🇪🇸 Diego Costa

[ZOS 580]

So it's because of bias then. Not because you support antics like what Costa did yesterday.

yeah, I wish he could take it easy some of the time ...but, I like his passion and I especially enjoyed what he did yesterday

[didierforever 7,349]

Sorry mate, i disagree with your assessment about Messi's performances throughout the World Cup 2014.

Messi orchestrated the goal against Switzerland; he ran with the ball and within the right moment he gave it to Di Maria, goal.

In the match against Belgium, he made a sick dribbling shortly before the goal. He made room for his colleagues and allowed the goal to happen.

Messi didn't score or set up a goal from open play against the Netherlands.

But that doesn't exclude him from constantly annoying the defense and being a thread. They couldn't keep up with him.

Messi should have buried that chance against the Germans and as far as i remember that was maybe his poorest game in the competition.

In my opinion Messi lived up to his potential during the competition; leader, lively, dangerous and constantly in the spotlight.

Does that make him the player of the tournament?

In this regard i think Jose Mourinho does have a point that the winner should have come from the winning squad.

True to the old adage that the winner takes it all.

Yes, the team didn't play for Aguero, who had to participate in and play his part.

But maaan, he often failed to play a simple pass, for me he generally looked lost, especially in front of the goal.

As you said: for playing out of position i should cut him some slack, but that was abysmal, sorry.

City does have a fan base and the pressure in the Premier-League isn't small, but playing for your country and on home soil,

these are the big moments. In the past he had problems, that makes it more and more difficult to perform.

Turning to Luis Suarez, yes, i think he would have done more for City, now we are playing the "what-if" game, lol.

For me Suarez is the better player;

way more unpredictable, versatile, creative and more lethal in front of the goal with his clear chances, the list goes on...

Apart from that, most importantly, Suarez is less injury-prone, you have to be available and in good condition to deliver the goods.

Yes, i have seen the games from Manchester City and "El Ingeniero" has to learn from his mistakes,

two man upfront is one hell of a risky business. On this point i have to agree with you.

I prefer a strong competition and having the best players in the league. Therefore i don't want Aguero off to Spain.

Sometimes i go to the Allianz Arena and watching a 3-4-5:0 trashing against weak oppositions is boring as hell.

Costa is extreme, we all know it.

Once again we agree to disagree; i know that the koke-luis partnership was strong and important, but for me Costa was the central point.

He led the line against some of the meanest guys around, being the striker is one of the most difficult positions to participate in.

Maybe i am damaged because of Torres, i don't know, lol.

Thanks for the input, nice talking to you!

again, i have to disagree. the fact that argentina boasted of messi, maria, lavezzi, aguero, higuain etc etc and yet their defence was their USP. messi has so much quality that he will have a moment of magic. but overall, he was uninfluential. as for the leader, i thought argentina had only one leader. and it was mascherano. infact if the man of the tournament had to go to some player from argentina, it should have been masch. he was their best player.

i know there is can possibly be no winner in the "what-if" game. so lets leave it. but i honestly dont think suarez could make any difference to city in CL. as for the comparision between those 2, i think both of these players are very close to each other in every aspect but suarez is more clinical.

u might disagree, but i honestly think villa led them as well as costa. for eg - against barca in the CL. to start costa in the final was more an emotional decision or soemthing and it backfired. they could have used a fresh pair of legs in extra time. but even then, villa led them really well for most of the match even in the final.

[Barbara 15,149]

So Gary Neville, Shearer and Les Ferdinand have all said they love how Costa plays, I agree with them! Danny Murphy also agrees that it was just handbags yesterday, I really dont get why people on here try to take the moral high ground when they support Chelsea. Bizarre.

can someone please explain to me what 'handbags' mean in the context? All I can think about when I read handbag is Channel. :blush:

[pHaRaOn 2,131]

can someone please explain to me what 'handbags' mean in the context? All I can think about when I read handbag is Channel. :blush:

To shove or push someone. Unlike striking or punching.

[Clockwork 1,794]

He got a player sent off without even committing a single foul the whole game. He looks like a hothead, a thug, but he is extremely clever in that. he winds up the opposition but escapes punishments. That makes the opponents angry and angry men make mistakes.He played shit but still arguably won us the game with that sending off. can't complain. He has not been sent off since 122 games in which he only recorded 36 yellow cards btw, completely in control of wha the does. when he slapped koscielny, he knew no ref watched him. when he stood up, chest bumping kos, he had his hands close to his body, he would never get sent off for that either. That's just what he does. And everyone at the club knew what he was like. a warrior. some might think this is just what we need.

