Simeone headache: Pairing Costa and Suarez
“Will the biting and fighting spirit continue”?
By Udeh Okoro Emmanuel
Atletico Madrid of Spain head coach Diego Simeone is a none nonsense man when it comes to touch line charge. It is not no doubts that the arrival of Luis Suarez from rival club FC Barcelona will boost the attacking strength of ATM. It believed that pairing the duo will give any defence a restless 90 minutes.
The fundamental concern of most fans of ATM and soccer lovers is the ability of these three men to play in unity as each of them have their individual headaches. Will Suarez continue playing from bench? Will Costa happily give way for Suarez? Will playing them simultaneously yield the desired result?
Time will answer these questions. Already, Diego Costa in an interview answered his part when he said, ‘I’ll fight, he can bite!’ Costa, 31, is known for irritating opposition players and being a master wind-up merchant. With Suarez arriving from Barcelona and scoring two and adding an assist off the bench on his debut as Atletico hammered Granada 6-1, it is fair to say Costa is looking forward to playing with the Uruguayan forward.
“He is very good, one of us can do the fighting and the other can do the biting,” Costa said.
Oh, Diego. That is absolute gold. Costa is, of course, referring to Suarez having a penchant for taking a nibble out of his opponent. Suarez, 33, has been banned for biting players while play for Ajax, Liverpool and Uruguay and although we don’t condone that behavior, it allowed Costa to make that comment, tongue-in-cheek.
Whether or not Suarez will be happy about his past discrepancies being plastered across headlines thanks to his new Atleti teammates is another matter. And whether or not Costa and Suarez will play up front together is an intriguing topic, as Alvaro Morata was sold to Juventus by Atletico to fund the move for Suarez and it is believed Costa may have to move on too.
Costa did score the opener for Atletico on Sunday and the arrival of Suarez could kick him on as he looks to get back to his best. Diego Simeone coaching an Atletico team led by a forward partnership of Diego Costa – Luis Suarez is something pretty much everyone wants to see. Aside from opposition defenders.
Scoring goals has been a problem for Atletico over the last few seasons as Simeone’s side continue to be solid in midfield and at the back but creating and putting away chances has been tough since losing Antoine Griezmann. If they can score more this season, they will seriously challenge Real Madrid and Barcelona for the La Liga title.
With Joao Felix pulling the strings, Costa and Suarez should have plenty of chances to feast on…If that doesn’t work, they can go with Diego’s plan.