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Piece of the Jigsaw

Coutinho: Liverpool FC’s New ‘No.10’

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Philippe Coutinho of BrazilMANY people were sent scrambling to search for any and every bit of news they could muster when Liverpool FC were linked with Philippe Coutinho in this transfer window.

For what seemed like an eternity, at least to those who were anxious for another player’s signature, reports were bounced around the internet with numbers and bids varying.

There was speculation that the player didn’t want to leave Inter Milan, that Liverpool were not going to fork up the cash Inter were demanding, and that Southampton was somehow going to steal the show.

There was even dizzying speculation when it was discovered that Lucas Leiva and Coutinho had become ‘friends’ on Instagram. But now the speculation seems to be winding to a halt with various sources, including ESPN and the Daily Mail, reporting that Liverpool have had a bid in the region of £8.5 million accepted by Inter Milan. The only uncertainty that remains is: what kind of player will LFC have purchased?

For starters, Coutinho is only a mere 20 years old and hails from Brazil. He came up through the ranks at Vasco da Gama before getting a move to Internazionale where he was originally deployed on the wing. Although the talent was there, Coutinho was unable to influence games the way it was hoped, so a loan to Espanyol was secured. It is here where the player would begin to assert himself.

While at Espanyol the young Brazilian netted 5 times in 16 appearances, often in superb fashion. His time at the mediocre Spanish club has shown that he is not afraid of being the focal point of the attack and won’t shrug off the difficult option for the easier route.
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In typical Brazilian fashion Coutinho seems to thrive with the ball at his feet and appears to be most comfortable when allowing his quick feet to do the hard work for him. His dribbling ability can’t be ignored but it must be noted that fans and teammates alike came away frustrated when the dazzling footwork didn’t lead to concrete productiveness; something Brendan Rodgers will surely focus on.

Positioning and tactics can be taught. Innate ability is, however, God given. If given the time Rodgers and his staff should be able to develop the young player into an exciting attacking force. The key question remains whether or not the player can stay healthy but at 20 years of age the attacking midfielder certainly fits the bill of the type of player that Brendan Rodgers is looking for.

Philippe Coutinho has shown that he adds an extra attacking threat and is capable of playing out wide, either from the get go, or as play develops. The exciting young midfielder will certainly add a different dimension to Liverpool’s threat but uncertainties still remain as they often will with young players.

This article is definitely not the final verdict on the player, but rather an introduction to his background for those who may be unfamiliar with him and any and all discourse is welcomed.

For those who wish to see the player in action, check out the impressive video below.

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59 comments

  • bjowolabi says:

    Have signed him yet? I’ve got no news abt dat but will be happy if we sign him. Good player I hope.

  • King Kenny II says:

    OK This Kid has got Talent and Ability , Loads of it ….. but …. I am Not Excited

    1 . Except Sturridge , All of Rodgers buys are atrocious
    2 . He Has Had Quite a Lot of Injury Problems
    3 . How Many Silky Skillfull Brazilians Have Succeded in PL ? _ Not Many
    4 . If he Was That Good – Why Were Inter so Desperate To Sell ?

    Lets Hope He is Great , But Lets Not Get Too Excited Yet

    • Kay says:

      Inter Milan where not desperate to sell at all. Liverpool showed interest, inter Milan sold sneijder and where looking for a instant replacement. Paulinho was a target and in order to fund that move they needed to sell coutinho. Some clubs need to sell to buy, we should know that by now.

      • King Kenny II says:

        They May not Have Been ‘desperate’ To Sell , but He is Considered Expendable . Inter have Many Many assets , and Could Have Raised Money easily by Selling Others

        • Inter Milan sold Veira to Arsenal when he was 21 – they considered him expendable. They do make mistakes in the transfer market – they’re not infallible.

