Fits and snits have purpose on the pitch
A trickster appears. Diego Costa of Chelsea FC owns the style of the Artful Dodger of “Oliver Twist” fame, skill and cunning in his repertoire, saturnine in disposition, and seldom giving way to merriment on the field, to paraphrase and steal from Charles Dickens.
Last weekend, he knocked noses out of joint with a spectacular performance. Chelsea, after a disastrous start to the Premier League season with four points from five games, needed a win, badly. Archrival Arsenal FC was the visitor.
Costa got into a fight with Arsenal’s Gabriel after Gabriel intervened in a dustup between Costa and Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny. The referee booked both men, but Costa baited a trap by continuing to stoke Gabriel’s anger, whispering nasty words in his ear. Gabriel lashed out and kicked Costa, ever so slightly, as to be almost undetectable. But the referee issued a red card after Costa made a song and dance out of protestations. Gabriel was sent off. Arsenal was a man short. Chelsea went on to win 2-0.
Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho praised Costa after the game, saying he was man of the match and the type of player who keeps the TV ratings high. Costa posted an Instagram of himself smiling with teammates in the locker room. His snare had paid dividends. Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, who would rather be afflicted with an intolerable itch than be in the same room as Mourinho, blasted Costa’s act as “disgusting.”
Enter England’s Football Association. The overlords rescinded Gabriel’s red card while booking Costa with a violent conduct charge that carries with it a three-game ban. He will return as a hero to Chelsea, his banishment balanced against the product of his dodge: three valuable points earned in the victory.
Soccer’s street-smart mavericks and villains own a taste for elbows and nudges, slaps and slurs, while pulling the wool over authority’s eyes. Costa is named after Diego Maradona. The Argentine great is famous for sleight-of-hand trickery, scoring with his palm — known forever as the “Hand of God” — during a World Cup quarterfinal against England in 1986.
During the World Cup final in 2006, Italy’s Marco Materazzi plotted his villainy by casting unsavory slander into the ear of France’s Zinedine Zidane, his mom and sister rudely traduced. Zidane, France’s best player, reacted with a headbutt and was sent off. Italy went on to win. “I am a man before anything else,” said Zidane afterward. Proof that manipulating emotions can influence the result of matches as much as skill with the ball.
Not all mavericks are prone to leaving bad tastes.
West Ham United is this year’s Premier League upstart, having won on the road against Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City. The Hammers’ manager, Croatian Slaven Bilic, is fluent in four languages, has a law degree and plays guitar for the rock band Rawbau. A man of the people, Bilic — who coached the Croatian national team to accolades from 2006-2012 — also has a socialist lean.
“The team's philosophy is power to the people,” he said in his last job as boss of the Turkish club Besiktas. “There are no rich or poor here. No classes. That's why I can say that I am endeavoring for a socialist team.”
The collective will of West Ham is noted. It is in third place in the standings after six games. Having downed two elite clubs already — Arsenal and Manchester City — the rebel Bilic and his Hammers will be savoring the clashes with the other big two, Chelsea and Manchester United. Stay tuned.