The Chelsea striker gets backing from his national coach.
Chelsea FC striker Diego Costa has had a tough time of it so far this season. With just two goals in 10 Premier League appearances, his exhilarating form of the last campaign is very much a thing of the past. However, he has been recalled to Vicente Del Bosque’s Spain squad and the national boss has declared his confidence in him.
Speaking in an intriguing interview with The Guardian, Del Bosque was questioned over Costa’s style of play and whether it gels with the slick passing that exemplifies Spain.
"Costa isn’t a problem for us…Our midfield is good on the ball, with players whose touch is good, so we need forwards who create space, who move, who commit defenders, occupy them, and Diego does that. How can Costa be harmful for us? We have him so he can get in behind, run channels, pull wide. We’ve not had much luck with him but there’s nothing that goes against our style."
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Costa’s physical and direct game is quite a contrast to the refined pinball that one witnesses when La Roja take to the field. Del Bosque, though, does not seem bothered by this supposed contradiction and he does have a point.
While pass-and-move is evidently a successful tactic for the Spaniards, it does often require the odd player to create diversions and occupy defenders.
It’s not as if Costa is a non-league footballer either. The Brazil native has shown on multiple occasions that he possesses the touch to match that of anyone in world football while his finishing can be both powerful and finessed.
However, for a striker his return has been undoubtedly underwhelming. Costa has scored only one goal for his adopted country in nine appearances and all qualities that he brings to the table cannot compensate for this lack of production.
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With poor form currently dogging his Chelsea season, Del Bosque even omitted him from the national squad in October. Costa has been seemingly more concerned with starting a fight rather than hitting the back of the net and the Spain coach cited this as one of the reasons for his exclusion.
Costa is now back in the fold but he will have a competition on his hands to return to the starting eleven. Del Bosque stated that he has a wide range of striking options to pick from.
"We’re choosing between him, [Alvaro] Morata and Paco Alcácer; in principle those are the three for the future."
The latter in particular has impressed by scoring five La Liga goals for Valencia so far this season. Furthermore, both strikers notionally fit in better with Spain’s style of play.
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If Costa wants to continue representing a team at the national level, all he can do is to start scoring goals. Then the doubters will retreat back into the darkness.