Coutinho: Now or Never
The Brazilian midfielder is set to return to first team action against Getafe, after 8 months sidelined with two separate injuries
"I'm counting on him. For mi, [Philippe] can be an important player for Barça. He played some matches at the start of last season before suffering an injury, which has taken longer than we had expected for him to recover from".
Ronald Koeman has been keeping a close eye on Coutinho's performances in training for some weeks now. He has always had faith in the player, so this isn't anything new. His belief in the Brazilian is perhaps so great because the teams that he coached in the Premier League came up against 'Cou' at the peak of his powers. Koeman now dreams of bringing him back to this level.
Coutinho is expected to be called up to the first team squad for this weekend's game against Getafe. Koeman said "He's an important player because he is effective and he is able to play in various positions. We need players like this. With [the departure of] Messi, we have lost lots of goals, and now we need to find them elsewhere in the squad".
Koeman was key in getting Coutinho to stay at Barça last summer. After calling him in pre-season and persuading him to stay, the Brazilian began the season in the starting line up. Coutinho had bulked up during the off-season and looked like a different player - both physically and mentally - to the one who had largely disappointed prior to his loan move to Bayern Munich.
On his positive start to last season, Koeman said "The reason is simple: he's a very good player. He learned a lot in England, and he learned a lot [during his loan spell] at Bayern Munich in terms of work rate. In order to get the best out of your players, you need to find their best position". This was Coutinho's main problem when he joined Barcelona. He was signed as a replacement for Andrés Iniesta, but he ended up playing out on the left hand side. He wasn't given the freedom that he was granted at Liverpool, and the presence of Messi also conditioned what he was able to do on the pitch.
A blistering start
After signing in January 2018, Coutinho scored 10 goals and laid on 6 assists in 22 matches. However, his second season was largely disappointing, with only 11 goals and 5 assists in 54 games. During this time, he was playing with the pressure of being Barcelona's most expensive player of all time, having signed for €120 million + €40 million in add-ons.
He spent the third season of his Barcelona contract on loan at Bayern Munich. During his time in Germany, he was not a guaranteed starter but he still recorded good numbers: 11 goals and 9 assists in 37 games. Koeman got in touch with him at the end of the season, wanting to play him in his natural '10' position in a 4231. However, after a promising start he was ruled out for a month with an unfortunate muscle injury.
In December 2020, Coutinho said in an interview "I know I haven't lived up to expectations. I have worked really hard to become mentally stronger, and now I am in a much better place than I was before". Just weeks later, Coutinho would summer a meniscus injury that would rule him out for the rest of the season and require him to undergo surgery twice.
Having now recovered from his injury, the Brazilian is keen to take his fourth opportunity at FC Barcelona. While the fans still have their doubts, he knows that he has the trust of his manager.
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