wide areas and being in possession all the time. If I’m not seeing enough of the ball I get quite agitated which is why I come looking for it and naturally drop out wide. I don’t know how you would describe me exactly.
GB: So that’s why, for example, you fit in well with Falcao.
DC: Exactly, because Falcao is a traditional centre forward. Falcao is tremendous and I’m delighted to be able to play alongside him. I hope things keep going as well as they are now.
GB: Atletico Madrid have talked about selling Falcao in order to stay afloat. How does he and how do you his team mates cope with that speculation?
DC: We want the best for everyone, what’s best for Falcao, what’s best for me and what’s best for everyone. If an offer came in which was good for the club and good for Falcao, who is the best centre forward in the world at the moment and always looking to grow and improve, it would depend on the club’s plans for next season, which competitions we’re playing in and I think you have to make the right decision. It has to be right on both sides, for Falcao and for the club and the players.
GB: You say Falcao is the best striker in the world but are we not counting Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi as strikers or do you believe he is the best of the three and has qualities which are superior to theirs?
DC: Falcao is different from Messi and Cristiano. Messi is above everyone else and Cristiano is also a top, top player. I think Falcao is different. Messi can do anything with the ball at his feet and Ronaldo is the same. Falcao does everything as well but not in the same way as Cristiano and Messi. Falcao is a goal-scorer and there is nobody like him.
GB: What attribute would you take from him if you could take something and it would immediately become a part of your game?
DC: The goals he scores. It would be great if I registered half as many goals as he does. It would be perfect.
GB: You are a player who knows how to play between the lines and drop back if necessary. Do you think your style would be suited to the Premier League?
DC: Yes. A lot of people have told me I would fit in very well in the Premier League because of the way I am and the way I play. Who knows, one day perhaps I can go and enjoy myself in the Premier League.
GB: If that was the case would you look for a club which would pay you the most, one that has won the most titles or the one in which you would fit best in a sporting sense?
DC: The one which wanted me the most. I think that’s the most important thing. You have to go where you’re most wanted. No matter which club it is, if the manager wants you and the team wants you it makes all the difference. I think the most important thing is to be in a place where the people believe in you, the manager believes in you and in that case you will have the confidence you need so that everything else will go better.
Interview and Translation by Guillem Balague
http://www.guillembalague.com/en/blog/54-diego-costa-interview#.Ufq2NW3dtYY
GB: Diego, this has been an extraordinary season for you. What has happened? What has changed for you to make this progress?
DC: I think it has been hard work. When you change your mentality and start to see things in a different light you take training seriously and things start paying off. This year things are working out for me and I hope that continues. I’m very happy.
GB: Is it sometimes prejudicial that you haven’t been bought in from a big club or broken through from the youth team but have grown up on the streets as a footballer?
DC: Yes it changes a lot. To come to a club like this having not come from a big club it is more difficult to get playing time. You have to work much harder than everyone else but I think things work out if you have patience, stay calm and work hard. [SOUND PROBLEMS IN THIS ANSWER – THEY RESET THE MIC]
GB: Tell us what it was like playing on the streets or on clay pitches and whether you miss it.
DC: I think it’s the best thing that can happen because there we play, we enjoy ourselves, we fight, everything. You live and breathe football. There’s no responsibility, no pressure. You simply play, do things well and enjoy yourself more than at any other time.
GB: Bit obviously it’s not the same playing on the street and playing for an elite club. What is the main difference?
DC: The difference is the pressure. On the street every player seems like he could be a professional or the next star but when you put those players in a team where they have responsibilities everything changes. I think that’s the big difference between playing on the street and playing for a big club.
GB: But you are proof that you can learn to deal with the pressure and mentality of the Primera Division.
DC: Yes, you can learn. You have to be patient and calm and I think the most important thing is your family. If you have your family around you and their support you always have confidence in your potential and confidence in yourself and I think that is the most important thing.
GB: Is it fair to say that there are three Diego Costas: one on the pitch, one off the pitch and one from years passed?
DC: Yes. I changed. In the past I always over-analysed things in my professional life. You are always going to change and I changed for the better, which is the important thing. I change when I go on the pitch because that is where I have to give my all, it is where I have to enjoy myself and do my best for my family. I have to get the best out of myself. Off the pitch I am more relaxed, more fun.
GB: Listening to you now, it is difficult to marry that image with the intense figure we see on the pitch. Do you recognise yourself?
DC: That happens to me a lot. Adrenaline gets hold of you or something winds you up because you want to play and win everything. Lots of times you don’t see a lot of the ball and you want to be on the ball all the time. If the team isn’t playing well or you aren’t playing well you get angry with yourself. I get wound up quite often on the pitch and I get annoyed with myself and think, “Today isn’t my day,” but I try and channel that frustration. Sometimes I go a little bit far but I don’t think it is anything unusual.
