“He’s still angry, nobody liked him at Chelsea,” Diego Costa settles scores with Antonio Conte.
In a viral podcast excerpt, Chelsea’s former striker Diego Costa settled scores with the former Italian coach Antonio Conte, whom he describes as a coach who is constantly angry and not well-liked in the Stamford Bridge dressing room.
In a viral podcast excerpt, Chelsea’s former striker Diego Costa settled scores with the former Italian coach Antonio Conte, whom he describes as a coach who is constantly angry and not well-liked in the Stamford Bridge dressing room.
Chelsea’s former striker Diego Costa did not mince his words when recalling his time under Antonio Conte. In an excerpt that has already gone viral from the podcast hosted by John Obi Mikel, the Hispano-Brazilian forward painted an unflattering portrait of the Italian coach, describing him as a manager who is constantly on edge and not well liked within the Stamford Bridge dressing room.
Arriving at Chelsea in 2014 from Atlético Madrid for £32 million, Diego Costa quickly established himself as one of Chelsea fans’ favorites. Deadly in front of goal and tireless in combat, he contributed greatly to the Blues’ successes, winning two Premier League titles and a Carabao Cup. He scored 20 league goals in his first season and was even named to the PFA Team of the Year.
The partnership between Costa and Conte seemed ideal at first. In the 2016-2017 season, the player and the manager were rewarded with the Premier League Player of the Month and Manager of the Month titles in November. But the relationship quickly deteriorated. Courted by the Chinese Super League, Costa was sidelined, before being told by a simple message that his future at Chelsea was sealed.
« He’s someone who trusts no one. He thinks he knows everything, » Costa said about Conte, who is today the Napoli manager. « It isn’t pleasant to train with him; he is always angry, always sullen. The players wanted to come back, but no one liked him.”
By contrast, the 35-year-old forward praised José Mourinho, whom he regards as the manager he enjoyed working with the most: « With him, we go to training happy. » Unattached since the end of his contract with Grêmio, Diego Costa continues to settle scores with a past that evidently left not only good memories.
