COMMENT: Love him or hate him, Diego Costa is a fighter who will stop at nothing to win.
More often than not, the Chelsea striker is billed as the pantomime villain, who is from time to time celebrated and revered, but always illustrated by the English media.
Just think Luis Suarez.
But this goes a little deeper than Suarez's non-goalscoring exploits in England.
Costa is the wily antagoniser who believes he is always the victim.
Admittedly, he is a quality player with the ability to produce something out of nothing but his actual playing qualities may well be soon forgotten if he is not careful.
In Chelsea's Premier League opener at Stamford Bridge on Monday night, Costa got his tackle on Adrian horribly wrong and wasn't far off causing the West Ham United keeper serious damage, which the Spaniard even alluded to on social media.
Disappointed about last night!!
Thank God my leg is okay after that, could have been much… https://t.co/rUjFHWQV0R
— Adrián San Miguel (@AdriSanMiguel) August 16, 2016
This incident, however, is not the first time Costa has attracted the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Sure, he scored the winner on the night for Chelsea with a lovely late strike but he really shouldn't have been on the pitch to drive a dagger into the hearts of the Hammers.
The fiery Brazilian-born Spaniard was involved in various altercations with PSG's David Luiz a couple of seasons back, was accused of stomping on the leg of former Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel, as well as current midfielder Emre Can, and had a push and shove with Steven Gerrard after body-slamming the Reds great to the ground.
These are just a few of his favourite things.
His behaviour when manhandling Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny last season before getting Gabriel Paulista sent off was despicable. Blood-boiling to anybody not supporting Chelsea.
Dirty Diego, dirty.
Chelsea fans may read this and scoff but if he weren't in your team, would you like him?
A scything tackle on Thiago Silva in the Champions League in March 2015, followed by the smug acknowledgment that he had erred, displays a character flaw.
The type of defect that continually haunt a man if he endures the same way of living.
The 'Battle of the Bridge' against Tottenham Hotspur late last term was another defining moment in the controversial career of Costa.
Moussa Dembele was banned for six matches for eye-gouging. Costa was at the heart of it all.
There must have been something said or done to get the normally mild-mannered Belgian to react the way he did. Costa made the absolute most of it.
Spurs claimed he initially grabbed the wrong eye as well, suggesting that the Dembele contact was minimal.
Crafty Diego, crafty.
In a pre-season friendly in 2014, Fenerbahce's Bruno Alves was uncompromising with his sliding tackle on Costa.
It was dangerous. It was stupid. It prompted a strong reaction from the man in question.
Costa must have forgotten he has produced similar throughout his playing days, without even touching the ball. Something Alves at least won.
There has been many a challenge over his career which has sparked controversy. Not that he is the first player to be the purveyor of frequently ferocious tackles.
The 'quick-to-smile' and 'play dumb' reaction to said lunges is what separates Costa from the every day strong and bold essence of hard-nosed footballers in England.
He has a provocative nature. He is a scrapper. His intent is to get under the skin of his opponents. And that's fine, if he does it in the correct manner.
Costa is happy to dish out the physicality but doesn't like it when it comes the other way. That is petulant. Hypocritical if you will.
He spoke out about Monday night's events which came after he was earlier booked by referee Anthony Taylor for dissent. Many pundits feel a red card would have been adequate given he had already been shown a yellow.
But not Diego.
Costa claims he was the victim of unfair treatment…..again. He has played the 'why always me?' card.
“I am aware of it now," he told ESPN Brazil.
“The second time I went to talk to him (Taylor), he showed me [the yellow card]. I even found it a bit weird, but then I understood. I went to apologise at half-time and that's it.
“But I'll be honest, I am targeted here, by the referees, the people… if I do something, it's totally different than if any other players do. It needs to be seen, that people targeted me.
“It's something I have to deal with and I ask god that these things don't disturb me and don't take the sequence of the games from me, which happens sometimes and gives me suspensions."
Diego is targeted is he?
Well, Mr Costa, if you didn't go throwing your weight around, cutting down opponents with potential-to-injure slicing tackles, inviting negative press with your arrogance (and not the Zlatan Ibrahimovic-type), then perhaps we would all leave you alone to let your footballing do the talking.
You bring this adversity upon yourself.
Costa pushes the boundaries of what is right and wrong on a football pitch. Sure, he is a sublime talent, but he threatens to continue tarnishing his name if he does not change the way he approaches his tetchy playing style.
His teammates may love him, as most have spoken highly of him throughout his career, and I suppose when playing a team sport that is the main thing. To be respected by your peers.
But the majority of the general public, and I'm sure opposition players, loath the way he operates which is sure to destroy any legacy he leaves in the Premier League.
Does he care? Probably not.
He is more than likely a top bloke but that is not the public perception of him. And he only has himself to blame for that.
Not all players need, or want, to be liked but the way Costa threatens to overstep the mark every time he plays will certainly be destructive for his reputation.
Once again, it's unlikely he is bothered as perhaps he just wants to be a man with notoriety.
A name for attracting headlines, scoring goals and winning titles.
And if a few (or a plethora) of noses are put out of place in the process, then so be it.
Diego is unlikely to change, as that will take away his winner's grin, but he must harness his aggression before he is widely hated by anybody non-Chelsea. And before he seriously injures somebody.
Don't alter your competitiveness, Diego, but just be reminded that there is always more than one side to the story.
