Chelsea striker Diego Costa is sure that the footballing authorities in England wanted to make an example of him when they issued him a three-match ban for violent conduct after he stepped on Liverpool defender Emre Can’s ankle when the two clubs met in the Capital One Cup semi-final last month.
Despite the ban Costa says he will not change the way he plays football, and that he will be mixing it up with the defenders when the Blues play Tottenham in the final at Wembley this weekend.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho still insists that there is a campaign being waged against his team and particular against the Brazilian-born Spanish international Costa who has already been booked ten times so far this season.
Along with the bookings come 17 goals, and Mourinho thinks that his top striker is in peak form and ready to score more goals following the ban.
“I’m not going to change my way of playing,” said Costa. “I know I have to be a little bit more careful because it’s not the same when I do something, and when someone else does it. Something I do, it’s talked about much more than another player.
“I have to be extra careful, but I’m never going to change the way I play. That’s what got me here, that’s the way I play.”
“I’m not angry about the ban. It’s gone,” he said. “I still don’t even know why it happened, but it happened. Now I’m just trying to get back to my best physical form. You have to forget it.
“Now, I’m running a little bit behind after the suspension, trying to do my best, working hard and hopefully I’ll be 100 per cent.
“I joined a club like Chelsea to win titles. Finals are not there to play, they are to win. I’m hoping I can get my first title.
“Never mind the opposition. We all know we are a good team and we have the quality to win.”
So far all of Costa’s goals have been scored in the Premiership, with none in cup competitions or in Europe, and he has failed to find the back of the net in his last four games.
When asked about this he said: “It doesn’t worry me. I don’t even know how many games it is since I scored. What worries me is to be in the best physical form to score.
“I don’t pick tournaments to score in, or rivals or other teams to score against. I’m a striker. Every game I play I want to score. If it hasn’t happened in the cup, I’m hoping to God it happens on Sunday.”
He also dismissed the fact that Chelsea were out for revenge following the 5-3 league loss at White Hart Lane on New Year’s Day.
“We beat them 3-0 in the league first at Stamford Bridge,” he said. “They are a great side. They deserved that win. There’s nothing extra, no revenge or anything like that. It’s just a final and we want to win.”
