The Pride of London
Fansided

Us versus them: Diego Costa and Chelsea are a perfect match

By Eric McCoy

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 27: Diego Costa of Chelsea celebrates his team's second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Southampton and Chelsea at St Mary's Stadium on February 27, 2016 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 27: Diego Costa of Chelsea celebrates his team's second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Southampton and Chelsea at St Mary's Stadium on February 27, 2016 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

As rumours swirl suggesting that Diego Costa will be leaving Stamford Bridge, it seems that his association with Chelsea is too perfect to break up.

It starts with the eye roll.

That’s quickly followed by a bemused chuckle and a slight, but discernable, shake of the head.

I’ve just informed someone I support Chelsea. With the utterance of a single sentence, my football fan credentials have immediately been called into question.

Plastic. Glory hunter. Words that FanSided wouldn’t deem appropriate to post. It all comes flowing forth with the ease of a polite stranger asking how your day is going.

I don’t know what it’s like to tell someone I’m an Arsenal fan, or a Manchester United fan, or a Liverpool fan, because such vile words have never exited my lips, but I imagine their reaction might be a bit different.

More from The Pride of London

The exact source for all the Chelsea-aimed vitriol seems to vary. The legitimacy behind the complaints similarly fluctuates.

Some will claim that Chelsea have simply ‘bought’ their success. As though Chelsea are out perusing Europe for trophies like parents searching a shopping mall for presents to take back home to their children. In football’s current landscape of haves and have-nots, Chelsea are certainly in the former camp, but they are far from being its only occupants.

Real Madrid did not triumph in the Champions League final with a ragtag cast of low-cost misfits straight out of a bad Disney movie. Their team cost money. A lot of money. Lots and lots of money is usually (I’m not including you in this, Leicester) what it takes to win lots and lots of trophies.

‘Boring boring Chelsea’ is another insult gleefully sung to criticize the team’s style of play. When Atletico Madrid or Borussia Dortmund set their players up to defend and counter, it’s seen by many as a heroic and beautiful example of team unity. When Chelsea does it, it’s an excuse to clear the throat and belt out that ageless classic.

More from Chelsea FC News

Singers of this song may have a case of selective amnesia. I happened to find the Premier League record 103 goals Chelsea scored during the 2009/10 season to be quite exciting, but I suppose it could just be that we all have our own aesthetic preferences.

So, it’s us versus them. This is certainly not ideal, but it’s what Chelsea and its supporters are stuck with.

Diego Costa does not seem to have a problem with this arrangement.

“I go to war. You come with me,” is how Costa supposedly introduced himself to his new teammates when he joined Chelsea in 2014. War metaphors can get flung around a bit too casually when sports are being discussed, but if there ever was an athlete who at least looked to be under the impression he was participating in an actual war, and not just a sporting event, that athlete would be Costa.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 9: Diego Costa of Chelsea celebrates his goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge stadium on March 9, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 9: Diego Costa of Chelsea celebrates his goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge stadium on March 9, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) /

Costa does not just want to score goals against the opposition. It’s more personal than that.

There are the stare downs, the fouls and the palms-to-the-heavens looks of exasperation given to the referee. Costa adopts the attitude of a man that feels the entire world has banded together against him. Banded together for the sole purpose of backing him into a corner that has to be fought out of. The fight is not always figurative.

Red cards and suspensions, deserved and undeserved, stain his footballing resume. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the FA has an entire panel devoted purely to the review of Costa related instances. Costa doesn’t just want to score goals; he needs to score goals. Goals are the justification for all of the extracurricular antics.

Thirty-seven goals since he arrived at Chelsea isn’t bad justification. Costa has been Chelsea’s leading goal-scorer in each of the last two campaigns, and as dreadful as the 15/16 season was, it’s even more frightening than a Costa death glare to think of how it would have gone had Chelsea not had their polarizing striker.

If the rumors circulating some parts of the Internet (granted, the not-so-distinguished parts) are accurate, then Chelsea may soon find out what life without Costa is like. Presumably, the sale of Costa would mean the purchase of a high-caliber, less temperamental replacement.

Next: Chelsea FC: Top 7 Diego Costa Goals

Many would welcome this. Gone is the antagonizing and gone are the three-match bans. A certain synergy would be lost, however. It’s us versus them, and it’s Costa against the world. It’s a match that’s almost too perfect to break up.

Home/Chelsea FC News