Porto's Costa on 'special' Man Utd, penalty saves & his future

Diogo Costa is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world

Diogo Costa has written himself into football folklore through his art of saving penalties.

The Portugal international, 25, became the first goalkeeper to save three consecutive penalties at a European Championship in the summer.

He had already claimed the penalty-saving Champions League group-stage record with Porto, and 36.36% of penalties taken against him for club and country have been missed.

That is why the goalkeeper is a dangerman of sorts for a struggling Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday.

"We know United are not coming from good games but we also know what Manchester United is," Costa tells BBC Sport.

"For me, they are the biggest team in England, a special club and one I have admired since I was a kid. It is like a Champions League game; we know it will be a great game. We need to be at our best to win the game."

Costa's talents are widely admired and, like most of the best players in Portugal, he is frequently being linked with a move to Europe's 'big five' leagues, most notably England's Premier League. Before Andre Onana joined United from Inter, Costa was one of the names tipped to move to Old Trafford.

Costa says United full-back Diogo Dalot is "like a brother", having grown up together at the academy in Porto, while his fellow international team-mate Bruno Fernandes is described as "one of the best" players in the world and "one to stop" at Estadio do Dragao.

But amid links to United and other clubs, why has Costa yet to move?

"What I always say is true - if I never leave Porto, the club I love and learned to play football in, then I will be a happy guy, but we all know what is the life of a footballer," he explains, in his first interview in English.

According to reports in Portugal, there is a £62.5m release clause in Costa's contract - a tantalising valuation given his achievements at his boyhood club.

Costa was born in Switzerland before the family returned to their native Portugal.

Inspired by his hero Vitor Baia, who was the goalkeeper when Jose Mourinho's Porto survived an Old Trafford test in 2004 on their way to winning the Champions League, Costa now follows his legacy by wearing the number 99 shirt.

Iker Casillas, who played at Porto between 2015 and 2020, described Costa as his "successor" in an interview in 2018, a prediction which has come true.

"I watched and learned and I wanted to play at Baia's level and win like him - he is a big idol," Costa says.

"Iker is a big legend, I learned every day training technical things with him, but most of all it was his mentality.

"He is a guy who always wants to learn. And even he used to say, 'I am well over 30 years old, but I am still learning things', and the best advice he used to give to you is every time you're still going to learn things no matter how old you are, enjoy it, keep learning and just try every day to be better."

Porto lost their opening Europa League match to Bodo/Glimt, while Erik ten Hag's United side drew at Old Trafford against Twente.

But Porto are back on track domestically under the leadership of new club president Andre Villas-Boas, who previously managed Chelsea and Tottenham, and manager Vitor Bruno.

"These are two people who know the history of the club," Costa says. "They want to continue to bring the titles and to give all conditions for the players to make good success.

"We are working every day to win titles. We are a big team and we need to be ambitious. We believe we can win every title we are playing."

Why Costa is so good at saving penalties

Costa's 36.36% success rate of either saving penalties or seeing them missed is significantly above the statistical average for goalkeepers.

According to Opta's expected goals model, there is a 79% chance of a penalty being scored, implying a 21% chance of it being missed.

Explaining his ability to win these duels against the odds, Costa says: "The best advice I can give is to listen to your instincts. With the life you're learning about the experiences of football; you need to feel that instinct and follow that instinct.

"Of course, I see videos of the players who are going to take the penalties, everything that helps I am going to take. In the games, I am thinking about the videos, but in the end instinct will make me decide at that moment."

But that's not to say that Costa is just a penalty specialist.

"I've always tried to be the most complete goalkeeper," he adds. "I don't just want to save penalties. I don't just want to play with my feet. I want to go and collect the crosses. I want to make a difference in all the games, and not just in special moments [like penalty shootouts].

"That is, my work that I do for myself, to become the most complete goalkeeper I can be. That is what matters for me."

There is little doubt Costa is well on his way to becoming a complete goalkeeper, and one who will be hoping to add to United's ongoing problems. He is modest into the bargain.

"I think I have a lot of things to learn and that I must continue to learn," he says. "I don't want to be thinking that I am a very good goalkeeper, so all the time I am just trying to improve my skills.

"That’s the kind of person I am, I want to work, learn and eventually win."