Time for Philippe Coutinho to grab his chance to go down as a Liverpool great

It’s fair to say that Philippe Coutinho’s last game for Liverpool wasn’t his finest. Brendan Rodger’s side were already trailing 2-0 to West Ham at home when the 23 year old received a second booking and was sent off. His face a mix of frustration and despair as he trudged off to the Anfield dressing room.
Coutinho will now miss Liverpool’s trip to Old Trafford which is a massive blow to Rodgers who will want to bounce back straight away from the 3-0 defeat following the international break. Coutinho is the most important player at his disposal and Manchester United will most likely be one of Liverpool’s closest challengers for a top four spot.
The only silver lining is that it will allow Coutinho a bit of time to breath and think things through in what has been a whirlwind 6 months for him. Following Steven Gerrard’s departure from the club all eyes have now turned to the youngster who they see as the next icon for Liverpool. The man himself even named Coutinho as his successor.
“I’m bored of speaking about myself,” was Gerrard’s admission towards the end of last season. “I want to pay tribute to Philippe. I’m privileged to share a dressing room with him. He’s the next big thing for me.”
All this expectation isn’t unfounded. Coutinho emerged as one of the best players in the Premier League last year with his dynamic attacking play and his spectacular long range strikes. Fans always enjoy someone who is fast and creative and his 109 dribbles over the course of last season was the third highest in the league.
The worry is that Coutinho will get affected by all this pressure and not produce. When the Brazilian first played for Inter Milan in 2010 Rafael Benitez, their manager at the time, said; “Coutinho is the future of Inter.”
During his first season in Italy he did impress but in the 2011-12 season Coutinho would often drift out of games. It was as if the expectation had got to him and he was trying too hard rather than doing things naturally. It was only when he moved out on loan to Espanyol and the pressure had lifted that he got back to his best with five goals in sixteen matches.
Coutinho was 20 when he made the move to Liverpool in January 2013. His £8.5 million fee was deemed good business at the time (even more so now) but it was still considered a gamble for some including many Italian journalists. He has proved that Liverpool gambled well with their money especially with his performances in the last year.
So what now for the diminutive midfielder? Well the man himself answered that question in an interview earlier this year,
“I have this ambition, this objective of improving my finishing. In the position I play I need to score goals to help the team and create plays. Therefore I must improve my goal scoring skills.”
Despite his terrific form last year Coutinho still only struck five league goals all season. This was a fact picked up on by many who believed he should not have been in the PFA team of the year. It is obviously an area he is looking to improve and his terrific strike against Stoke in the opening game of the season was a great way to start. More of that and less of the bad discipline against West Ham is what is ultimately needed.
So can Coutinho handle the pressure? He didn’t at Inter Milan but that was when he was a young boy who had only just arrived in Europe. Coutinho is now a man and to truly be called a Liverpool great he needs to forget about expectations and just hit the back of the net. For the sake of all football fans lets hope that’s what happens.