Diego Costa calls for improvement, cooler heads, and better communication

There's a delicious sense of irony in Diego Costa calling for cooler heads, though it must be said that against all expectations, the Chelsea striker does seem to manage his level of emotions better than most other players.  Not many are able to walk that fine line between provocation and outright malice as well as Diego can.  The yellow cards picked up by Fernandinho and Vincent Kompany are just two of the latest examples of the master at work, making an impact even when he's isolated from his teammates and overpowered by the hulking giants of the opposition's defense and midfield.

Of course, with just 1 point collected from a possible 6 to start the season, all is not well.  Costa's time with the Spanish national team hasn't exactly gone to plan either, his recurring injuries not helping in either endeavor.

"I want to do better in order to get back to the national team. I'm working hard for that."

-Diego Costa; source: Inside Spanish Football

But there's plenty of room for improvement elsewhere and from others, too.

"We need to improve right now, we need to do things better, but we need to keep a cool head and communicate better."

"The coach did the pre-season just as he needed to, our fitness is fine, we just need to win a game and everything will change."

"I feel very well, I'm coming off an injury but I'm getting minutes and I feel better every time out."

-Diego Costa; source: Inside Spanish Football

A few, potentially loaded words in there — I have not seen or heard the original Spanish language interview with Onda Cero, in fairness.  Does the "cool head" refer to Mourinho, for example?  I guarantee you somebody will draw a connection there, even if Costa only means something along the lines of there being no need to panic.  Who needs to communicate better?  Surely the team, essentially unchanged for over a season now, hasn't forgotten how to play with each other.  Though if you look at someone like Cesc Fàbregas, maybe they have forgotten a little bit.

In any case, translations and potential interpretations aside, Costa's overall message is clear.  We need to improve.  We need to win.  Yes, all that's pretty obvious.  But necessary all the same.