I think the poster you quoted is saying in general It is very ineffective. Gabriel is only a few victim in his years of thuggery and trolling on the pitch. Costa spends more energy on the pitch trying to pick a fight then actually try to score a goal. Really poor by Gabriel most don't bite.

Another thing to look at is the implication of his actions on ref decisions in the future. We already seen him denied clear cut penalties, thanks in large to his characteristics. That is no doubt something that will continue, and you have to consider when you call his actions effective.

[lionsden 4,689]

Suarez is a villian. He bites people, cries, moans. He broke Szczesny's finger on Wednesday when he kicked him in his hand when he was holding the ball.

But he's such a brilliant player. I don't care about Diego Costa behaviour as much, it's frustrating and tiresome after a while, but his overall footballing skill is not sufficient. He was going for the record in amount of lost ball in final third, his passing is terrible. How we can construct any attack with him ? Yeah, we saw that last season when 37 years old Drogba has link up play much better and you can play something with him. With Diego you can't. Pin long ball over the top for him and let him use the space but it's not enough. He ruins EVERY bit of attack, it's much much much more frustrating than his antics. We won't be full time great team with him, we want to play possession based football with DC, it's not happening. We're hoping that his passing and hold up play is decent and doesn't turn terrible that day. It's the maximum we can hope of.

As I said, he is another short term solution by the club just like Fabregas. They were available and cheap and could have immediate impact to team's concerns but that's it.

Excellent post. This is precisely what I meant when I said he's not worth the drama. You can tolerate it more if he was actually an elite player and one that can not be easily replaced like Suarez for example.

[Muzchap 8,966]

can someone please explain to me what 'handbags' mean in the context? All I can think about when I read handbag is Channel. :blush:

It stems from 'women' fighting in public (normally at nightclubs) in the 80's

Sometimes they would hit each other with handbags or just simply put them down and start grappling - no real punches were thrown

Hence the name handbags (a precursor to a female scuffle)

I dont thinj it contains a discriminatory bias - as it was factual at the time the phrase was coined

[Blue_Fox_ 2,086]

Excellent post. This is precisely what I meant when I said he's not worth the drama. You can tolerate it more if he was actually an elite player and one that can not be easily replaced like Suarez for example.

So, we're taking the higher morale ground....but.. you can bite people and break fingers if you are an "elite" player. Because it makes it more acceptable.

Costa rarely gets sent off and doesn't really hurt anyone. But it is not acceptable because he isn't an "elite" player.

I'm sorry but i can't seem to wrap my head around it.

[Oscar 441]

I hope Spain drops Costa for the Euros

[Barbara 15,149]

I think the poster you quoted is saying in general It is very ineffective. Gabriel is only a few victim in his years of thuggery and trolling on the pitch. Costa spends more energy on the pitch trying to pick a fight then actually try to score a goal. Really poor by Gabriel most don't bite.

Another thing to look at is the implication of his actions on ref decisions in the future. We already seen him denied clear cut penalties, thanks in large to his characteristics. That is no doubt something that will continue, and you have to consider when you call his actions effective.

If most don't bite than it really isn't that bad. As I said players are physically bothering others everywhere. Costa is blatant about his moves, but he doesn't necessarily cross the line. I think he should tone down because the FA will eventually punish him for his handbags (thanks @pHaRaOn, and @Muzchap for explaining what that means).

Compare those childish provocations that stupid opposition player fall for to what Suarez do to the people, is really overboard imo.

Costa plays barely within the rules, but still within them. People are entitled to think the sport shouldn't have this and all the sportsmanship thing they want. The reality though is that football is much closer to rugby than to golf. I don't think putting his hands on Koscielny's face is on the same level as biting someone or a dirty tackle that could jeopardize a players' career. I don't even compare it to actually punches and slaps. He didn't slap Koscielny, he just slipped his hands on his face. Is it nice? No, that's why the referee can call fouls. Call it a foul and move on. Some people are reacting as if Diego has physically assaulted the Arsenal players in a way that put their physical integrity at stake. Actually they call him a criminal, a thug and other words similar and that's an exaggeration imo.

So let's start using the same words - sportsmanship, morality, limits - to the tactical foul that stops a counter-attack? OR to players drawing fouls, begging the opponents to touch them and succeeding on that.

I don't get this high horse morality some here have when the dirty moves Costa makes are within the rules after all. They can be punished with fouls being called and the eventual yellow card.

I also think some are mixing the cause and consequence of his behavior. He doesn't start playing dirt - as you name it - because he doesn't want to focus on scoring. More often than not he resorts to provoking opponents when things aren't going his way. It's the way he deals with the frustration of not playing well. That's the real problem here. He hasn't been at the top of his game, his linkup, dribbling and movement have been bad and some aspects of them aren't even that great to start with. He uses those things to mask or make up for the lack of quality on his part. I don't even think he does it purposefully, he's just a hot fuse and when things don't go his way he's a bomb about to explode, but still he finds within himself the strength to prevent him from going too far.

Let the press and the opposition fans hate him all they want. As long as he tones down a bit so FA - who doesn't punish actually punches, ill kicks, elbows and other stuff other teams' players do - won't punish him for just putting his hand on a CB's face. It's not nice, but football has never been about being nice. That's what tennis is about, not football and the purists and moralists have a field day with this behavior, but it doesn't change the fact football has always been like that. There's dirty contact to affect your opponent, there's a lot of dirty words being said to provoke opponents, there's malice in drawing fouls from unexperienced, limited or nervous players. None of those things are nice, but they are part of the sport just the same.

I draw the line when players are violent or divers. Diego isn't either.

[Unionjack 7,531]

This is why Gaby stuck his oar in. Needed some payback for making him look like a twat. I reckon he must have given Kos some acting lessons cause him throwing himself on the floor after that belly bump was truly Oscar winning.

[lionsden 4,689]

So, we're taking the higher morale ground....but.. you can bite people and break fingers if you are an "elite" player. Because it makes it more acceptable.

Costa rarely gets sent off and doesn't really hurt anyone. But it is not acceptable because he isn't an "elite" player.

I'm sorry but i can't seem to wrap my head around it.

I said "tolerable" not "acceptable". Do I need to bring out a dictionary?

Some of Mourinho's acts and behaviour aren't acceptable either but some people " tolerate" him/it because of his winning pedigree.

[zolayes 14,489]

briefly ,, Costa can do what he wants because he is OURS ,, Sorry as some people have said he crosses the line TOO often . I am afraid now he will become a target

and it is his fault and Mourinhos for encouraging it

[Blue_Fox_ 2,086]

I said "tolerable" not "acceptable". Do I need to bring out a dictionary?

Some of Mourinho's acts and behaviour aren't acceptable either but some people " tolerate" him/it because of his winning pedigree.

http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/acceptable

I'm not really down to "personal attacks" like that, you might tone it down as it would bring out the best of what you write.

Said that.

I take it Costa doesn't have a winning mentality or pedigree to make his act "tolerable"

I'm sorry but i can't really take it seriously when someone wants to see our own bastard burn at the stake. Yet someone like Suarez is "tolerable"

If i'd take the higher moral ground, i'd know which one of the two is the real villain.

[Pacquiao 1,834]

Excellent post. This is precisely what I meant when I said he's not worth the drama. You can tolerate it more if he was actually an elite player and one that can not be easily replaced like Suarez for example.

So what you are saying is you are fine with someone being a racist thug as long as he is really good at football. What a joke you are! Suarez's behavior in his career is on another planet to Costa's, I would never want Suarez at Chelsea no matter how good he is, Costa is a wind up merchant, Suarez is a vile human being. If you condone what Suarez has done in his career then it says a lot about you.

[Pacquiao 1,834]

briefly ,, Costa can do what he wants because he is OURS ,, Sorry as some people have said he crosses the line TOO often . I am afraid now he will become a target

and it is his fault and Mourinhos for encouraging it

Players can target him if they want, its nothing new to Costa and there will only be one winner if they do.

[zolayes 14,489]

So what you are saying is you are fine with someone being a racist thug as long as he is really good at football. What a joke you are! Suarez's behavior in his career is on another planet to Costa's, I would never want Suarez at Chelsea no matter how good he is, Costa is a wind up merchant, Suarez is a vile human being. If you condone what Suarez has done in his career then it says a lot about you.

So Costa is a WUM is he your role model ,, Actually he is worse than a WUM

[zolayes 14,489]

Players can target him if they want, its nothing new to Costa and there will only be one winner if they do.

REFS and the FA will soon start to target him .. Thats what I meant

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

Good players have been cunts before. Eric Cantona was regarded a top top player and he had baggage and even now a days Suarez is the same. Nobody gave a shit when he was winding people up last year because he was scoring goals, just because hes not scoring goals doesn't mean hes not doing stuff, when hes absolutely useless and doing it yes but his performance was actually good against Arsenal for me. He does react but also some players target him, he stands up to it and if he goes over the top well fuck it other players have also done that so its not like hes the first guy to do so.

If you look at it as well, getting Arsenal down to 10 men obviously wasn't anybodies intentions but it helped swing the game in our favor even more.

[Pacquiao 1,834]

So Costa is a WUM is he your role model ,, Actually he is worse than a WUM

no footballer is my role model, but i do love how Costa plays.