Diego Costa

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

[Tomo 21,681]

Haven't been so certain of a signing succeeding in a longg time, he has all the attributes needed to succeed in this team, and will bring moments of quality like he did in Turkey which will turn one point into three. Which we missed from our front line last season.

I just wish we signed an adequate back up or kept Eto'o. Torres and current Drogba just don't cut it as back ups.

[Barbara 15,149]

I'd love to see his face at this exact moment, but his composure seem to be so relaxed, with his hands on his hips while the other guy is going nuts.\

It's almost like he's 'did u say something? U mad at me?'

[Madmax 9,219]

A smile AND a thumbs up? He's going soft ffs.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

A smile AND a thumbs up? He's going soft ffs.

It's all hazards fault,

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

Please! Sign a back-up.

Bony/Remy

Someone!

[kellzfresh 7,226]

Hazard: costa who's your competition upfront since Drogba is injured

Costa: Torres

[termninja 5,290]

Hazard: costa who's your competition upfront since Drogba is injured

Costa: Torres

Eden needs to entertain him, otherwise Costa will turn into Hulk for being on the bench and do COSTA SMASH!

[Special Juan 27,103]

Cannot wait to sing his name in the stands next Monday.

[Roquila 1,335]

He is the kind of guy that sells Cocaine to your sister.

You ask your sister to tell you who sold the drugs to her and bring you to him.

When you see him, you burst into tears, hug him and tell him to continue to sell drugs to your sister and tell him that he can sell heroine or crystal meth to any of your family members without problem.

Then you go home, pray to god for forgiveness and ask god to never bring any circumstance in your life that makes you be in the same room with Mr.Costa.

Almost 4chan worthy!

[Muzchap 8,966]

He was unlucky with his last kick (could have scored). Love his runs and presence - their defender should have been sent for raising his hands against him - when he backed into him...

Think defenders wont relish him and Drogs up-front if we do move to a 3-5-2 against some teams - those guys will just smash through...

I know Chelsea TV were scared of Burnley + Leicester - but I think we can beat them and beat them well. Lets school them for 'life in the Premiership' - I think they will both look to attack us (emotion vs rationality) and we should be perfectly set-up to exploit that.

[Madmax 9,219]

Nice read about him in the Mail

When Diego Costa clattered into a post as he scored against Getafe last season there was a collective holding of breath among Atletico Madrid and Spain fans at the sight of him being taken off on a stretcher.

While they worried, he had his phone out in the dressing room filming medical staff filling the bone-deep wound in his right knee with antiseptic and stapling it back together again. He sent the video to friends to reassure them his season was far from over.
Jose Mourinho loves a soldier and those who know Costa best say his recruitment of the 25-year-old battering ram cannot fail.

And that will come as welcome relief because, when it comes to Chelsea strikers, over the past 10 years only Didier Drogba has been a roaring success. Fernando Torres has failed to impress since joining in 2011, Samuel Eto’o struggled last season and only Nicolas Anelka and Eidur Gudjohnsen fared any better.

The resilience is not just physical. His former coach Diego Simeone tells a story that perfectly sums up his strength of character. In the 2011-12 season, Atletico Madrid had their quota of three foreign players and the coach told Costa that, much as it pained the club he had not been able to get his European passport, he would have to move on.

Clubs often make surplus players train alone but, out of respect, Simeone told Costa that they would incorporate him fully in pre-season and treat him as if he were staying.

‘He was absolutely flying,’ said Simeone. ‘There were goals, assists, attitude. We could’ve killed him for making our decision so difficult.’

His departure still looked irreversible but, on the verge of being sold to Turkey, he injured right knee ligaments, preventing the move. He stayed in Madrid to get fit and spent the second half of the season on loan at Rayo Vallecano where he scored 10 goals.

Atletico Madrid fitness coach Oscar Ortega marvelled at how, after such an important injury, he was able to come back and have such a good second half of the season. It was street toughness that defied modern sports medicine.

Costa grew up in Lagarto, a city of about 100,000 inhabitants in the smallest state in Brazil, Sergipe. His football-crazy father Jose de Jesus Costa named him after Diego Maradona, having named his older brother Jair after Jairzinho.

The two would play street games together and occasionally against each other, though such matches would invariably end in the pair scrapping. The very informal matches would attract players from all around the region and many were ‘alcohol fuelled’.

It was there that Diego developed the ‘elbows permanently out’ style that would get him in so much trouble in Spain. ‘If anyone touched me I would react,’ he said. Having never attended one of Brazil’s many club-affiliated football schools as a youngster, the street fighter approach had never been tamed. At 15 he was turned down in a trial with local team Lagartense and left for Sao Paulo to work with his uncle in a shopping centre. ‘I was earning money, I didn’t want to play football any more,’ he has said.
But he was soon back playing again and, when Jorge Mendes spotted him, it led to an approach to his parents with a contract that saw him move to Sporting Braga.

