Wolverhampton Wanderers: What Diego Costa will bring to the pack
James, Alice, and Grey.
They’re no superheroes, nor are they simple beings. The trio evoke what they were brought into the Molineux to celebrate, the return of another to-be wolf. Diego Costa.
The name strikes fear in opponents, but more so, forges an identity for a club that’s been in dire need of one. A recognition typified by the clanking of chains, in front of a background that characterised an existentialist essence, sounded the return of a fearsome centre-forward.
Costa’s announcement, with the three wolves and a highlight of all their glaring eyes defined all that he’s about. He’s created a world of his own, in a world where forgetting is rather easy. The stark lighting reminded us of a player that had become some sort of a cynical hero in the Premier League. It prompts flashbacks and convoluted plots, of 52 goals in the space of three seasons. And two league titles.
So, it begins. Diego is a wolf. It’s the dawn of a new era.
It’s not difficult to read between the lines of Wolverhampton Wanderers chairman Jeff Shi’s welcome message to Diego Costa. He just couldn’t hide the idiosyncratic nature of the former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid striker.
“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Diego Costa to Wolves, and back to the Premier League. A serial winner with a wealth of experience at the highest level, Diego will bring something unique to our dressing room and on the pitch, and we look forward to his impact at Molineux and Compton this season.”
The Wolves didn’t have Costa in their plans. But then Sasa Kalajdzic sustained a knee injury that will keep him out for months, paving the way for a one-year deal for Costa.
A free agent since January, the 33-year-old marks his return after adding another La Liga title, Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and a few more trophies in Brazil to his already stacked cabinet.
To his credit, Costa’s been seen smiling at Compton Park. Smiles we’ve seen before in training, usually signalling the calm before a storm. It’s been a mini pre-season for him, getting back to the levels required to rub shoulders with the professionals in this league.
There stands another challenge in his career, only days shy of his 34th birthday. To steady a ship that’s been battling against the surge of a hurricane. To score goals for a side that has only notched three in seven outings.
Two goals from the boot of Daniel Podence and one from Ruben Neves are reflective of holes in the attacking setup where celebrations have been few and far between.
Bruno Lage is a stupendous tactician, there’s no doubt about it. Prior to the Manchester City game, Wolves were the most rigid defence in the league. But his attacking players are just not clicking; there’s a lack of cohesion in counterattacks that sometimes results in keeping the ball for a period that unsettles the opposition’s structure.
Despite having shored up their ranks in the creative department, Wolves are not hunting together as a pack. This could mark a Hollywood-style debut for Diego Costa.
He’s already played for two title-winning teams in leagues distinct in terms of technical application and physicality. At Atletico Madrid, he was either a lone forward or paired in a flat 4-4-2. Costa scored all kinds of goals, in a variety of matches, on the largest stages.
At Chelsea, he played in a 4-2-3-1 under Jose Mourinho, predominantly based on traditional wingers offering their service, all in front of a watchkeeper in the form of Cesc Fabregas. In his only season under Antonio Conte, Costa played in a three-man back line, with more width from wingbacks and pockets to run into.
He scored a fair few long-range goals in the 2016-17 campaign due to that very opening created by Chelsea’s approach.
When transposed with what Lage does, there’s very few of his methods that don’t mesh well with Costa’s adaptability. Wolves play with three and four in front of their goalkeeper, and during the match, we’ve seen the Portuguese boss deploy two focal points ahead of Matheus Nunes.
These ideologies have already been instilled in the striker, who is quite instinctive to begin with and a proven finisher. There’s no reason to believe the pace of the Premier League or the Wolves’ transitional formations aren’t registered in his footballing vocabulary yet.
The likes of Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence are one of the quickest and most skilful attackers in the division. Whilst they feature in the Premier League’s ‘sensational skills’ of the week reels more often than others, the front-line lacks height.
Wolves’ forwards might have the strength to fend off challenges and churn out flashy breaks in turnover of possession, but it’s been a frequent feature this season – their spells of positivity result in nothing.
There were several occasions Manchester City were trapped in midfield, courtesy of the pace of the Wolves’ attack. A shortage of bodies up front and someone to magnetise all his teammates towards the course of attack was missing.
Costa could be there to buy the extra couple of seconds, just so Podence or Neto don’t run with the ball, raise their head, and learn there is a serious scarcity of decisions to make.
Another ingredient the Midlands club misses is the out-ball. Lage’s troops invite plenty of pressure, knowing that even teams with apparent divine powers don’t always play out from the back with ease. What that uproots is the option of someone holding up the ball if it’s won on the edge of the box. Costa stands like a smokescreen in front of the defenders and wins loose passes and long-threaded balls.
Similar to Vardy in his chasing, defenders don’t like sniffing him around themselves because he never allows them a moment’s rest. He’s always behind them, in the process pushing his teammates up the field.
It’s far from the most attractive thing you’ll learn in a football game, but it’s an essential skill injected by Costa. That bit of energy, is what Wolves have been sorely lacking.
The former Spain international is all about going toe-to-toe with everybody on the pitch. As bubbly as he is off it, Costa is a devil on the field. Pull up old highlight reels, and you’ll find him accusing his Chelsea teammates of napping whilst he scored 22-yard curlers against Southampton on the other end of the field.
What sums up his never-say-die attitude is the match-winner against West Bromwich Albion in 2016. Fresh off eight victories on the trot, Chelsea were up against Tony Pulis’ Baggies. Multiple groans and boos later, Costa sprinted after what we’d label a ‘nothing ball’ close to the linesman’s area. Little did Gareth McAuley, who could do no wrong in the evening, know Costa was lurking at full intensity in the 76th minute.
He’d go on to snatch the ball, shrug him off like a football mannequin and sting a venomous effort off his left foot to the top corner. It was something out of nothing.
Perhaps, Wolves need this something to take them out of the mire, into the sunlight when the game is begging for a moment of inspiration.
Even if he’s needed off the bench, he’d be the last sight defenders would want to see after having put in a shift of about 60 or more minutes, simply because of the intensity and combative strength he brings to the table.
Age and the insufficient matches played in 2022 are Costa’s biggest personal obstacles. All he would need in this case are a few matches under his belt. Or an early debut goal for starters. Or even a brawl against an opponent that sets aflame the fire within.
Diego Costa’s winning mentality and goal scoring prowess are other obvious traits that the Wolves faithful will witness. He’s got all it takes to be the definition of a wolf. It’s only right that his arrival was intensely promoted.
The Premier League’s tormentor-in-chief is back. It’s the dawn of a new era.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Анна Джалалян. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.