Spain’s Diego Costa shrugs off boos but Holland ensure dismal return

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jun/13/spain-diego-costa-holland-world-cup

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“Number 19 … Diego Costa”. There was still more than half an hour to go before kick-off when the teams were read out for the first time, the Arena Fonte Nova was far from full, but the response was unmistakable. Loud, too. Whistles and boos accompanied him. The yellow shirts around this stadium confirmed that there were more Brazilians than Spaniards here and from their point of view this was just wrong.

Costa had admitted: “I am Brazilian, I feel Brazilian and that is not going to change.” He even admitted that, in his house, Brazilian customs prevail. But here he was, playing for Spain. And in Brazil; at their World Cup. It was only his third game for the national team. Before Friday, he had played as many for Brazil. He was yet to score; his debut against Italy was a lesson in why strikers have found playing for Spain so difficult, starved of space and opportunities. This would be different.

Costa’s comments had suggested that his was a footballing decision, a question of pragmatism, and an emotional one too. Although Luiz Felipe Scolari played the victim, his protests were late and unconvincing. Vicente del Bosque had eaten with the striker and made him feel wanted, Costa explained. By contrast, he said: “Scolari didn’t ring me.”

Spain felt that they needed a man who had scored more than 30 goals this season for Atlético Madrid. Of all the European teams to qualify for the World Cup, only Greece and Croatia had scored fewer. That “problem”, if it is a problem, was more systematic than it was about specific strikers, but here was a player that they hoped could give them something more. Including the mala leche or “bad milk”. Del Bosque insisted he was not a bad boy; others insisted that a bad boy was what they needed.

The doubt was always likely to be his fitness. The season’s end had given time to recover and he had looked physically sharp in training, if still a little unsure of his place within the system and occasionally dubitative in front of goal. His inclusion here was not a surprise. Costa got the first touch from the kick-off, too. His second came after 20 seconds and he was immediately dumped on the turf by Ron Vlaar.

Costa does not shy from contact; indeed he seeks it, as he would do in his most productive first-half moment. Last season he was the most fouled player in La Liga. Two minutes later a ball over the top sought his run and drew boos from the crowd that would be repeated throughout. It is likely to be the soundtrack of his summer. Soon that gave way to chants of “Costa, deer.” Deer is slang for gay.

The noise rose often because Costa was found often, Spain finding space to thread passes through. Just before the quarter hour, Iniesta released him in the inside-left channel, into the area, only for Vlaar to block. He had appeared a little ponderous. Next, Silva found him in the channel on the other side. This time, his shot was sliced but he was getting closer. And then after 25 minutes it was Xavi who found him in much the same place where he had been stopped 12 minutes earlier.

Costa put the brakes on, stopping suddenly and cutting inside away from the defender. It was a signature move. As Stefan de Vrij slid in to make the challenge, Costa threw himself down, seeking the defender’s leg with his left foot. The referee bought it and Xabi Alonso scored from the spot.

Spain had the lead; usually that is the greatest battle. This time, it would be different. Holland had been vulnerable to passes slipped beyond them but they made chances of their own too. The wing-back system was working. Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben put the Dutch in the lead, both of them supplied by Daley Blind. And when Costa escaped without a booking after a clash of heads with Bruno Martins Indi, the chants against him returned louder than ever.

With 28 minutes to go, he was withdrawn for Fernando Torres. He had not scored but he had enjoyed opportunities and provoked the penalty that had given Spain the lead, normally so precious, normally a guarantee. Yet Spain were now losing and just as the stadium PA system was announcing his departure, Costa having already reached the bench, Holland scored their third, De Vrij nudging in at the far post. Van Persie then got the fourth.

This was painful now, olés ringing out as Holland played the ball about. It was certainly not the way Costa had imagined it: he made his World Cup debut for his adopted nation in his home nation and lost. His new team-mates will surely tell him, and tell themselves, not to panic: they lost in the opening game four years ago too, against Switzerland. But Costa will also know that the chances of him facing Brazil in the next round surely increased here.