The current level of soccer players is usually divided into Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the top level. Then at the bottom level there are players like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Eden Hazard, and Mohamed Salah.
Coutinho was on one level with Neymar and friends. The 27-year-old attacking midfielder and winger was once considered one of the best footballers in the world when he played for Liverpool.
However, the decision to leave Liverpool and join Barcelona in January 2018 changed Coutinho’s career. A brave decision full of risk.
At this point Coutinho could not resist the temptation of Barcelona. Playing with Messi, who is considered as The GOAT in the world of football, is not an opportunity that can come up to twice.
Usually there will be two outputs that will get star players bought by Barcelona or Real Madrid: Become expensive players who fail or succeed and become club legends. Coutinho (temporarily) gets the first output.
In just one and a half seasons strengthening Barcelona, Coutinho did achieve more success than five and a half seasons at Liverpool. At least in terms of degree. Coutinho won four titles with Barcelona, while at Anfield, The Little Magician was unable to taste the trophy.
But then Coutinho was loaned out to Bayern Munich in August 2019. A strange decision was taken by Barcelona. The Catalunya club lent the most expensive player in club history in just 1.5 seasons at Camp Nou.
What’s wrong with Coutinho at Barcelona? One thing for sure Coutinho turned into a player who displays the game ‘average’ at Camp Nou. Even though Coutinho is not an ‘average’ player.
That’s all because Coutinho failed to adapt to the new environment in Barcelona. Coutinho is like a cat trapped in the middle of a highway. Confusion and do not know where to go.
Coutinho’s condition is in line with the theory of Argentine veteran soccer coach Marcelo Bielsa. The 64-year-old coach thinks adaptation is the main key to the success of player transfers.
“You might see hundreds of videos of the player, investigating his injury, personal life, statistics. You can know everything about him. But there is one variable that cannot be controlled: How he adapts to new habitats.”
“It’s impossible to find out, because this is a new life, something new for everyone that we cannot analyze before the arrival of the player,” Bielsa said.
That theory fits Coutinho’s condition in Barcelona. Coutinho got freedom in playing while still at Liverpool. While in Barcelona, Coutinho got a new role from Ernesto Valverde which was difficult for him to do.
In the last season with Barcelona, Coutinho more often played as a left wing and several times as an attacking midfielder. However, the role of Coutinho’s left wing in Liverpool is different from that in Barcelona.
Coutinho does not have the same freedom as at Liverpool as a left winger. The only player who has that feature is Messi.
Finally Coutinho struggled more on the left side and supplied the ball, something that was not his habit. Coutinho, who is used to being a star at Liverpool, is now only in the shadow of Messi.
Valverde’s efforts to make Coutinho as an attacking midfielder also did not work. Coutinho is not very creative in building attacks and playing behind the striker. On paper, Ousmane Dembele is more useful than Coutinho with Barcelona’s scheme of play either when he was trained by Valverde or now with Quique Setien.
Coming out of the shadows of Messi seems to be the best way out for Coutinho. The offer to join Bayern Munich on loan for one season without thinking was accepted by the dropout Vasco da Gama.
The decision to join Munich is also not the right way out for Coutinho. Coach Hans-Dieter Flick only made Coutinho a second choice. Munich was reportedly unwilling to permanently contract Coutinho.
Being the only South American player in the Munich squad made it difficult for Coutinho to adapt to the German League. Coutinho is actually not too bad in Munich with a collection of 22 appearances in the Bundesliga, although only 15 of them started.
But, Munich management is not too impressed with Coutinho. Moreover, the high salary that Die Roten has to pay is only to pay players who often sit on the bench. Coutinho’s style of play did not suit Munchen, who was more rigid in applying the strategy.
Coutinho can still be experienced next season, because Barcelona will most likely not maintain it. Poor financial condition because the corona virus makes Barcelona prefer to sell Coutinho.
Barcelona still has a debt of 75 million euros in Coutinho’s money transfers which are paid in installments to Liverpool. Now Barcelona is rumored to want to sell Coutinho at least 80 million euros. Unfortunately, Barcelona had a hard time finding a Coutinho buyer for 80 million euros before the corona virus outbreak appeared.
Returning to England with Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur made a reasonable choice for Coutinho. The English league is by far the best habitat for Coutinho.
The question that then must be answered by Barcelona is can they look for a club that wants to spend 80 million euros in the midst of the financial crisis because of the corona virus to buy Coutinho? If not, Coutinho’s career will be back in a straightforward position.
