Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has hailed the role of Vasco da Gama and coach Zeica in his early development as a player.
The Rio de Janeiro-native joined the club aged eleven. He made his first-team debut five years later and was promptly signed by Internazionale.
Coutinho insists he has always lived for football and that Vasco helped him achieve his ambition of playing professionally.
“The moment I arrived at Vasco I realised I could become a professional footballer,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“Until then I would just play with friends. It was always football for me, every day. No other sports. It was always the passion of my family.
“After I joined Vasco – at the age of around 11 – I knew I had to live my life in a certain way to make it to the top.”
Coutinho picks out Zeica, a former Vasco coach, as a big influence in helping him realise his potential.
“I have many managers who have helped me, but one of my first was a coach called Zeica,” he noted. “Sadly he has passed away now. He was very important for me between the ages of 11 until 14.
“When I arrived at Vasco I didn’t know where my best position was. I’d play as a striker or even a defender, but he was the one who told me to play centrally – the number ten – and directed me to be a better player.”
Coutinho, capped once by Brazil, couldn’t joint Inter until July 2010, when he was 18. The 21 year-old struggled for consistency in Italy, despite a good start under then coach Rafael Benítez.
His most notable performances whilst owned by the Milan-based club came during a six month loan spell at Espanyol in 2012. He was sold to Liverpool in January for £8.5 million.
This season he has made just six appearances due to suffering a shoulder injury in a 2-2 with Swansea City.
