Koeman still has faith in Coutinho
The Dutch coach believes that a fit and motivated 'Cou' could be a dangerous weapon when played in the right position
When Ronald Koeman first took the reins at FC Barcelona, fans were left surprised by his unwavering belief in two players. One was Pedri and the other was Philippe Coutinho, with the latter scoring twice against Barcelona in the side's 8-2 loss against Bayern Munich in the Champions League just weeks earlier.
The Dutch coach was impressed by Coutinho's technical quality from day 1, and spoke to the player to convince him to stay at Barça.
He told him to believe in himself, to be brave on the pitch and to take the step forward that all Barcelona fans have been waiting for him to take. Koeman wanted him to dominate the game and to be ambitious on the ball.
Coutinho started ten of Koeman's first 14 games, including fixtures against Villarreal, Sevilla and Real Madrid. Upon making his sixth consecutive league start on 29 December 2020 (against Eibar), he suffered an injury 25 minutes into the game.
He had suffered a ruptured meniscus. As he nears the end of a lengthy layoff, Koeman still believes that a fit and motivated 'Cou' can be a dangerous weapon when played in the right position.
Topics with the letter
