Diego Costa is where he wants
to be and I am absolutely thrilled
for him. I love
Diego as a player.
At Atletico
Madrid, he gave
us so much and I
will always be
grateful to those
players who have
given me their all.
Diego behaved in
that way the
whole time he
was with us, so I
wish him the
very best at
Chelsea. I hope
he has a great
season. He can
still get a lot
better, keep
growing.
He’s at an age
where he can
continue to
improve, so let’s
hope he can
develop further.
He’ll have to
adapt quickly to
the system at
Chelsea and to
the coach, but
let’s hope the
team can take
full advantage of
his
characteristics. I
see a player very
much on the way
up and I’m sure
he’ll be a success.
Top strikers
have come and
gone at Atletico.
The club have
always seemed
to be able to
minimalise the
impact when big
players leave.
Fernando Torres
left, Diego Forlan
left, Sergio
Aguero left,
Radamel Falcao
left and now
Costa and David
Villa have moved
on – and the
team has
remained
competitive.
Atletico have
always done well
in that respect
and I hope the
same thing will
happen this time
with a suitable
replacement for
Diego. When
Aguero left,
many saw it as a
big blow, but
Falcao came in
and the team
won trophies.
Then Falcao left
and people said
we wouldn’t be
able to compete,
but we kept
growing with
Costa.
I believe a team
as a whole is
much more
important than
its individual
players. Look at
Colombia. They
have been a
sensation in this
World Cup – and
they have done it
without Falcao.
Colombia are a
team with great
balance and they
have a lot of
players who
want the ball.
Despite Falcao’s
absence through
injury, they have
been able to
compete as a
team and coach
Jose Pekerman
deserves credit
for that.
Costa could have
played for Brazil
at this
tournament, but
he chose Spain
instead. Brazil’s
strikers have
taken some
criticism, but I
believe their
front three are
doing a good job.
Although they
haven’t been able
to produce their
finest football so
far in this
competition, they
remain very
dangerous and as
the World Cup
goes on, the
forwards will
benefit from
having played
more time
together. There
are also likely to
be more spaces
available from
now on and that
will help them
too.
So there may be
no Diego Costa
for Brazil, but the
side’s forwards
all work hard and
there’s plenty of
power and
quality in their
front three. As
the team
improves, I’m
sure they’ll come
good. _-_ Diego Simeoné