Chelsea FC Manager Jose Mourinho. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jose Mourinho has launched a scathing attack on international managers; the Chelsea boss can’t be faulted for being upset at Vicente Del Bosque’s management of striker Diego Costa. Costa, who has taken the Premier League by storm, was left out of Chelsea’s last match against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
“The only thing I can say is that, after Arsenal, he went to the national team. He played two big matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg, and he came back in conditions where he’s not available to play for his club.”
After playing major minutes in Spain’s last two matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg, Costa returned to the Chelsea camp in poor condition. Mourinho has also ruled him out of tomorrow’s Champions League clash with Maribor. The manager stated that the striker may not even be fit enough to face Manchester United this coming weekend.
Costa’s hamstring injury has been a concern for quite some time now, so Mourinho has every right to lash out if he feels that his player is being misused.
The manager, as usual, did not disappoint in the sarcasm department.
“Costa will be fit for his national team when they play in mid November. We will get him fit for that!”
In my opinion, Spain did not need Costa for their match against lowly Luxembourg. The only positive came in the form of his first international goal, but even that provided no consolation for Mourinho, who was clearly seething at the fact that Del Bosque’s ambitions may well derail Chelsea’s title push.
The Portuguese hit out at the international managers, with the exception of England boss Roy Hodgson — the only manager whom he has heard from so far. Mourinho also lamented on the fact that the medical departments of international sides make no effort to communicate with clubs about players.
“Sometimes you have national coaches and medical departments in federations that want to establish relations and are interested in players, what they are doing, their moment in terms of physical condition and habits around matches. Some others simply don’t care. But we can’t resolve that.
Chelsea currently sit atop the Premier league table with 22 points. The Blues have yet to lose a match this season, and are well on course to win their fourth league title — which would be the third under Jose Mourinho. Costa is one of the main reasons; the forward has scored nine goals in seven matches, which leaves him tied with Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero at the top of the scoring chart.
I can’t ring up and ask to speak to a manager or doctor. In this moment, since the beginning of season, I think from all national teams, one phone call from Roy. He was the only one from all national teams that had personal direct contact with me.”
After such a blistering start, no manager would be happy about having his top scorer injured. While Chelsea showed that they could win without Costa, his fitness is a major issue.
Hopefully, sitting out these few games will allow the striker to heal properly. The Brazilian has quickly endeared himself to the fans, and they would love nothing more than to see their new talisman back in the thick of things.
The striker normally performs at his best after he has been ruled out of a match, but he is surely becoming more of a worry as games go by.
(Quotes taken from dailystar.co.uk and express.co.uk)