    • TaintlessRed says:

      1. Yes, Agreed, though they’re also all young and are about 5 years away from peak. However we need players who can perform now.
      2. Yes again, but none of them serious or lasting. Gerrard was riddled with injuries at the same age as his body was growing and getting used to top level football. Guillam Balague has said that the issues are minor and aren’t serious and Coutinho will benefit from a better management programme including diet.
      3. Very true. A worry of mine too. Juninho did well and Oscar has started well at Chelsea but can’t think of any others.
      4.

      • TaintlessRed says:

        Oops. 4. There have been a number of players who have struggled in Italy and have been wonderful in the Premier League. Arsenal for a start benefitted to the tune of Bergkamp and Henry.

  • TaintlessRed says:

    If we play with a no. 10 Suarez should play there. Coutinho will play wide left – which is where he played for Espanyol and for much if his time at inter. Direct competition for sterling. Although eutgr could play wide right.

    • Pal says:

      Mate, suarez played there at our last game, what happened? We lost to a League 1 team. I really think we should not play Luis there unless we have a strong DM and backline.

      • megaamindd says:

        suarez played well over there.. jones and coates and robinson were poor and cost us the match.. think before u speak !

      • TaintlessRed says:

        I believe Luis played pretty well there against Oldham. After Gerrard he was our best player. The problem was everyone else-a midfield that couldn’t maintain possession or compete physically, a young defence that was bullied easily and wide players who couldn’t get into the game.
        Luis played no. 10 versus Norwich, with Henderson left mid and Downing right mid and look what happened.
        However I do agree that if we aren’t playing Lucas & Gerrard then we need to be careful playing a number 10. We essentially started with a 424 system against Oldham, and the 2 in the middle were outmuscled and came up short.

  • sleeps with angels says:

    If the kid has two legs and can run and tackle without any fear,and maybe even have a bit of skill i will be happy,but looking at the spineless nancy boys that rodgers seems to like i wont hold my breath!

  • tony says:

    We will lose suarez as well and we will all cry again.
    we were in two finals last years FSG are not intrested in team soft spending sell before buying . We lost torres mascha Alonso arbeloa with gerrard and johnsone thats six world class players. What have we gained suarez and lost 4 from that list. how the hell are we getting better . owners living off sponsors dollars

    • Gaz says:

      Ok, you are blaming FSG for all of this, Masch, Alonso and Arbeloa weren’t sold in the FSG regime and Arbeloa can hardly be considered world class. In his position of defensive midfielder, Lucas is world class. The owners did their best to keep Torres, they bought Suarez to partner Torres, not to replace him. It was Torres’s choice to leave. Again, FSG are not to blame for that. What FSG are bringing back is stability. Unfortunately for plastic fans like you, it’s going to take time and patience for us to get back to where we should be, it’s not going to happen overnight. If you want that, go to Man City, but even at Man City, with all the cash they pumped in, that didn’t happen overnight either. So go to Chelsea, oh wait, they are falling apart right now, despite the millions Abramovich has pumped into the club. Fans like you are so fickle, you complain about the owners not spending money on the team and then when they do, you still complain. How about doing something really crazy and supporting the team. Liverpool have always been known for their 12th man at games, the fans, something which they have lost in recent times, thanks to people like you.

      • vasthav says:

        awesome mate, some people just don’t understand the game

      • Olsen says:

        Dreamer . Your living in fantasy world if you think FSG are here for the good of LFC . Liverpool are in the mess there in cos fans like you sit back and accept the rubbish tossed our way instead of trying to force change .

        LOL , to say Chelsea is falling apart is just idiotic jealousy

  • Jonas says:

    I see a lot of italian seria A , and i doubt if Coutinho can cut it in the premier .
    Perhaps a little too soft for physical teams

  • frank says:

    Let’s not jump into conclusion by saying that this lad doesn’t fit into playing in England. This was also said and grumbled about Lucas L and see what happened … he has developed into an indispensible centre-half … good all-round player. Welcome PC into LFC.

  • Jonathan says:

    Watching the video appears to be an exciting prospect. His ball play reminds me of Suarez. They could be great together. Time will tell.

