Diego Costa’s a brilliant and horrible footballer in equal measure.
But he’d make a far, far better Palio rider, we discovered after watching a special screening of the new film last night.
Palio, a biannual horse-race held in the middle of Siena, Italy – rewards cheating, deception, violence, corruption and downright nastiness – a list of the Spanish striker’s most notable traits…
Horses and unsaddled jockeys sling themselves round a circular track constructed in a city centre, in a race which lasts just 90 seconds (not 90 minutes!).
Riders are thrown from horses, in the same manner Costa launched Laurent Koscielny to the floor the other weekend. Competitors fight, kick and grapple – much akin to Costa’s vicious stamp on Martin Skrtel last term. Races were often fixed by criminals with the winner pre-determined – much how opposition fans feel when Costa fails to receive a red card…
The barbarity and excitement of Palio fills an audience with anticipation and nervousness – just like the Chelsea brute does. Palio prides itself on its pantomime villains, and with Luis Suarez departed to Spain – Costa is the Premier League’s no.1!
The brilliant film’s anti-hero epitomises Costa’s competitive streak, with the trailer claiming that: ‘He plays a game. He’s created a network of absolute power. He wins Palios by controlling them.’
Perhaps if we didn’t have retrospective red-cards, something Costa’s fallen victim to, he’d have a network of Premier League power himself!
The new film comes out tomorrow, and you can watch a trailer of the future Italian classic right here: