After a poor couple years, Philippe Coutinho seems to be back at his best under the guidance of former captain Steven Gerrard.
On the 6th of January 2018, Liverpool announced they had came to an agreement with Spanish giants Barcelona for the £105 million sale of star player Philippe Coutinho. The Brazillian, who’s first half of the season had placed him as one of the best players in Europe at the time, has seen his career rapidly decline since then.
After a good first 6 months, Coutinho’s first full season for the Blaugrana was a major disappointment at best. In 34 appearances at the Camp Nou, the attacking midfielder only registered 5 goals and 2 assists in La Liga; a way off the form you would expect off one of the 5 most expensive football players of all time.
A loan to Bayern Munich followed the next season – and despite a Champions League medal, he failed to kick on upon his return to Spain. We saw him struggle for game time in the first half of the following season – before a knee injury against Eibar saw Philippe miss out on the rest of the season.
With what can only be described as a tumultuous time in Spain, the Brazillian’s career seemed all but over. There was still another chance, however. On November 11th 2021, Aston Villa appointed former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard as the club’s new head coach until 2025. Upon the opening of the next transfer window, Barcelona received a loan offer for Coutinho from former Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard. Coutinho and Gerrard had played together previously at Liverpool, with the two being integral parts of the team that had almost won the Premier League in 2014.
Looking to revitalise his career, the Brazillian joined Aston Villa on loan on the 7th of January 2022. In his first interview in claret and blue, he said that: “For me, it’s a pleasure to be here.”
Instantly a fan favourite, he made his Aston Villa debut against Manchester United. With 22 minutes remaining when he came on, his new team were losing 2-0. Gerrard deployed him in the middle of the park – behind Danny Ings and in front of Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz, with Aston Villa moving to a 4-3-3 system. After just 10 minutes, he had picked up the ball in the Manchester United box, where he created the goal that brought Aston Villa back into the game – forcing a tackle by Fred which found hometown hero Jacob Ramsey. Just 2 minutes later, Ramsey returned the favour. The 20-year-old saw some space at the edge of the 6-yard-box, and played the ball across to where it met the path of Philippe Coutinho. Coutinho slotted it into the bottom corner from close range and sent Villa Park into pandemonium. The game ended in a 2-2 draw thanks to a sublime performance from the Holte End’s new hero.
After the game, a video went viral on twitter of a new song for Aston Villa’s star man containing the lyrics:
He went to Barca, he won the league in Spain,
He went to Munich, he did the same again,
He’s f**king magic, and don’t you f**king know,
His name’s Philippe, Philippe Coutinho
At the next game, away at Goodison Park, Coutinho was rewarded with his first start, which subsequently was met with multiple renditions of the new chant from the Aston Villa away end. After a 1-0 win to Steven Gerrard’s men, the Brazillian was serenaded off the pitch with his new song.
Football journalist Fabrizio Romano said after this match, “People close to Philippe Coutinho have said they have never seen him as happy & ready to fight as they see him now [at Aston Villa].” Coutinho and the Aston Villa faithful have seemingly mutually fallen in love, which has been rewarded by amazing performances and more love between eachother.
Following a call up for Brazil, Coutinho scored a wonderstrike in the World Cup Qualifiers against Paraguay – his first Brazil goal since 2020. Upon his return to England, Coutinho picked up right where he left off. Steven Gerrard rewarded Coutinho with his first start for Aston Villa, in a 3-3 draw against Leeds United, in which the 29-year-old showed he’s still as good as ever. After going 1-0 down early on, Coutinho equalised for Villa, with a lovely finish finding the back of the net. After this, to thank Ramsey for his assist in the last game at Villa Park, Coutinho made an unbelievable pass from the halfway line to find the feet of Ramsey, who finished nicely and put Aston Villa in the lead. 5 minutes later he did the same again, although this time taking the ball to the edge of the Leeds United box and laying it off for the Villa youngster to send it flying into the top corner, making it 1 goal and 2 assists in just a half of football.
Steven Gerrard is showing himself to be a top manager, and with his close relationship to Coutinho, along with his fantastic man management, it is no surprise at all that he is getting the best out of one of the most gifted footballers of this generation.
It’s only been 3 games since Coutinho moved to B6, but all signs point towards a success story for his return to the Premier League. I get the feeling that the best is yet to come for the Brazillian.