Four years ago, Coutinho, who had recovered from a "back injury" overnight, came to Camp Nou with great enthusiasm. In any case, he would never have imagined that the next 4 years would go all the way to the tops and downs, and finally he would disappear into the crowd. Now the Brazilian little magician has returned to the familiar Premier League stage, even if it is no longer the familiar red temple, but still has the warm embrace of the Liverpool captain.
01. "Back injury" heals and lands at Camp Nou: Coutinho got off to a beautiful start
In order to come to Barcelona, Coutinho made too many efforts. From the "back injury" missing Liverpool's Champions League qualification matches, to the return to the Brazilian national team to resurrect in situ, this more or less finally pushed the completion of the transfer. When he "healed" from injury and appeared happily at Camp Nou, he probably wouldn't have imagined that the next 4 years would be so difficult.
Statistics show that Coutinho played at a high level in the first half of the season after coming to Barca in January 2018. Contributing 8 goals and 5 assists in 1304 minutes in La Liga and playing almost every 100 minutes directly with one goal, this season (including the first half of liverpool) was also the peak of Coutinho's career.
In the World Cup, Coutinho helped the Brazilian national team score the first goal, and also assisted in the knockout rounds. After not wanting to return to Barca, he found that he did not play as easily as he had played in the first six months.
Messi was absent from injury early in the season, and Coutinho opened the scoring of the national derby against Real Madrid, helping Barca score the first goal of the game and becoming one of the contributors to the 5-1 victory of the Red and Blues.
However, more and more opponents are beginning to understand Coutinho's superiority and getting rid of habits, and the La Liga defender's foot precision is far better than that of the Premier League, which makes Coutinho, who is known for his flexibility and technical ability, gradually lost in the Iberian Peninsula.
Playing time doubled in La Liga in the second season, but the stats dropped to 5 goals and 2 assists, and Coutinho could even hear camp Nou boos. He was so strong that after scoring two consecutive goals in the Champions League knockout rounds, Coutinho responded to the fans by covering his ears at Camp Nou, which became one of the reasons for his future attacks.
Coutinho explained this action in particular: "I respect everyone, but there are a lot of people in the media who have not respected me. They questioned my performance on the pitch, how serious I was to play and train, and a lot of times I had to plug my ears to focus on the game, and it was like a release. ”
As a result, the 4-0 game at Anfield was reversed, and Coutinho, facing his old club, was one of the worst players, which also made him a sinner out of the team. Coupled with previous insults to fans at Camp Nou, Coutinho was decisively rented out by Barca in the summer.
02. Return with a triple crown and 4 kg of muscle: a serious injury that left him with only one home
Coming to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, Coutinho, who once won the starting position under Kovac, gradually became a rotation option after Frick took office.
Although a single season of 11 goals and 9 assists seems to be good, Bayern are not so satisfied with his performance and have not hesitated to give up their right to buy him.
Coutinho's brightest moment that season was precisely when he faced Barca in the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League. Coutinho, who came off the bench at the time, contributed 2 goals and 1 assist, witnessing the most painful Champions League defeat in Barca's history.
With the glory of the Treble, Coutinho once again came to Camp Nou with confidence. After scoring against Barca, Coutinho chose not to celebrate, knowing clearly that his future is still red and blue.
Barca fans see Coutinho again, and one of the most intuitive feelings is that he has become stronger. During this year at Bayern, he gained 10 pounds, 8 of which were muscle!
Barca's new manager Koeman had high hopes for Coutinho and did play well in the start of the season. First assisted Fati to score, then scored his first goal since his return in a strong dialogue against Sevilla in the third round of La Liga to help Barca equalize.
When the injury struck, Coutinho fell to the ground without confrontation, and was subsequently diagnosed with a serious meniscus injury and had to choose surgery to remove it. This injury was fatal to his career, and Coutinho, who had been trying to make himself retrograde from the downhill road, gradually disappeared from the crowd.
03. Returning from injury is strange: he is completely invisible, and he is back in the arms of the Liverpool captain
This injury left Coutinho missing almost a year. By the time he returned, he hadn't even had access to the summer transfer window. Barca no longer has a place in his plans. The Red and Blues, who prefer to train The young men of La Masia, no longer expect Coutinho's performance.
After almost a year out, Coutinho needed time to adjust, but he found himself slowly becoming strangers. Even in the match against Betis, Coutinho, who won 7 of the 13 one-on-one confrontations and tried all four times successfully, still exposed the irreversible decline in his physical fitness.
As you can see from the broadcast footage, this time Coutinho's crotch pass is very exciting, but he entered the box and then crossed the goal to shoot, but failed to kick the right part. Despite some foul play behind the opponents, it has become the norm for Coutinho to be unstable when he finally makes his buck.
You can't deny that he worked the pitch, this time Coutinho's no-ball movement after cutting the ball was wonderful, but unfortunately the last shot in front of the goal was still insufficient.
As an attacker, Coutinho ultimately needs a good body to give himself strength in the final shot. The once iconic "cloud-piercing arrow" is to rely on the combination of technology and physical explosive power to play a very sudden burst.
If last time he rented out, Coutinho was able to get the favor of top giants like Bayern Munich. After returning from Bayern, there are also Premier League BIG6 chases such as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, so this time there are not many options left for him.
When Villa extended an olive branch, Coutinho even voluntarily gave up a part of his salary and cut his salary to return to the Premier League.
Coutinho also dreamed of sending this inside-cut shot into the net again, but he really couldn't do it in La Liga now. Even if the action is still as dexterous as it was then, the strength and angle of the shot are far from the level of the past.
Fortunately, in the Premier League, there are people who are willing to believe him. Former Liverpool captain Gerrard, he has always regarded Coutinho as a top genius. This time he did not hesitate to bring the Brazilian back to the Premier League, also hoping to find the "little magician" of the past.
On Gerrard's tactical board, the team used a 433 or 4312 formation, and the original use of the former Norwich core Buendia in the forward/side forward position was generally effective. The stats of 1 goal and 3 assists after half a season are also unsatisfactory. Coutinho is likely to take his place when he joins the squad, becoming a source of offensive creativity behind the striker, while also gaining a certain amount of space to shoot inside.
epilogue:
In the past 4 years, Coutinho has "retrograde" step by step, allowing himself to go from the peak of his career to mediocrity and obscurity. This return to the Premier League may be his last chance. Can Coutinho, who still has a Dream of the World Cup in his heart, grasp it? Both Villa fans and Barca fans hope that he can succeed, so that this summer's transfer to the Premier League is a happy result for everyone.