The form of Liverpool’s Brazilian playmaker has the Kop believing a 19th league title isn’t far away, writes MOGAMAD ALLIE in SportsClub magazine.
When Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard first laid eyes on Philippe Coutinho at training in January 2013, he predicted what many are now starting to see – the Brazilian would become the club’s prized asset.
‘It was sometimes mind-blowing to see what he could do with the ball at his feet. Philippe was the one player I’d be a little wary of getting too close to in tight situations during training. He could make a fool of you,’ Gerrard wrote in his autobiography, My Story.
‘He was that good – and I believed he was on his way to becoming Liverpool’s main man and a top player in world football – watch this space.
‘Coutinho suited being a gifted No 10. We called them magical players but I think Brendan [Rodgers] was the first to refer to him as “The Magician”. There was no better word to describe Coutinho on form. Out on the pitch, where it mattered most, he was a dream to play alongside.’
If the former Liverpool skipper reckoned a frustratingly inconsistent and often defensively frail Coutinho was a dream to play with two seasons ago, imagine what he would say now about the improved version who, along with Adam Lallana, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, has quickly developed in Jurgen Klopp’s much-feared attacking quartet.
For much of his previous three seasons with the Reds, Coutinho has shown his undoubted class, often embellishing outstanding performances with high-quality long-range goals. But he also had the tendency to tarnish this with some ordinary shifts.
For every magnificent display, there has been a mediocre performance thrown in. For every 30-yard stunner, another five efforts ended up in the crowd or a relatively easy chance was spurned.
For the 24-year-old midfielder, this season represents the most important period in his career to date. He is at an age at which top footballers start approaching their prime. It was when they were in their mid-twenties that Liverpool’s three best players in recent times, Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez, all took their games up a notch.
Coutinho is now at that point in his career where he needs to deliver consistently over a sustained period of time to have a similar impact and be mentioned in the same breath as Gerrard, Torres and Suarez, all club legends.
The talented Brazilian has often been guilty of not contributing enough in general play and that will need to change if he is to develop into
a truly world-class performer.
In Klopp he has the perfect manager to take him to the top of his game and unlock all his undoubted potential.
The German believes Coutinho can become more consistent. ‘He is in an unbelievably good way and hopefully he’s as fit as he has ever been since I’ve been here,’ Klopp said after the thrilling opening day 4-3 win over Arsenal in which the Brazilian netted a brace, including a stunning free kick.
For his part, The Magician credits his manager with taking his game to the next level over the past 12 months and is excited about the potential of the squad Klopp has assembled.
‘Jurgen has helped me to develop a lot,’ Coutinho told the Liverpool Echo. ‘I really enjoy working with him. He’s given me a lot of confidence. The team plays differently now. We play high-pressure football. This style suits us and this manager is so important for Liverpool. He has changed the mentality of the group.
‘We are in a good way. We have a good team but we have to show it every day and in every game.’
In Klopp’s high-pressing, lung-busting system, in which players have to be adaptable to function efficiently in any part of the pitch, Coutinho showed in October’s tepid goalless draw against Manchester United how much he has developed over the past year. In the absence of Lallana from the starting lineup, the Brazilian showed his defensive qualities while playing in an unfamiliar deep midfield role, proving he can roll up his sleeves and do some donkey work too.
And it was only the brilliance of United goalkeeper David de Gea that prevented him from adding to his tally of four goals in eight games this season as the Spaniard somehow managed to launch himself through the air to prevent a trademark curler from nestling in the top corner of the net.
At international level Coutinho is also well on his way to becoming the fulcrum of Brazil’s midfield. After netting a hat-trick in the 7-1
rout of Haiti at the Copa America Centario in June, he followed it up by scoring in the 5-0 World Cup qualifier win over Bolivia in October.
Tite, who took over from Dunga as Brazil boss in June, praised Coutinho’s creative abilities and believes his ‘moment’ with the five-time World Cup winners is now.
‘There’s a reason he is called The Magician [by Liverpool fans],’ he said at his post-match press conference. ‘With his passes Coutinho opens the lines, creates space. I like his mobility; he was influential in both games when he came on.’
Coutinho’s continued importance to Liverpool is manifested by his teammates voting him the club’s Player of the Year over the past two seasons. Last season he found the back of the net 12 times and now feels confident he can improve on that tally.
‘I think I can score more this season,’ he told the Liverpool Echo. ‘I always said the one thing I really needed to do was score more goals.’
The midfielder’s rise has sparked talk of interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Barcelona, jolting Liverpool into offering him an improved deal just 18 months after signing a contract that will keep him in red until 2020.
Amid these rumours, Coutinho has expressed his happiness with life in the home city of The Beatles, something that comes as music to the ears of the club’s fans, who are anxious for their star players to remain and spearhead the drive to ending their long title drought.
