Rodgers BElieves Coutinho Can Be Their Star
The Liverpool boss, Brendan Rodgers, believes that Philippe Coutinho, the Brazil international, is a player with the X-factor and he can be the man for the Reds in the upcoming season.
Liverpool appears to be a slightly hampered unit after losing Luis Suarez to the Catalan club Barcelona earlier this summer, but, according to Rodgers, Coutinho can make up for Suarez’s absence.
Coutinho had played in the league regularly in the last season too for Liverpool and had made some game changing contributions, but, like many others, he was also overshadowed by Suarez who had ended up as the top scorer in the tournament.
But, with the Uruguayan not being the part of the club any more, Rodgers would be relying more on Coutinho this time around and the 22-year old playmaker has kicked off the summer promisingly enough to give confidence to his boss.
Rodgers was all praise for Coutinho after the pre season match against Borussia Dortmund the other day.
The Reds manager was quoted as saying, “Philippe is not behind may others in terms of skills, that’s for sure. What a player he is. Today, with the opposing team as good as that, the attitude that he showed was incredible. He is innovative on the pitch and he rarely gets panicky even if he’s in a difficult situation.”
“If you have a look at his first strike today, you would know what this guy can do. There is a big platform waiting for him. He will like to make a mark in the European Cup with everyone watching.”
Coutinho was an extremely surprising exclusion from the Brazilian World Cup squad. People close to him say that after being overlooked, he is fired up from inside and is keen to prove himself to the whole world.
Coutinho has so far made only one appearance for the Brazilian national side i.e. in 2010.