Conte salutes ‘warrior’ Costa for curbing anger
ANTONIO CONTE believes Chelsea’s ‘real warrior’ Diego Costa is finally listening to his calls to forget the fighting and focus on football.
Firebrand Costa has 11 Premier League goals and five assists this season but, perhaps more surprisingly, has not been booked in his last nine games — a record streak in his time in England.
For Conte, he is now the top striker in the division and the perfect disciplined leader for Chelsea’s weekly ‘sporting battles’.
They welcome West Bromwich Albion in today’s early kick-off targeting a ninth consecutive league win after a breathless charge to the top of the table.
But Conte, a manager used to dominating league chases from his time at Juventus in Italy, admits it will be impossible to keep up this pace all season long.
For now though, he can rely on Costa’s wellchanneled passion to reinforce Chelsea’s place at the top.
‘Diego is showing the right part of him, now,’ Conte says. ‘I think Diego is a real warrior. He’s good for the team because it’s important to have many warriors during the game.
‘Every game is a battle – a sporting battle – and it’s important to have warriors in your side.
‘Diego is showing his great passion and that he can put his passion into the team in the best way. It’s fantastic for him and for us, the team, the club and the fans.
‘He’s playing very well and we’re working a lot to involve him in our play. He’s improving a lot, Diego.’
Player of the month Costa even ended up playing peacemaker in last weekend’s late-game scrap in the win over Manchester City. He remains one booking away from a suspension for five yellow cards, though.
‘In every game I ask the same things of my players: be focused to play football,’ Conte says. ‘Only this. The other situations don’t matter.’
The Italian has four months of Premier League football under his belt. He admits he had never heard of today’s opposite number, Tony Pulis, before he came to England. Now, though, he is well aware of the difficulties the likes of West Brom can pose.
Conte’s Juventus won 102 points in the last of his three title-winning seasons in Serie A but he says such a figure is ‘impossible’ to reach here.
Chelsea, then, will be dropping their current eight-match ruthless streak at some point.
‘102 points? Now, I think it’s impossible,’ Conte says. ‘It’s very difficult to manage the result in England. For us, it’s important to see and play game by game.’