Diogo Costa is one of just two players — alongside Toni Datković — to have started every match for the Lion City Sailors in the 2025/26 season so far.
The Portuguese full-back has been a model of consistency, featuring in all seven matches across all competitions and contributing a goal and two assists along the way.
In the Sailors’ previous Singapore Premier League (SPL) outing against Tanjong Pagar United on 22 September, Diogo netted his first-ever league goal since joining the club in January.
Bart Ramselaar displayed some neat, intricate play near the touchline before squaring the ball for Diogo to apply the finishing touch to a flowing team move.
“It’s always good to score your first league goal,” recalled Diogo. “The most important thing is to help the team, whether that’s through goals, assists or defending, but naturally, I’m an offensive-minded player.”
The last time Diogo found the net in league action prior to his move to Singapore was for FC Famalicão in Portugal’s Liga Revelação, when he struck a free-kick winner against SC Braga in November 2024.
Since joining the Sailors, the 22-year-old has earned plaudits for his all-round performances in both domestic and continental competitions, prompting the club to turn his initial loan into a permanent five-year deal at the start of July — a clear sign of faith in his long-term potential.
“This place has very quickly become my new home,” he said. “Settling in after my permanent move hasn’t been difficult. I’m very happy to be spending the next five years here, so let’s see what happens.
“Of course, it’s always nice to get some numbers up early in the season as goals and assists help with confidence.”
Buoyed by back-to-back wins, the Sailors will look to extend their good run of results when they host the Young Lions in this weekend’s SPL fixture at the Bishan Stadium.
It will be the Sailors’ first league match at Bishan this season, with their last outing at the venue ending in a thrilling 4-2 victory over Malaysia’s Selangor FC in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Two Group G opener on 1 October.
Having started the domestic campaign with three wins out of three, the reigning SPL champions will be eager to maintain their perfect record before a midweek ACL Two trip to Thailand to face Bangkok United next Thursday (23 October).
The Young Lions, however, will not be pushovers. Apart from being bolstered by Brazilian duo Abner Vinicius and Sérgio Mendonça, as well as a number of promising Singaporean talents, they also feature several Sailors Academy prospects on loan, including Enrico Silveira, Henry Spence and Marcus Mosses.
“I trained with them quite a few times last season, so I know they have a lot of quality,” said Diogo, who recorded four assists in just two league encounters against the Young Lions last season. “But we’re aware of the job we need to do on Saturday to get the three points.”
Nonetheless, confidence is high in the Sailors’ camp, with seven players recently returning from international duty after featuring in Singapore’s brilliant 2-1 comeback win away against India, which kept their AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 qualification hopes alive.
(Photo: Football Association of Singapore)
Song Uiyoung’s brace in Goa saw Singapore go level on points with Hong Kong, China at the top of Group C, with two matches remaining.
“Personally, I don’t like the long international breaks, so it’s great to have the whole squad back together,” said Diogo. “Our win against Selangor at the start of the month was a big one, and it’ll be the same mood in the dressing room regardless of who’s on the pitch.
“We’ll fight together for a common goal again and continue our winning run in the SPL.”