  • Yama says:

    New Luis Garcia gonna be (hopefully).. 😉

    • TaintlessRed says:

      I hope not. We all love little Luis because of his impact getting us to Istanbul but he was incredibly inconsistent and frustrating at times. The boy is likely to be inconsistent at the beginning but I hope he can have an instant impact with his ability and become more consistent in the next couple of years.
      I also hope he’s up for the fight and doesn’t roll around like a young Ronaldo or a di Maria.

  • Kingsley egbe says:

    The deal is not official yet so what’s the excitment all about

  • vasthav says:

    interesting signing , now probably Brenden Rogers will have the much required in the midfield

  • vasthav says:

    I mean much required flexibility

  • peter says:

    I will like to appeal to the fans to b percent with the team and the management bcos if you look at the buys there are all feature player so let not have too much expectation now,let judge the in 2 seasons if they did not rule EPL or even Europe then they have fail

  • Olsen says:

    Decent player – not top class though

  • pat says:

    another soft slight player , rodgers is turning us into a team of nonces

  • El nino says:

    I believe he’ll play in melwood

  • Jim says:

    What the hell is everyone going on about light/small players, nonces and all the rest of it. Can I just remind everyone the world and european champions are spain all small mobile players. The best player in the world is Messi, small.

    Lots of people said Matta, Silva etc wouldn’t cut it in the premier league, but guess what they did. The days of wanting the premier league to be about hatchet men who chop down skillful players down are dead.

    Stop bloody moaning and get behind the kid, and more to the point Rodgers and FSG. For whether you like it or not, they are our owners and he is our manager. They have a clear ethos, which a lot of people do buy into.

    If you don’t like it go support PSG, City or Chelski or just get your white hankies out and make us look like other fickle football supporters, not LFC

    YNWA

    • finn says:

      Yes everyone should give him a chance , but this is the English premier , we need strength to compete

      And only a Manc or Evertonian would support Rodgers – they are the only people i know who DONT want him to be sacked because he is doing a crap job

      • pep says:

        well said Finn . My Manc co-workers all love Rodgers and want us to keep him

        • Jim says:

          I remember the Summer transfer window when everyone bashed ‘tight FSG and slow Rogers’ when we battled Spurs for Sigurdsson and he eventually cost them £8m. We were patient and now we’re getting Coutinho for a mere £8.5m. Same again with Dempsey and now we have Sturridge.

          This kid kept Lucus out of the starting lineup of that 2010 youth cup winning team(Lucus just went for 40M Euros). He may not be the finished article right now but I know who’d I would rather we sign given the choices.

        • danny says:

          Patient my ass , Jim . Its called incompetence !

    • tommy says:

      well said jim , love it , moan = negitive , the so-called best supporters in the uk , do nothing but slag,moan and whinge , this brazilian lad’s getting stick and he aint had the lfc shirt on YET , jesus christ , i hope he dont break wind on the pitch , he’ll be facing the death squad ! get behind the club the team too stop pick out individuals for whipping boy’s real liverpool supporters dont whinge and moan or slag their club off ,

  • Ray says:

    Well said Jim…his only 20! Give him time to shine!!!!!

  • Wezi says:

    Is he the knew Xabi Alonso? Lets wait and see.

  • 6zone says:

    one thing which is buggng is that big club like inter milan don’t sell decent player….i mean it….

    • Inter Milan sold Veira to Arsenal when he was 21. They do make mistakes. This kid has talent but just maybe they realise that he’s not right for Inter or Italy.

      • pep says:

        Sure … Inter r making big mistake .. dream on , they are not stupid ( but Rodgers is)

        • Why are you labouring under the misapprehension that Inter could never make a stupid decision? Why are they unable to make a mistake? How are they so infallible in your eyes? Why is Rogers stupid?
          I don’t see any arguement here from you. Just more negativity from a fair-weather fan.
          This is a case of a player not fitting into their plans as he’s a) not made for Inter’s style of play, or b) not made for Italian football. His game at Espanyol was awesome. His game in Brazil was awesome. Give him a chance before shooting him down – actually; don’t! |Just go and support Chavski or City instead.

