Douglas Costa says Juventus “have no doubt we can win the Champions League”, and discusses adapting to Serie A.
The Bianconeri have reached the final of Europe’s top club competition twice in the past three seasons, but they haven’t lifted the trophy since 1996.
“We have no doubt we can win the Champions League,” Costa insisted in an interview with Sky.
“There are important players here to get to the end in every competition we’re participating in, and that’s why we’re here.
“In this competition the opponents are always of the highest level. We knew it’d be difficult to play in Barcelona, but now it will be important to prove our strength at home [to Olympiakos], by winning three points in this important competition and playing a great game.”
The Brazilian joined from Bayern Munich this summer, and he discussed the process of adapting to Italian football.
“Bit-by-bit I’m getting acquainted with Italian football which, on a tactical level, is totally different from the football I played in Ukraine, Germany or with the Selecao.
“There aren’t any technical problems, I’m adapting a step at a time and hopefully I’ll be at my best soon.
“I’m learning a bit of Italian, which isn’t too different to Portuguese and Spanish, languages which I’m already talking in the dressing room.
“At Bayern I played on the right, at Shakhtar [Donetsk] on the left and with the national team I’ve played more through the middle. It’s no problem for me, I’m happy to give my contribution in any position.
“I’m not obsessed with getting a goal, but playing well and helping my teammates win, giving them a lot of assists.
“There are a lot of great players here, Juventus are a great team and it’s normal that at this level there’s a lot of competition, just as I had at Bayern and for Brazil.
“It’s not a problem for me, it’s a motivation.
“Paulo Dybala? He’s a fantastic player, I already knew his value but I’ve been further impressed by the great consistency he’s showing, and I find [Miralem] Pjanic exceptional in that regard.
“As for [Gonzalo] Higuain, a striker can have moments where he doesn’t score, but the season is still long. He’s a great player and he’ll get back to scoring lots of goals.”