7 - Philippe Coutinho - V1

[BarcaJack]

Opinion from me ("The Coutinho hater") the good performance from Coutinho rather shows what a lack of creativity from our midfield. BTW Villa was an instant fit. Fabregas also had his honey moon. Too early to tell.
But it seems he won't be a flop. A great relief for our 160 mil euroes.

 

[vlad]

Great thing will be when barca will defend CL title next year, they will have coutinho who will not need time to adapt because he is doing this now.

 

[ATLBarcaFan]

He just looks like he was meant to wear the Barca shirt. Thought he looked real good for his first time in the team. Can't wait for him to hit one of his patented long range goals.

 

[Windhook]

Good first game, but I know he can do even better. It was his debut anyway, I think he was little nervous, trying more to please the crowd instead of playing his natural game. This time will come. For now I'll admit I love his first touch, the ball sticks like glue to his boot.

 

[RMU ReBorn]

There have been some incredible players to join this team in the last few years. Villa, Neymar, Suarez top my list. But not even these legends have instantly looked like they belonged the way Coutinho did yesterday.

The only team that comes close to the individual ball skills of Barca is the Brazil national team. Even by those lofty standards, this young man stands out. Of course, I love Iniesta, and I love Neymar. It's hard for me to say it, but Coutinho has near Iniesta-level skills receiving the ball, but he clearly is much more likely to instantly begin an effective attack. Coutinho seems to have close to Neymar-level ability to dribble around/through defenders, and close to the Neymar-level aggression level, without the excessive ego, and less likely to try the impossible. It seems like his eyes are always up, looking for his teammates. As he gets used to them and vice versa, he is going to be devastating.

I was wondering if he would be more of a forward or a midfielder, question answered. He is going to be one of the front middle guys in the midfield of the 4-4-2. I don't know if he will move ahead of Iniesta or Rak, but Coutinho will be in the first 11. Barca only needs two forwards, and it is not possible to improve on the current staffing of those two positions.

Snake Jr , Legend ? . may be a Santos legend .

 

[Pepe Silvia]

Already feels like he's integrated. His footballing brain is level genius, based on his sound fundamentals. He is amazing. My favorite EPL player is officially Blaugrana. Incredible.

 

[RMU ReBorn]

I can't wait for him to have a run of two poor games, just to come back in here and read the comments.

Bitchino , Fraud , Moneymar's secret agent etc etc and most importantly morphed images insulting him . This thread would be fun to read . Oh not to forget cliche Rant's like " He is simply not of Barca quality"

 

[Pepe Silvia]

On the other hand, teammates ignored new kids Dembele and Semedo in some matches.

I mean, I hear what you're saying and you're right but we need to treat Dembele as a different case altogether. One is an established superstar the other is a blossoming gem, a diamond in the rough. Here at Barca we have little patience to nurture these new talents. We need to get better. We brought Ousmane to bring something different, in the same vein as Paulinho. We weren't looking for him to be a tiki taka guy, he never shows that. He has great explosiveness and a knack for finding gaps to exploit in the defense. He poses threats similar to Cristiano just with his ability to run at defenders at speed. He will improve, but we can't expect him to be Xavi with ball control and tempo, Iniesta with footballing brain or Messi with finishing. It's a different case guys. Let's give this kid a solid chance. He is incredible.

 

[Blaugranaa]

I agree with all of you and I have no doubts that he's the perfect match. I will however remind you that Espanyol were in a situation where they had to go all-in offensively. Add to this the tiredness of the opponents Coutinho faced. I know this doesn't neglect the talent Coutinho obviously is, but this lead to extra space for him to perform that well. He will be challenged differently when the opponents are more fresh and are parking the bus. But I'm sure he will overcome these challenges with same delightful "ease" as yesterday.

 

[Trickykid]

I think I'm in love with this guy. 25 mins was all it took...

 

[Djab]

What a debut
Expecting him to start against Dep Alaves

 

[PhilS]

As a sub, he is going to be devastating. After the starters wear out the defense, Coutinho will come in for the last half hour, just go right around the tired defenders. I think he can sub at either forward or midfield. No one can be a Messi replacement, but Coutinho has to be first choice to give Messi a break late in games. Bring him in off the bench, or replace Coutinho in midfield as Coutinho replaces Messi up front.

 

[BigBarcaBoy]

As a sub, he is going to be devastating. After the starters wear out the defense, Coutinho will come in for the last half hour, just go right around the tired defenders. I think he can sub at either forward or midfield. No one can be a Messi replacement, but Coutinho has to be first choice to give Messi a break late in games. Bring him in off the bench, or replace Coutinho in midfield as Coutinho replaces Messi up front.

Really ? A sub ?

 

[Pepe Silvia]

As a sub, he is going to be devastating. After the starters wear out the defense, Coutinho will come in for the last half hour, just go right around the tired defenders. I think he can sub at either forward or midfield. No one can be a Messi replacement, but Coutinho has to be first choice to give Messi a break late in games. Bring him in off the bench, or replace Coutinho in midfield as Coutinho replaces Messi up front.

LOL I think you have it in reverse dude. Coutinho may sub in the beginning to get his feet wet, but make no mistake, he is a shoe in starter at Barca. It's Iniesta who will come in as a sub long term and start mostly important matches. That's how I see it anyway.

 

[BigBarcaBoy]

Surprised by how many people are surprised, he is coming off the back off the best spell of his career