Is Coutinho the missing piece of the Brazilian jigsaw?

I, like most have been enthralled by the wonderful football on show at this World Cup; be it the way Robben and Holland ripped the reigning world and European champions to shreds, to the way the Swiss rallied to turn around their opening game and score a dramatic last minute winner against Ecuador. However I can’t help but find myself somewhat disappointed when I’ve watched Brazil. I have been told so many times about how the Brazilians play wonderful, fluid, skilful football that is unique to this infamous Samba nation however in their first game against Croatia, the difference maker was the referee and against Mexico there was nothing between them.

Is this really the best Brazil can offer? Personally I don’t think so.

Now don’t get me wrong, Brazil have some wonderfully gifted players. I have been mightily impressed by Neymar for example, especially having seen him struggle this season in his debut season in La Liga. However I can’t help but feel that Scolari has made a huge mistake in not taking our very own Philippe Coutinho. I know it’s very easy to get drawn into thinking every Liverpool player is brilliant and should be at the world cup for their respective countries, however Coutinho has that bit of magic, that bit of magic I think Brazil have lacked so far this tournament.

If you review the stats then my suspicions may be true. The obvious comparison has to be with Oscar, as he ultimately has taken Coutinho’s place. Firstly assists. As a number 10, as both of them are, assists are key, if not the most important part to their game. Lots of footballers can pass accurately, however only the special few have the vision and ability to pull off a defence splitting pass.

Last season both players played 33 games in total, in those 33 games Oscar got 2 assists yet Coutinho made 7 assists. For me that is as clear as it can be about which player is the more creative. But then again there is goals scored. Despite assists being key to a number 10s game, a great number 10 scores goals as well. If you look at Kaka when he was at the peak of his powers, in the last brilliant Brazil side, he assisted and scored goals, which is what made him such a special player and key member.

Now Oscar actually scored more goals than Coutinho last season, 8 compared to 5 in fact. However it isn’t just the amount of goals you score, it’s the importance of those goals. Nearly all of Oscar’s goals last season came in games that were already won, such as the two he scored against Arsenal in the 6-0 thrashing. Whereas, Coutinho scored a number of very important goals. Every Liverpool fan will of course remember his fantastic winner against Man City, but he also scored a vital goal against Fulham at Craven Cottage. A game that Liverpool had to win to keep momentum, yet really struggled in, and Coutinho produced a bit of magic to claw us back into the game.

He also scored against Man City in the away fixture, a game that if it wasn’t for a poor linesman’s decision could have been very different and he would have started that off. You can certainly argue that with the exception of his well taken goal against Spurs, that all of his goals were very important to Liverpool’s season, whereas if you took away Oscar’s goals, Chelsea’s season and results would be very similar. Good players score goals. Brilliant players score important goals.

Now I didn’t want this to sound like me just slagging off Oscar, or even Scolari for not picking Coutinho, however having seen Brazil struggle to break through Mexico’s defence it did make me think that ‘the great Brazilian flair’ is lacking from this current team’s midfield especially, and that if they wanted a flair player, then Coutinho may be that man. I may be wrong and it may be just nerves and Brazil may get better as the competition goes on but we really won’t be able to tell how good this Brazil team is until they play against a more elite team, but all I know is if Brazil don’t improve, then Brazil’s loss is certainly our gain, as we will have a fully fresh number 10, with plenty of traditional Brazilian flair for the beginning of next the season.