Diego Costa causes yet more controversy for Chelsea FC with #BibGate
Just when things seemed to be getting back on track for Chelsea FC, perennial drama queen Diego Costa struck twice in the span of a week. After scoring the winner against Norwich City after what seemed like ten misses, Costa was handed the start against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
He was, as he has been all season, constantly out of position against Tel Aviv and Jose Mourinho was not too pleased with his striker’s positioning. He made a “tap-in” gesture to Costa who took offense to it and reportedly yelled that he wanted to be subbed off at halftime with the Blues up just 1-0. Costa would finish out the match but was punished for his outburst by being benched for the match at White Hart Lane.
Costa being on the bench is not a rare sight as he is often injured or suspended but this decision was not made with his health in mind. The striker’s body language and demeanor was explicitly negative and he was unhappy with not starting.
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Late in the match as you have certainly seen by now, Costa was called up to warm up and when not brought in to the game, took off his bib and threw it nonchalantly over his shoulder towards Mourinho. The manager tried to downplay the situation after the match and said that Costa’s mentality was not an issue. This sort of outburst may have even shown Mourinho how hungry Diego Costa is to play.
To most supporters however, this was yet more proof for them that Diego Costa is not the man to lead the line for Chelsea FC anymore. He scored 20 goals last season in the Premier League but those goals came with injuries, bookings, suspensions, and so much more. Those transgressions were forgiven as Costa was scoring at an incredible rate but that has not been the case this year.
Mikel enjoyed Costa’s bib strop almost as much as I did pic.twitter.com/4rPJuguF65
— Jenny Brown (@cfc_jb) November 29, 2015
Costa appears more interested in winning penalties than scoring goals and the patience of his manager and his supporters is wearing thin. The dust up between Jose and Diego has even lead to speculation that Costa will be sold in the January transfer window.
Whether or not Costa will be sold is still unknown but he must improve his attitude if he hopes to continue to wear Chelsea blue. In a season with so much negativity, the drive and determination we have come to expect from Costa has turned to petulance and unsporting behavior.
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A bit of an edge is an excellent quality in a striker but not when it comes at the expense of his play and his relationship with the manager. Mourinho has dealt with players like Costa before and he has always won. Unless Costa starts scoring goals regularly then he will have little to no leverage in this conflict. The ideal scenario is that Costa learns from his mistake and apologizes for his petulant little toss but given his track record that seems highly unlikely.