When the young Brazilian prodigy, Philippe Coutinho, was still addicted to his long curly hair and his face of a 17-year-old teenager highly indicated that problems with pimples were frequently part of his life, in 2010, Philipinho - this is how his family calls him - was already well-known in Brazil alongside former Santos star Neymar. He was one of the most talented young football players that the South American nation had produced back then.
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In September 2009, Coutinho was handed his first opportunity of playing for the first-team at Vasco da Gama, in Rio de Janeiro. Because of his brilliant performances, while he was working under Renato Gaúcho, Philipinho ended up being sold by the Cruzmaltinos to the Italian side Inter Milan, in July 2010.
It is very easy to remember that as soon as Vasco da Gama revealed that they had agreed to sell their most promising player to Europe, the entire Brazilian sports media began to harshly criticize the Brazilian club and also the player’s attitude as the journalists understood that the perfect moment to let Coutinho go was still to come.
The midfield prodigy certainly left his home country too early, as he was still very young, immature and not prepared yet, both as a man and as an athlete to take off toward the European football.
In the end, when Coutinho arrived in Italy and started playing his first minutes for Inter Milan, a few days after turning only 18, it turned out that the Brazilian media was correct by saying that both player and the club had chosen the wrong occasion to make the move from Brazil to Italy. In his first months in Europe, Coutinho suffered first hand for being inserted into a very different culture and for living in a place where he was not familiar with at all.
He actually should have slowed down his desire of going abroad in order to get ready a bit more before facing that demanding challenge.
Coutinho’s terrible start at Inter Milan
Coutinho’s first steps in Milan were a disaster, something very different from those fantastic displays we used to see from him while he was wearing Vasco da Gama’s shirt in Brazil. In his first season at Internazionale, Coutinho missed 13 matches just because of injury.
Taking into account that the Brazilian playmaker played in all competitions for the Italian side in his first season in Italy, Coutinho walked out onto the pitch only 20 times, scoring a single goal and helping with just one assist.
These “achievements” were too far away from what the young player who used to be seen in Brazil as a star only aged 16 could accomplish.
Things get better for Coutinho after move to Spain
If Coutinho had been told he would have a smooth experience during his spell at a Spanish side, he would certainly never have considered heading off to Italy first. His bad luck vanished all of a sudden when Inter allowed him to be loaned to Spanish side Espanyol for an initial period of six months.
At the new club, the Brazilian midfielder played fantastically well, had his name glowing in the spotlight and ended up being nominated by UEFA as one of the Top 10 Young Foreign talent playing in La Liga.
“Playing frequently for a few months has been fundamental for me. I have gained more speed and I came back (to Italy) physically better, too. I am another player now.”
That’s what Coutinho said to Italian newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport, in 2012, after returning to Inter Milan. In his second spell at the Italian giants, the former Vasco da Gama midfielder had a few chances of playing for the first team and netted a few goals.
Coutinho’s destiny, however, had already been taken to another direction – and this route actually turned out to be the best one for himself and his family.
In England, Coutinho quickly became an idol
In January 2013, English giants Liverpool bought Coutinho from Inter Milan. From that moment on, the Brazilian midfielder has gone on to become an international football icon and has much-needed experience and knowledge which is required to survive in a country where things work differently from the place where he was born.
There is no doubt that today Coutinho is amongst the most prolific players in world football.
Wearing the number 10 shirt at Liverpool, the player dubbed “Little Phil” made his debut for the English club with the right foot in 2012/13 season. Coutinho may not score a lot of goals or be the kind of player who assists better than anyone nowadays – like Mesut Özil does at Arsenal. But the key role that the 23-year-old midfielder plays today is very important.
He is pretty fast on the pitch, makes moves wisely on both flanks and comes back to the middle to pick the ball and distribute the game by himself. Besides that, Coutinho has got plenty of quality to execute driven long-range shots.
Philipinho is, therefore, a young Brazilian player who unfortunately did not succeed in Italy, but he turned things around by playing very well in Spain. And now he is an idol in England, an idol at Liverpool and a big Brazilian football idol as well.
