Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has been called up, for the first time since he made his debut, for new Brazil coach Dunga’s first squad. Dunga stated: “History shows that you can’t start from scratch, it’s important to keep some of the previous structure in place. Slowly we will be giving opportunities to the younger players. It’s not because of one bad result that everything was wrong.”
Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri, also known as Dunga, has been appointment after the departure of Luiz Felipe Scolari, who decided to leave Coutinho out of his 2014 World Cup squad. However, things have changed under Dunga as he picked only 10 of the 23-man World Cup squad for Brazil’s friendlies against Colombia and Ecuador.
Brazil definitely missed a creative spark in their midfield during the World Cup, as their title dreams ended when they were humiliated by Germany in the semi-final. You all know how it went.
That could be a reason why Dunga decided to pick Coutinho, as the 22-year-old can create things out of completely nowhere – his brilliant assist against Dortmund. Furthermore, he looks fresh and is able to offer more than Chelsea’s Oscar.
Statistically, Coutinho already showed that he is capable of offering more danger and creativity than his Brazilian comrade. Coutinho produced, for example, more assists, more key passes and even more successful tackles. Moreover, he created also a lot more chances (46) than Oscar (48) last season, as per Squawka.
Looking at those stats, it also occurs that Oscar actually does outclass Coutinho at some points. Oscar scored more goals, and he had a better shot accuracy percentage. So, Oscar is more of a killer in front of the goal, while magician Coutinho still needs to tweak his shot.
However, Coutinho is an excellent example of somebody who develops all the time. The starlet signed from Italian side Inter in the early months of 2013. He was described as one of the finest attacking midfielders, with a huge potential.
Then, a season later, he became a key man at Liverpool, changing from an attacking winger to a more central, deeper role in midfield.
As he’s progressed, Coutinho has been given more responsibility in the side, as he seems to enjoy the physical elements of the game more and more. Earlier this summer, Brazilian legend Zico described him as ‘a very skilled and tactical player’.
Coutinho, still, has a lot of things to learn, but he is eager to show that he’s getting there. He just needs to get a chance to shine for his country, but that will certainly happen, sooner or later.
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