Martim Costa’s game: “Not overthinking really is the key for me”

Martim Costa’s talent might have been a little under the radar at club level in the past few seasons, as his club, Sporting CP, played the EHF European League rather than the Machineseeker EHF Champions League. But one would have to be blind not to have noticed Costa’s talent playing for Portugal, which earned him the joint-top scorer crown at the Men’s EHF EURO 2024, and he was highlighted at the recent EHF Excellence Awards as the male Young Player of the Season for 2023/24.

This season, Costa has been impossible not to notice in the Champions League, where he has shown he is terribly good in the decisive dying seconds of the game. One goal, one pass can make the difference, and when Sporting are playing, very often, the ball goes into Costa’s hands.

“I am not afraid to take responsibilities — never have been. I mean, if you don’t try, you will never succeed. So I turn off my brain, I do not think too much, and I try my best,” explains Costa, adding: “I would rather be the one who tries and misses than the player that does not try.”

If you try to get him to explain exactly what goes through his brain during the dying seconds of a game, Costa is not sure how to answer the question. “I don’t know, to be honest. I try not to overthink too much. I am not the guy who will think for 30 seconds on how he is going to score. Not overthinking really is the key for me,” he smiles.

“I take the ball, and it’s almost instinctive. If I feel it, I will shoot. If I don’t, I will try to make the best pass possible.”

Some players might describe those decisive moments as if they were looking at themselves in slow motion. “Not exactly, but I definitely feel like there is no time to think. The more you practise these situations, the more automatic it becomes, and the quicker you can react as well,” Costa says.

It seems his Sporting teammates also have faith in him, as Costa has scored many goals in money time this season, including the two match winners against Füchse Berlin at home in October.

For sure, having a father who was a professional player can only have helped in building the player Costa is now. “I watched him all the time, and of course, subconsciously, I probably learned a lot of things from this period,” he says.

Ricardo Costa played the EHF Champions League many times with FC Porto and Ademar Leon and then became coach of his sons Martim and Francisco “Kiko” at Sporting.

“He never put any pressure on us — just told us that handball had to be fun. And when your coach is telling you this, you are less afraid of stepping up when games matter,” says Martim Costa.

At 22 years old, some might feel like the ball gets heavier as the game goes on. The pressure, both from the club and the fans, has overwhelmed many incredible players through history. Not Costa. “The only moment I might get nervous is before a game. Once I am on the court, I don’t think about all of this,” he says.

Even though the fans turn up by the thousand for every Sporting game in the EHF Champions League, the players are not afraid of taking responsibility.

“The fans would rather see a brave player who is not afraid but might miss sometimes than one that hides away in every tight ending, I guess. I guess not feeling too much expectations also helps me feel relaxed.”

Costa has never been shy of taking responsibility, even as a little kid. He played with older age categories very early, and that forced him to develop assets that were not only physical but tactical.

“I had to be brave, because when I was 10, I played with kids that were 14 or 15, and they wanted me to feel that I was younger. So in order to beat them physically, because that was not possible, I had do it another way,” he remembers.

“I had to find other pass trajectories, maybe outrun them in tiny spaces, but more important, I had to be brave. I could not be afraid of them. That was not possible.”

And that courage is still what, according to Costa, defines him as a player: “I won’t shy away from my responsibilities. I have to take the shot, I will, no matter what. Maybe I won’t score, but I will not back down.”

While in some teams, the coach would give responsibility to the experienced players, Costa is lucky to play in a side full of youngsters, in which everyone can step up. “Kiko, Salvador [Salvador], Natán [Suárez], Jan [Gurri] — we are all under 25 years old, so there is no one to turn to, basically. It’s either we try to be decisive or the team won’t win,” says Costa, the older of the two siblings playing for Sporting.

Costa thinks that being able to have the ball in his hands in the dying moments of the game might be precious for the future.

“I am at an age where playing a lot is important. The more you play, the more you have the responsibilities you have, the better it is for your future. I am missing some situations now, but having lived through them early, I hope it will turn me into an even better player in five years.”

Of course, having to be decisive in the EHF Champions League, more than the EHF European League, has led to Costa improving his game even more. “Playing it is a dream, but on the court, it’s a real step up as well. Everything goes faster, every space is tinier, but I don’t change my mindset — I remain brave and take responsibilities whenever I can or whenever I have to.”

Photos © Sporting CP, Kolektiff Images