‘Resting Costa would have been crazy’

Spain assistant coach Toni Grande says it would have been “crazy” to follow Jose Mourinho’s wishes and rest striker Diego Costa for their most recent Euro 2016 qualifiers.

Speaking ahead of Spain’s games against Slovakia and Luxembourg, Mourinho urged Spain coach Vicente del Bosque to allow Chelsea striker Costa to rest and recover from a groin problem.

Diego Costa has missed Chelsea’s last two games © Getty Images

However, Costa played in both games and has since missed Chelsea’s 2-1 Premier League win at Crystal Palace and the 6-0 Champions League victory at home to Maribor.

Reports this week said Costa was admitted to hospital with a severe stomach bug, and he remains a major doubt for Sunday’s Premier League clash at Manchester United.

“He told us that if we did not call him it would not be a problem,” Grande told Radio Marca. “That never came into our heads. How are we going to ignore a player like him, the top scorer in England? We would be crazy.”

Brazil-born Costa had been under pressure having failed to score in his first six internationals after switching his international allegiance to Spain, and Grande said giving him the chance to break his duck against Luxembourg had been part of Del Bosque’s thinking.

“[Costa] lifted the pressure on himself with the goal,” he said. “If he had scored in the first half, we would have changed him at half-time. It was a relief for everyone.”

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