Verdu: Coutinho's a crack, he has everything to succeed at Barça
The midfielder remembers the Brazilian fondly
Coutinho returns to Espanyol on Sunday
Ahead of Philippe Coutinho's return to Espanyol on Sunday, SPORT have spoken to his former teammate Joan Verdu, who now plays in China.
The two players played alongside each other at Cornella-El Prat when Coutinho was on loan at the Catalan club from Inter Milan.
It will be Coutinho's first game back at Cornella-El Prat. When you played with him at Espanyol, did you imagine he'd go so far?
He was only 19 but he was showing back then he had something different. You could tell. His career's gone from strength to strength and now he's at Barcelona with the world's best.
What do you remember about him?
I remember he was quite introverted, that he was coming to a new place and he wasn't the typical Brazilian [character]. He had a good season at Espanyol and I think he will have good memories from that time of his career.
Will he adapt quickly at Barça?
He is a great player, not to mention one of the game's top cracks. At that level, players adapt quickly. He knows elite football, he knows the city and he will integrate easily and adapt to Valverde's system.
You two had a good relationship on the pitch...
It's true we shared a lot together. I am delighted to have met him and to have played with someone of that level.
You were involved with one of his famous Espanyol goals, the one under the wall at Malaga...
Yes, I remember what we spoke about. He told me: "I'm going to shoot under the wall." And he did. It was fantastic.
With what you saw then and since, will he succeed at Camp Nou?
Philippe's one of the best players in the world and has the quality to be a success at Barça, of course, but there are always factors which are difficult to predict. But I think he will be a success because he has it all. He is a complete player, technically really good, can shoot with both feet and is in great shape physically.
