To many football fans, and plenty of opposing players, Chelsea striker Diego Costa may come across as the angry man you dont want to get on the wrong side of. Yet according to his team-mate Willian, the striker is completely different off the pitch to the player we have seen snarling at almost anyone who crosses his path on a football pitch. Costa is expected to wear a mask when Chelsea host Newcastle on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports, after breaking his nose in training on Thursday, and ahead of the game Willian insisted we dont know the real Diego. Willian (L) describes team-mate Diego Costa as the practical joker behind the scenes at Chelsea Hes a very nice guy Willian explained this week. He is the opposite of what you see on the pitch. There is one Diego that you see on the pitch and another on the outside. He jokes a lot with us, he doesnt stop smiling for a second. Hes a practical joker. Hes got me, John Terry, the staff, everyone.The image of Costa as a happy-go-lucky fun-seeker is one which may be hard to get your head around, but there can be no denying he is back to somewhere near his best form in front of goal. Costa has scored seven times in the 10 matches since Jose Mourinho departed the club, and has seemingly won back the support of Chelsea fans who booed him in the aftermath of Mourinhos departure. Willian believes when hes scoring at such a rate, he should be considered one of the games elite strikers, alongside the likes of Sergio Aguero and Robert Lewandowski.Yes, for sure. I think he can stay at that level. We know Diego can improve even more. Now hes helping the team a lot, scoring goals, fighting with defenders, his movement, everything he does on the pitch - he has to continue in the same way. Willian celebrates with Diego Costa during a Champions League clash earlier in the seasn Costas current goal scoring form is reminiscent of the run Willian himself experienced in the autumn, when he scored in four consecutive games for Chelsea. Among those goals was an 86th-minute free-kick equaliser against Newcastle in the 2-2 draw at St James Park.Willian became known as free-kick specialist at that point in the season having also scored a dramatic set-piece winner against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League. He admits to working on his technique every week in training, and says he studied not only a Brazilian legend when he was younger, but also an English football icon too.I watched some players when I was young he told Sky Sports News HQ. I watched Ronaldinho, David Beckham, Andrea Pirlo. There were many players that I watched. I looked at videos of those players, and learned about how they shoot, and how they watched the goalkeeper. I practice here in training a lot. Not every day, but maybe three times a week I take six or seven balls and practice my free kicks. Costa has scored seven goals in his last 10 games Asked what advice he would offer young footballers working on their own free-kick technique, he says the mental preparation is just as important as where and how you kick the ball. You have to concentrate before you take the free kick. The most important thing is that even if you are crossing the ball, you have to get it on target. Sometimes a free kick can decide a game, like it did for me against Dynamo Kiev. We won this game 2-1, and I hope I can score more goals like that this season.Willian has been one of Chelseas key players this season, and arguably the main contender for the clubs player of the year award. He has played in 34 of their 36 games so far, starting 31, the most appearances by any Chelsea player this season. Willian has been one of Chelseas best performers this season He has started the last 18 Premier League games, his longest run of league starts for the club. With eight goals, only Costa has scored more for the club this season - all three of his Premier League goals have come from outside the box. Willian has created a Premier League high 54 chances for the club this season, and nobody at the club has more League assists.The Brazilian says its painful to watch the title race being played out in this campaign without Chelseas involvement, but predicts they will be back in the race for first place next season.Of course (its painful). We look at the top and we dont see Chelsea. I think we have to continue to win more games, there are lots of important games coming and we have to keep preparing for these.Its difficult. We know that [we arent fighting for the title] but we have to continue to play. The motivation has to be that we stay focused all the time, because we want to win more games. We are too far away to win the title but we have to keep playing until the end of the season.For me there is no doubt well be back next season. We have great players in this squad and next season we have to start well, and I hope we can do that. Well be back. Alexandre Pato can bring a lot to the Chelsea front line, says compatriot Willian For now, Chelsea are focused on finishing as high as possible in the Premier League, while also preparing for their Champions League last 16 ties against PSG and the FA Cup clash with Manchester City.The European match could come too soon for Willians fellow Brazilian Alexandre Pato to make his Chelsea debut, although the FA Cup game could see the on-loan forward introduced to the first team.I think he can bring a lot of things for us. Hes quick, he has good technique, and he scores goals. Hes a very good player. He can help us a lot. I think hes hungry to show the world what he can do. That is why he came to Chelsea, he added.He wants to improve, and be a champion here. He knows that he had so much pressure on him in Brazil, but he has to stay calm and he can play better here in England, he can win titles here. Also See: Costa breaks nose in training Sky Live: Chelsea v Newcastle Oscar happy at Chelsea Zola: Qatar good fit for Terry Scott McTominay Jersey . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Jesse Lingard Jersey . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. http://www.manunitedfcpro.com/Kids-David-Beckham-Jersey/ . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. Luke Shaw Jersey . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . David de Gea Jersey . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Your Australia tour wasnt as successful as your overall Test career. What do you recall of the Test series from 1983? I had just one tour to Australia, and I can safely say it was a failure for me. There are many reasons for that.One of them was the sandy outfields in all the Australian grounds. I used to apply dry mud from the outfield to my fingers and use saliva to tighten my grip on the ball. But due to the sandy soil, I wasnt able to grip it. I didnt find that out until my last Test. I was actually never in control with the ball. It was really very frustrating, and my entire tour was a chaotic one.I took five wickets at the MCG, but theres a background involved. I was surprised, frustrated and worried about my bowling and was always thinking about it. One day, just to clear my mind, refresh my thoughts, I went to the dance floor in my hotel in Melbourne. I was standing next to a pillar, lost in my thoughts, when someone came up behind me and covered my eyes. I thought it was Immy [Imran Khan] - no other Pakistan player would dare to do that to me - but then I realised it was the great Dennis Lillee.Hes a charming man with beautiful thoughts. He said to me: Abdul, I can understand what you are feeling. A bowler like you when you are not performing, how it feels. You looked depressed to me, and why not, when a great bowler is not performing, he must be upset. I have gone through this as well. You are still a great bowler and we admire you.I was touched because a bowler like Lillee was praising me regardless of the fact that I was bowling badly all tour. This really lifted my spirits and I went on to take five wickets.You conceded 166 runs for those five wickets. Yes, the problem was still there. I wasnt really up to my own standard. It was like Yasir Shah or Danish Kaneria, not Qadir at his best. I remained dissatisfied despite the crowd standing on their feet and clapping for my fifer. I looked happy but I was hollow inside.Also, maybe I was missing bowling with Imran. We had such a great time bowling together. I had a good bunch of bowlers [in that series], but it didnt go well.Commentators like Bill Lawry, Ashley Mallett and Clarrie Grimmett were arguing that I should be bowling from over the wicket, but my problem was the grip. I didnt bother which side I was bowling from. The main worry was that I was wasting my deliveries, as I was not able to concentrate.Because Qadir was a bowler with killer instincts, I would have gone all out for the kill. But something was missing.I spoke to Nazar Junior [Mudassar Nazar] about the problem with the mud not staying on my fingers. I actually used to spin the ball with my last three fingers, but the ball wasnt gripping. Nazar told me that the outfield was made of sand. When I realised the problem, the series was over.In the ODI series, I used the soil and made it wet with saliva, and I made the headlines after that - Abdul takes revenge. I still have those newspaper clippings with me.So legspin in Australia is all about how you grip the ball? In my case it was.Why do you think you were so popular in Australia? Australians are naturally aggressive cricketers and they have always had a great regard for the art [of legspin]. They always came to me and told me that one thing they liked about me was that I was a spin bowler with the attitude of a fast bowler.See, in cricket legspin is the most difficult art because the mechanics involved in it arent easy to master. I am satisfied with my overall career - in an era of fast bowlers, I took more than 200 wickets as a spinner. Other spinners came, got hammered and faded away, but I hung around and did well in that era.You returned to Australia to play club cricket. What was your experience? Ohh yes, it was a learning curve for me.dddddddddddd Only by the end of that 83 tour had I realised how to bowl in those conditions, but I never returned to Australia for Pakistan again. I did return some eight years after the 83 tour to play club cricket in Melbourne for Carlton. Being older and much more experienced, I managed to take 72 wickets and won the Ryder Medal at a time when Shane Warne was also playing. I dont remember, but I think it was a record and it earned great praise.Richie Benaud always rated you highly. Did you ever get a chance to meet him? He came to Lahore once and we had a chat for two or three hours sitting in the Holiday Inn hotel. He asked a lot of questions, and we had a long discussion on how many types of deliveries a legspinner can bowl. We were surprised that I had more ways of delivering and spinning the ball, while he, despite being a legendary spinner, knew only a few, traditional ways of doing legspin bowling.I told him that, unlike other legspinners, I used my last three fingers, with the middle finger generating most power. I would use a combination of my last three fingers in such a way as to manage the workload of my fingers. I used to flick with my middle finger to make the ball turn, and would hide the ball from the batsman to prevent him from reading it early. The index and ring fingers were my triggers for the googly, and that was the main art.Benaud appreciated me and praised me, and I was humbled that I had won his praise. You cant bullshit with a guy like Richie. He was a legend and his knowledge of the game was immense. We both walked away with more respect for each other. I am glad that I was able to add something to his knowledge.Captaincy didnt sit well with you? I played in an era with Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, so I never even thought about the captaincy. But it did fall in my lap when Javed got injured. So I was lucky to have got it somehow, and the matches I lost as captain were close ones. I can also tell you that I was offered the captaincy in the presence of Javed Miandad, but I refused. I told Haseeb Ahsan [PCB secretary at the time] that I wouldnt accept the offer. I stood by that principle and never accepted the captaincy, except for that one series when Javed was injured. He was my captain at HBL and it wouldnt have been proper to promote me while bypassing him.What do you think of Yasir Shahs progress? He is a good bowler and he was always in our plans when I was chief selector in 2009. He was among 20 players I had told the PCB to keep an eye on and select as soon as possible. But, without a googly and a flipper, a legbreak bowler will struggle at some point, and I have seen his form fluctuating. I think he tries to bowl the googly but it goes too flat. For his flipper, he might not really be gripping the ball well.Has he ever come to you to talk about his bowling? No, never. And I am not surprised at all. Because he probably sees Shane Warne as his idol and he is more tempted to approach him [smiles]. There were so many bowlers who came to me, and that is the blessing of Allah. Shane, Kumble, Afridi, MacGill [all approached me] but it is up to them to give back the credit if they are willing to.Mushtaq [Ahmed] replaced me in the team in the early 90s and - you can ask him - he came to me and I told him why I had struggled in Australia and what he needed to do to get wickets there. He was really good, bowling long spells and had good control over his line and length. He needed to bring variation in his bowling, but I liked his spirit and ambition. He was very positive about the game. Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale Jerseys Cheap NFL Hoodies Wholesale NFL Jerseys Stitched Jerseys Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap NFL T-shirts China Jerseys Wholesale Youth NFL Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Outlet White NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys NFL China Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo ' ' '