Diego Costa has the same fiery temperament in training as he does on the pitch, testament to his desire to win, according to former Atletico Madrid team-mate Toby Alderweireld, who is now on-loan at Chelsea’s weekend visitors Southampton.
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The Brazilian born Spain international made the move from Atleti to Stamford Bridge with the reputation of an old fashioned, physical centre forward and has more than lived up to his billing, bustling 18 goals for the Blues this season.
Belgian defender Alderweireld spent last season playing under Diego Simeone with the striker and claimed a famous La Liga title for the Vicente Calderon club.
The duo will be reunited in the Premier League this weekend with Southampton still in the race for the top four and Chelsea looking to extend their lead at the top of the table, after being dumped out of the Champions League midweek.
Alderweireld knows better than most about Costa’s insatiable appetite to win, having played and trained with him, saying he can even go overboard in training with his team-mates.
Quoted in the Mail, the on-loan defender said, “That’s his mentality. Outside the field he’s totally different, he’s a very nice guy, good to the supporters, never in a fight, always laughing.
“It’s strange to see him change on the field, because of his desire to win.
“Even on the training pitch, just in an easy game, four against four, he’s always on the line, and his desire is so big that sometimes he goes over it.
“It happened a lot at Atletico because the training was so crazy.”