Not every Liverpool contract remains unsigned and gathering dust for months. In January Philippe Coutinho claimed he had not discussed extending a deal that still had three years remaining. In February he committed his future to the club until 2020. The exception is developing into the exceptional at Anfield.
There was a moment during Monday’s 2-0 win over Newcastle United that underlined the confidence coursing through the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year nominee at present. Gliding away from Tim Krul’s goal with three Newcastle players for company, Coutinho removed the trio from the equation with an outrageous backheel to Alberto Moreno inside the penalty area. The applause from Brendan Rodgers continued long after the attack had petered out.
Coutinho provides “that gold dust to how we play”, the Liverpool manager once said. Against Aston Villa in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final, it is only the pursuit of silverware that concerns the 22-year-old forward for whom – unlike Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson and Martin Skrtel, three players who commenced contract negotiations earlier but have not reached agreement – the future at Anfield is clear.
“Liverpool have always shown a great warmth to me so when they came to me with a proposal I did not need to think twice to renew the contract,” explains Coutinho. “I have always been looked after very well by this football club and I am very happy at this football club, so I didn’t even have to think about it.”
The contract brought financial rewards for the Brazilian’s impressive impact since joining for £8.5m from Internazionale in January 2013. It has also benefited the team’s prospects of FA Cup success and Champions League qualification, according to Rodgers, who cites long-term security as a psychological factor in Coutinho’s improvement since putting pen to paper. Liverpool’s No10 is more at ease with unlocking defences than individual praise, however.
“It is difficult for me to say that,” he says of Rodgers’ assessment. “I’d rather not talk about myself in terms of stepping up a level or things like that because I prefer to do my work during the week and then show my best in the game. Sometimes the game does not go for you no matter how much you try, but I do what I can and leave other people to their opinions on how I played.”
The collective opinion of the PFA was delivered emphatically this week when Coutinho was nominated for Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year. John Terry’s admission that he voted for a Liverpool rival was particularly well received. Coutinho admits: “I was really pleased when I heard that because it is coming from such a great player. It was wonderful.” And whom did he vote for? “I’m keeping that a secret,” he replies.
Statistics support the Liverpool manager’s theory. Coutinho had scored two goals in 31 games this season before signing the new contract; he has four in 14 since, including the winners en route to the semi-final in replays at Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers. For all the plaudits coming his way and his emergence as Liverpool’s key man, having initially struggled without Luis Suárez or Daniel Sturridge to target, he knows that tally has to improve.
He says: “The FA Cup has been good for me and I have scored some goals but I want to get better because I need to get better. Scoring goals is one of the things that I need to do better because a player in my position must do that. I want to achieve many other things but that is the main one.”
Is reaching Suárez’s level of creativity and menace for Liverpool another target? “I wouldn’t say I need to be like him because each player has their own way of playing,” Coutinho responds. “But I always try to improve. What Luis did for Barcelona against PSG the other night was amazing and it is incredible what he can do as a footballer. I want to get better.”
The Brazilian, back in the international fold after the disappointment of being overlooked for last summer’s World Cup on home soil, admits feeling “anxious and really honoured” about playing at Wembley for the first time in his career on Sunday. He is less enamoured of the expectation on Liverpool to beat a Villa team showing signs of recovery under Tim Sherwood. “It’s very difficult when people think we’re favourites,” he says. “Games like this are always difficult if you think like that. I know what people think but we have to play as well as we can to achieve what we want.”
Wembley represents one honour to Coutinho, the PFA nominations another. Being introduced to Pelé with his fellow star-struck Brazilian Lucas Leiva before Liverpool’s home defeat by Manchester United last month provides the hat-trick.
“We spoke with him just for a little bit,” recalls Pelé’s compatriot and fellow No10. “We did not ask many questions. He asked us what life was like over here and how things were. We asked him how was his flight. We did not have much time. I have never met him before, it was my first time and a great honour for me. I was a little bit nervous meeting him before the match. It is the ultimate honour because Pelé is Brazil’s greatest player and probably in the world. Meeting a person like that sends a shiver down your spine.
“Of course, I took a photograph with him and I’ll keep it with some of the other idols that I have. My main idol is Ronaldinho. He was the player I always wanted to watch wherever he was playing. I had a photograph taken with him when I was called into the national team when I was 17. I have always kept that and it is the photograph I treasure the most.”
Coutinho may be under contract for another five years and fulfilling the rich potential that prompted Internazionale to sign him from Vasco da Gama aged 16 but, as Liverpool know too well, failure to qualify for the Champions League can have major implications for a player’s career. Being in the competition was not enough to keep Suárez last summer and Rodgers’ team must overturn a four-point gap on Manchester City in the final six games to retain their place next season.
Fortunately for Liverpool, Coutinho appears to be an exception not only in terms of agreeing a new contract.
“My mind is at Liverpool, I’m a Liverpool player and I don’t think about not being in the Champions League because I am happy here and want to be here,” he states. “The season has not finished yet regarding the Champions League. There are still a few games to go, many things can happen, and we will try to finish the season on a high. Our aim is always to start the season thinking of winning titles and trophies. the Champions League is not mathematically out of reach and we’re in the semi-finals of a great competition. We will do our best to win the trophy. It matters a lot to us as a club.”
