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Futbol Update
PurpleJ
Member Posts: 37,268 
Liverpool FC won their 4th European Super Cup today.
I will wait for @BennyBeaver to google what that is, since Man City has never qualified for one.
I will wait for @BennyBeaver to google what that is, since Man City has never qualified for one.
Comments
I also have some other opinions on the subject, so here they are.
1. The transfer to Barca tore my heart out as a Liverpool fan.
Six months before the 18 cup, Coutinho signed a long term deal and said he was committed to us for the future. He loved Liverpool. Cool fucking city. Then he plays well at the cup, and suddenly Barca is interested and now they have always been his dream club. Huh? So he tries to force a move. Suddenly his back hurts and he misses training. Now he is a snake and most supporters will not forgive that kind of betrayal. I will because he is really good and I like winning. So we tell him and Barca that we don’t have any obligation to sell for any price. Fuck off. He goes on to score many goals and we give him the transfer the following January for a crazy fee. Fine. We didn’t need the money, but fine.
2. His time at Barca was humiliating and baffling, but not because he played poorly.
Strong opinions here. Now Barca used to be a club that produced most of its on talent via their youth teams that they modeled on Ajax and the concepts of Cruyff’s total football. Great. I respect that, but those days are gone right now. The new manager has abandoned that style of play. (Pep still adheres to it, which is why I enjoy watching City play hi @BennyBeaver how was the draw today what is your address). So now Barca is like Real Madrid buying players left and right and playing a confused and indecipherable style of football. They are in trouble when Messi slows down.
Phil would have been a stud if Pep were still at Barca, no doubt in my mind. In fact, they should fire the manager right now for being too fucking stupid to accommodate two playmakers in his squad (Messi, Phil). Pep does this masterfully at City with either De Bruyne, David Silva or Bernardo Silva. Sometimes all three. Embarrassing for Barca to play this way.
So Barca still wins the league last year and appears to be a lock to win Champions League. Phil loses his starting place on a regular basis as the manager takes a pragmatic (boring) approach and plays a more defensive mid in his place. This backfires as my Liverpool come back from a 3-0 game in the first leg to win the second leg 4-0 at Anfield. Phil cries and the rest is history. Or is it?
Suddenly Phil wants to leave his “dream club”. Okay, but why. I can only think of one other time Barca paid big bucks then sold a guy quickly. That was Lord Zlatan and mostly due to style and the fact that Barca has no business with a 6’5” former army ranger target man. It shouldn’t be style, because Phil fits Barca like a glove. So did Phil want to leave? Doubtful after all he did to get the move.
My money is on Messi running his ass, as he can be a bit of a prick behind his gee shucks exterior. Like LeBron...cough Just ask Alexis Sanchez, who was a star for Barca but Messi hated him. Now he is washed up and I hope the same doesn’t happen to Phil. Maybe Messi is just jealous of other south americans when they win Copa America and he doesn’t. Maybe. Rumor is he ran Neymar the first time around as well.
So for whatever reason Phil leaves. He decides on Bayern after stating that he would like to return to Liverpool and turns down offers from several EPL clubs. I wouldn’t rule out us going back for him, but I doubt it because Bayern will probably exercise the loan to buy clause. My money is on us signing Kai Havertz or Bruno Fernandes next year.
3. What you are getting now?
Well, unlike the other players that left Barca I think Coutinho will improve rather than drop off after he leaves. He was back to his old self at this year’s Copa. The only Brazilian who was better was Roberto Firmino. In fact, Phil compares favorably to Neymar especially if Neymar loses his speed a bit after injuries. I noticed that Brazil played Phil as a center mid, rather than winger this summer to great effect. I immediately noticed his increased commitment to defense as he made several tackles. That was his biggest weakness at Liverpool and even Klopp pointed it out at one point.
In closing, here are his best attributes:
- Quick laterally, decent top speed like a Lotus Elise.
- Great free kicks and long shots. Surprisingly hard shot for his size. Regular scorer of 25-30 yard goals.
- Great dribbler. Excellent at making space and rarely loses the ball. Draws a lot of fouls.
- Amazing passing especially at longer ranges, both accuracy and vision. Will create goals from nothing. Tom Brady.
- His only weakness is his size. He gets pushed off the ball, but if he can make it work in the English league he will be just fine in Germany.
- Will have random off games where he seems to disappear. This is easily solved by making sure you feed him the ball often and get him involved early. He won’t affect the game if he doesn’t get touches. Shouldn’t be a problem at Bayern, but something to watch in Champions League against tuffer teams.
So there you have it. Thanks for reading.
P.S. How did you enjoy the plunger in Champions League last year? 💋
That being said, getting him on a loan changes a lot of things and I admire Bayern for getting these deals (after James).
Coutinho is fucking great and deserved better at Barca. He's a winner.