        • pep says:

          everytime liverpool sign anyone , idiot fans think the player is fantastic before he even kicks a ball

          calm down wait and see . you were probably saying how wonderful Allen and Borini and Assaidi were too .And dont pretend you saw him play at Espanol – u are judging him off youtube like most of the muppets here

          Are you sure your not better going off to support chel or city , then you can carried away all u like .

        • I’ve never said he’s fantastic, I said this kid has talent – you need to learn to read ….and spell. All I’m saying is give him a chance – don’t shoot him down before he’s even put the shirt on. What kind of fan would do that?!?!
          And actually, I do think Allen is a good footballer, he’s had a few dodgy games as of late, but he’s a talented footballer who will come good – he’s only 22 give him time (remember what Lucas was like at that age?). As for Borini or Assaidi I knew nothing about them before they joined us and therefore didn’t have an opinion. But what I didn’t do was shoot them down before they’d have a chance.
          Also, I did see Coutinho at Espanyol and not on YouTube. I saw his debut against Real Zaragoza, which wasn’t much to write home about, he played much better against Real Madrid a few weeks later and even better at Racing Santander.

        • Tommy says:

          Your a clown and a fool Bepe – saying Allen has had few dodgy games of late LOL – try watching all the matches . Allen is woeful , has been all season ,contributed and produced nothing all season

          You cant compare Lucas to Allen thats ridiculous . Lucas came at 19 was from different country , different culture , wasnt used to english football , and actually by 21 he was doing quite well for Liverpool . Allen is a joke and you dont have a clue

        • Tommy, why bother insulting? It just shows you to be as unintelligent as your email reads. I have watched all the matches; he started off well and was MOTM in 3 of his first 5 games. He has gone off the pace recently (over the last half of his season) but he’s not woeful or a joke. He’ll come good.
          And yes you can compare Allen to Lucas, you can compare anything to anything – that’s what a comparison is!!! It doesn’t matter if they’ve come from different countries.
          Lucas was finding his way in English football; he was also having to find his way in a different position and a different team. Just like Allen, he’s finding his feet in a different team and different position. He had to play defensive midfielder earlier on and now he’s getting moved back and he’s no longer the central focus of midfield like he was at Swansea, that’ll take some getting used to for someone with his lack of experience.
          I think it’s yourself who doesn’t have a clue – just like all the negative fans on here who aren’t prepared to give people in their team a chance. It’s a truly depressing state of affairs. You’ll never walk alone eh? Well, young players who don’t perform 100% every single game will as long as there are fans like you.

        • tommy says:

          Its difficult not to be insulting to someone as ignorant and biased as u

          3 out of 5 MOMs for Allen – lol, thats so preposterous its just showing how clueless you are . ALL Allen ever does is pass 5 yards backwards and never had a really good game for LFC

          really ? ‘ someone with his lack of experience ‘ ??????????? – Are you that uneducated ? Allen is nearly 23 , in his 6th full season in english football with nearly 200 apps and a regular international . Kop on lad

          Maybe your not getting the full picture by watching MOTD highlights . Maybe you should go support Arsenal or whoever your local team is

      • TaintlessRed says:

        Very true Bepe. Arsenal also benefited by getting Bergkamp and Henry from Italy where they hadn’t succeeded. My biggest worry though is that Brazilians have had a mixed time of it in the Prem and Coutinho doesnt look like he’ll be physically ready for it yet. However I’m still excited by the signing and am looking forward to watch him play.

        • Agreed, there haven’t been many that have come over and been instant successes. However there haven’t been that many that have come over and those that have haven’t been from the exceptional pile (Naymar, Ronaldo, Ronaldinhio, Kaka etc), they’ve been more from the average or Pi55 poor pile (Emerson, Anderson, Gomes, Doni, Wellington Paulista etc). I’m open to see how he develops with us, he has obvious talent and could be a great player (he’s still only 20) – or he could be a magnificent flop. I’ll support him though – I just hope that others do too!

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