Rodgers: Crowd-pleaser Coutinho is our brain

Liverpool’s Brazilian whizz-kid Philippe Coutinho is the master technician of the side, in fact he is “the brain” behind the team, according to Reds boss Brendan Rodgers.

 

Liverpool’s Brazilian whizz-kid Philippe Coutinho is the master technician of the side and “the brain” behind the team, according to his boss Brendan Rodgers.

The Reds’ No. 10 playmaker has been highly-acclaimed for his skill, anticipation and awareness by the northern Irish head coach following a convincingly-creative performance last night against Serie A side Roma in a pre-season friendly in the USA.

Although the Merseyside giants conceded a goal and failed to grab one back to level the game in their 1-0 defeat, the 22-year-old Brazilian shone with his technical mastery and Rodgers duly noted the fact he was behind almost each and every move made by the side throughout the game.

“Coutinho is the brain in our team, the continuity player,” Rodgers told reporters after the game.

“He is the one that gets the team ticking, gets the movement in front of the ball. He goes and gets on the ball.

“He’s a fantastic talent for such a young player and he’s still gaining his fitness.”

Coutinho joined Rodgers’ side in January from Inter Milan, where he had struggled to make an impact on the first team.  He fast-became a regular fixture of the Merseysiders’ all-star attack force and rapidly materialised into a fans’ favourite.

Rodgers described the Rio-born flair player as a ‘crowd-pleaser’ and said he possesses remarkable physical strength for a footballer who stands at just 1.72m tall.

“He makes the crowd get off their seat. For someone so small, he’s very tough and robust,” added the 41-year-old.

“He’s a wonderful technician that has a great idea, tactically, of the game.”