Diego Costa drama weekend.

   "...he is the man of the match", announced José Mourinho of Diego Costa after his side humbled Arsenal by two unreplied goals. Coming at the heels of a community Shield game where Arsene Wenger beat Mourinho for the first time, we expected a super game on Saturday afternoon but got drama.
First, the initial incident that led to Paulista's sending off wasn't his case. He bought the case off Laurent Koscielny, whom Costa 'chested' to the ground. Paulista came for peace, or so we thought, until he got into a war of words with Costa. Both were issued yellow cards. Backing Costa, he threw a leg backwards towards Costa. I believe that action wasn't meant to hurt Costa but to show disgust. In the end though, he collected a red for his unsolicited efforts. That was naivety at its peak. Costa played him in, he fell for it. That is not however, excusing Costa's behaviour. At the risk of irking Chelsea fans, i will have to talk about Costa a bit. Let's go back in time.
   A hot headed Wayne Rooney came to Manchester United and was causing problems for himself and his team. Somehow, Sir Alex Ferguson and his team managed to tame him. Today, those fiery bursts of temper are no longer there. Though i must admit, traces are still there because like the Igbos of Southern Nigeria say; you may succeed in curing a mad person but you can not stop him from muttering. We all remember Mario Balotelli. Beautiful player. Very technically gifted, but unpredictable. Mario could be introduced into a game on the 7th minute, he will score on the 71st and be red carded few minutes later. He had gone from Inter Milan to Manchester City, Liverpool and back to AC Milan. No one could keep him. Joey Barton was really destined to play football on the moon. But because of violent conducts and inappropriate attitude to the game, he didnt fulfil a quarter of his potential. Some fans will be quick to point out that Costa hasn't been red carded in the EPL. Yes, very true. But you will agree with me that it remains a mystery that he hasn't gotten a dose of the red yet. Costa is a gifted forward and only if he stops being disruptive and inciting will he get to his best. I believe he has a lot more to offer Chelsea and football. I also believe that it is only in Chelsea that his disruptive behaviour can be tolerated. My opinion is so because if after what he did his manager brands him Man of The Match, then it is a philosophy issue with the club. No matured player will keep up with such attitudes on the field if he knows his Manager won't like it. He does it because Mourinho approves of it.
Football is a friendly game. A game whose emphasis is on fair play and friendship. Some attitudes are not worth a place in the game. Attitude is everything in football. Remember Edmundo, the Brazilian, branded "the animal" by a section of the media? You know what exactly became of him? Neither do I.
   At the Etihad Stadium, Victor Moses scored the first goal for West Ham as they confined Manchester City to their first defeat of the season. The Nigerian international was at his best. Causing problems for the City defence. Elsewhere, Nigerian international, Odion Ighalo also scored for Watford as they beat Newcastle 2 - 1. In the Nigerian League, Enyimba lost to Elkanemi warriors 1 - 2 but remain top of the pile. I remain an advocate of the Nigeria football league. I think people should drop the negative attitude towards the league and follow it keenly. When a young man who has never watched a Nigerian League match castigates the league based on what he heard, others, sadly toe along. I think the league has improved tremendously, many thanks to the League Management Company.

Photo credit: independent.co.uk
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