Costa’s dad had heard horror stories of young Brazilians dumped by unscrupulous agents when they failed to make the grade in Europe but Costa persuaded him that his deal was to be trusted and the player moved before switching to Spain in 2007 to Atletico Madrid, who loaned him out to Celta Vigo and Albacete.

Several Premier League clubs were alerted by scouts working in Spain and former West Brom boss Pepe Mel tried to sign him as manager first of Rayo Vallecano and then Betis. Jose Luis Mendilibar did get to coach him at Valladolid.

Mel and Mendilibar are in no doubt that he will succeed in west London. ‘Chelsea fans shouldn’t worry too much about what they saw from him at the World Cup,’ said Mel. ‘Playing for Spain is very different to playing for Atletico Madrid where he was superb all season. And Atletico Madrid are lot closer to Chelsea in style of play.

‘Costa will suit Chelesa and he’ll suit the Premier League too. He’ll find space in behind teams and he’ll thrive on the service from Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard and Oscar. He has the temperament to handle the Premier League and he knows how to look after himself.’

That ability to run in behind people might even give him something even Drogba did not have. Mendilibar said: ‘He’s a different player to Drogba. He’s quicker and that means he is better at running in behind teams.’

He may lack Drogba’s strength in the air but Mel said: ‘Maybe he doesn’t get on the end of every cross the way that someone like Radamel Falcao does but he is very clever in the way he makes space for himself, uses his body,’ he said.

Both men agree the temperament will not be a problem. ‘Of course he has that little bit of nastiness that all strikers need and it is important that he doesn’t lose that because it is a big part of his game. But he’s clever with it,’ said Mendilibar.

Mel believes the spell in the Spanish second division where ‘there is a red card every other game’ helped him learn how to keep his head. But his run-ins with Sergio Ramos and Pepe made the Madrid derby a heated affair. And it is clear Costa has not totally given up on the dark arts.

‘There are some things you should not do in a game,’ he said. ‘But there are other things that are normal when you consider how much is at stake in a big match.’ His new boss would not want it any other way.

[drog.ba 239]

It was pretty clear yesterday the difference him and Fabregas make, without them we struggled and laboured trying to score a goal against a defensive setup; the key to our success next season is how often we can get those two out on the pitch I think. They almost show the likes of Torres, Willian, Ramires, Mikel etc. up in how ineffective they are and in how little they create and threaten; with those two I now want to the see many of the rest of the squad closer to their level

[magic weeds 446]

We desperately need another striker. Even Arsenal have Sanogo for God´s sake

[Chelsea? 892]

We desperately need another striker. Even Arsenal have Sanogo for God´s sake

wish we kept a youngster Atleast

[Daniel1980 1,425]

I was rewatching match highlights and there was something that bothered me. Costa's little incident with Matoes. I had a crappy stream and at the time thought it was just some normal pushing/shoving around, but I'm not so sure anymore. It looks like he backed into the guy and swung an elbow at him for no reason, completely unrelated to the play. It was pretty subtle, but it didn't look like an accident. Perhaps Matoes said to him something to provoke him, but either way, it worked and they won a free kick, interrupting our attack. Costa's quick temper can be--and I'm afraid will be--exploited by the opposition this season if he keeps it up.
He demonstrated his temper several times this preseason. I like that he doesn't let anyone bully him, but hopefully someone lets him know the Premier League is more strict when it comes to bans compared to La Liga. It is worrying, especially considering who we have as his substitute if he gets suspended. Another good striker is really needed in any case.

[Iainrfc04 39]

Hopefully we get some reliable back-up for Costa if Drogba was to be out for a while. Don't even want to start thinking of Torres as a sole backup

[Stats 6,980]

I was rewatching match highlights and there was something that bothered me. Costa's little incident with Matoes. I had a crappy stream and at the time thought it was just some normal pushing/shoving around, but I'm not so sure anymore. It looks like he backed into the guy and swung an elbow at him for no reason, completely unrelated to the play. It was pretty subtle, but it didn't look like an accident. Perhaps Matoes said to him something to provoke him, but either way, it worked and they won a free kick, interrupting our attack. Costa's quick temper can be--and I'm afraid will be--exploited by the opposition this season if he keeps it up.

He demonstrated his temper several times this preseason. I like that he doesn't let anyone bully him, but hopefully someone lets him know the Premier League is more strict when it comes to bans compared to La Liga. It is worrying, especially considering who we have as his substitute if he gets suspended. Another good striker is really needed in any case.

That sums up Costa for you. I am sure managers talk to him about his quick temper and his antics but when he plays and gets wound up it seems he is uncontrollable. Because the last thing we need is a 3 game suspension or even more for his misconduct. I like his aggressive style but he needs to know the limit and understand football is a contact sport but it is not a street fight. Even in UFC headbutts are not permitted but he seems to do it a lot.

The incident with Sissoko last season makes me laugh and I don't know why I find it so funny. Sissoko's reaction for a start and then when Costa doesn't get his way he literally tries to throttle Sissoko