GB: How do you cope with the fact that you have 40,000 people in the stadium who all have an opinion about you even though they don’t know you and people in the street who have an opinion about you even though they don’t know you?
DC: It’s normal I think when you don’t know somebody. If you see somebody, like everyone you think, “This guy is arrogant,” but you don’t know what they’re really like. One thing is seeing somebody in the street and another is living with that person on a daily basis. I think living with somebody is everything. Not everyone has the opportunity to get to know not just me but anyone. When you see someone every day you get to know them properly. But just as the adrenaline gets to us players on the pitch it also affects the fans who care about how the club is faring and in most cases it is normal.
GB: What is thing you like least about football? Is it the press, the pressure, training?
DC: I’m not going to say it’s not the training because it’s like a job. You have to be there every day without fail but that’s a good thing. I would say it is the people who try to get close to you and you think they’re your friend but you realise they’re only doing because of who you are. That’s the only thing because you have to get used to everything else. A lot of the time it is good and a lot of the time it’s bad but I think there are more good aspects than bad aspects when it comes to being a footballer.
GB: Sometimes we forget that you footballers are 21, 22, 23. You’re just kids but you are forced to grow up ahead of your time, aren’t you?
DC: Yes that’s part and parcel of our profession. People think we all earn millions and millions of euros like Cristiano Ronaldo… [UNINTELLIGIBLE – Something about being young and making mistakes but having to accept people’s judgement because they’re in the limelight]
GB: How important has Diego Simeone been to your change and what does he ask of you?
DC: The manager has been important not just for me but for the whole team. The difference is he demands that you work really hard. He never allows you to settle into your comfort zone. He will sound you out for the minimal thing and even if you think you are a regular or you did something good you never know with him. Whether he picks Falcao, or me, or Adrian or Raul it is the same. The manager has the type of character that we’re all – I don’t want to say scared – but we’re always on tenterhooks. I always try and give my all because I know that if I don’t he will give me a really hard time.
GB: So is the success of the last year down to the manager’s attitude or the fact that you have a squad with so much quality?
DC: I think it is both of things but the manager deserves a lot of credit because, as everyone knows, they were the same players before he arrived and he hasn’t had a lot of time. The manager is still young but his way of working, the way he interprets things and his up front managerial style give him this special power at the club. I think the most important thing is that he has united us. We have great togetherness. There is no in-fighting, no envy. At the moment things are going perfectly well.
GB: Would you describe yourself as a modern centre forward who can play in various positions or how would you describe yourself?
DC: I don’t really like playing as an out and out centre forward. I like getting the ball in wide areas and being in possession all the time. If I’m not seeing enough of the ball I get quite agitated which is why I come looking for it and naturally drop out wide. I don’t know how you would describe me exactly.
GB: So that’s why, for example, you fit in well with Falcao.
DC: Exactly, because Falcao is a traditional centre forward. Falcao is tremendous and I’m delighted to be able to play alongside him. I hope things keep going as well as they are now.
GB: Atletico Madrid have talked about selling Falcao in order to stay afloat. How does he and how do you his team mates cope with that speculation?
DC: We want the best for everyone, what’s best for Falcao, what’s best for me and what’s best for everyone. If an offer came in which was good for the club and good for Falcao, who is the best centre forward in the world at the moment and always looking to grow and improve, it would depend on the club’s plans for next season, which competitions we’re playing in and I think you have to make the right decision. It has to be right on both sides, for Falcao and for the club and the players.
GB: You say Falcao is the best striker in the world but are we not counting Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi as strikers or do you believe he is the best of the three and has qualities which are superior to theirs?
DC: Falcao is different from Messi and Cristiano. Messi is above everyone else and Cristiano is also a top, top player. I think Falcao is different. Messi can do anything with the ball at his feet and Ronaldo is the same. Falcao does everything as well but not in the same way as Cristiano and Messi. Falcao is a goal-scorer and there is nobody like him.
GB: What attribute would you take from him if you could take something and it would immediately become a part of your game?
DC: The goals he scores. It would be great if I registered half as many goals as he does. It would be perfect.
GB: You are a player who knows how to play between the lines and drop back if necessary. Do you think your style would be suited to the Premier League?
DC: Yes. A lot of people have told me I would fit in very well in the Premier League because of the way I am and the way I play. Who knows, one day perhaps I can go and enjoy myself in the Premier League.
GB: If that was the case would you look for a club which would pay you the most, one that has won the most titles or the one in which you would fit best in a sporting sense?
DC: The one which wanted me the most. I think that’s the most important thing. You have to go where you’re most wanted. No matter which club it is, if the manager wants you and the team wants you it makes all the difference. I think the most important thing is to be in a place where the people believe in you, the manager believes in you and in that case you will have the confidence you need so that everything else will go better.
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