After a Title winning season with Atletico Madrid in Spain, Jose Mourinho somehow got Diego Costa to London and wanted him to lead his Chelsea’s forward line. Costa bought his form into the English Premier League and had an impressive debut season scoring more than 20 goals. He also led his club to a brace including the domestic title.
But the Spanish forward has never been in the good books of football fans who have seen him involved in a number of controversies. As an Atletico player, Costa was never far from criticism as his antics on the field often got him into trouble. From punching an opposition player to threatening the referee, Costa has done it all in his Atleti days. He was also banned for a head butt incident in a La Liga game but has never looked like changing.
Coming to England and playing in the league termed as the best in the world clearly had no effect on his thought process. He came into a Chelsea side that needed a strong presence up front which Costa provided. He often gets the work done for the manager and that is why Jose Mourinho bought him to his team. But more often than not, the way he gets things done has not been pretty.
He wrestles, stamps, shoves and bullies every player in an opposition shirt. He has earned a reputation of a restless and an aggressive player who crosses the line when it comes to the physical aspect of football. However, Costa has grown slowly and so has his character and the 25 year old has gotten accustomed to playing his game in that way.
What is worrying the fans of the game around the world is the frequency with which the player has gotten away with his antics. He has no right to stamp and bully players just to prove a point. He often over does it which brings out furious reactions from fans and pundits alike but nothing seems to change when it comes to the ex Atleti star.
Though to an extent, physical presence in a football game is necessary, Costa has over done it. Last season, he got away with his horrific behavior on the pitch against Liverpool in a Cup game. He stamped as many as three players but went un noticed as Liverpool lost in extra time. Cries for an action on him were heard around the football fraternity but Costa escaped without a scratch.
Less than 6 months later, in a game against Arsenal, he almost single handedly got into the head of Gabriel Paulista and got his sent off after giving his side the lead.However, his performance was praised by many. Costa, though was all over Koscielny did not warrant enough to be sent off but Paulista reacted in a way that deserved a red. The whole incident got ugly as the adrenaline was high but to Costa’s praise he never did a thing when the referee was watching.
Arsenal ended up losing the game and had only themselves to blame but what Costa did on the day cannot be justified. He has to change his methods and will have to understand his limits before the whole thing gets out of hand.
This approach is not what the sport needs and Costa needs to be stopped or at least controlled. There is no questioning the ability of the player but the path he uses to achieve his goals has not been pretty. The Spanish striker needs to know the repercussions of his behavior and it is high time that the FA needs to look into the matter before this kind of behavior rubs off on the other teams.