Philippe Coutinho

Philippe Coutinho Correia (born 12 June 1992) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. He is currently a free agent after playing for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Vasco da Gama. He is known for his combination of vision, passing, dribbling and ability to conjure curling long-range shots.

Coutinho showed prodigious talent and excelled in Vasco da Gama's youth system. He was signed by Serie A club Inter Milan in 2008 for €4 million and subsequently loaned back to Vasco, where he became a key player. He made his debut for Inter Milan in 2010, and was later loaned to La Liga club Espanyol in 2012. In January 2013, Coutinho joined Premier League club Liverpool. He flourished at Liverpool, being named in the PFA Team of the Year in 2015, and being named Liverpool's fans' and players' player of the year in 2015 and 2016. In January 2018, Coutinho signed for Barcelona and won two La Liga titles with the club. He was loaned to German club Bayern Munich for the 2019–20 season, being part of the team that won a treble of Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and UEFA Champions League. He went on loan to Aston Villa in January 2022 before signing permanently for them in the summer.

Coutinho made his senior international debut for Brazil in 2010. He was part of the squad at the 2015 Copa América and the Copa América Centenario in 2016, and made his FIFA World Cup debut at the 2018 World Cup, in which he scored two goals. He was also a member of the Brazil team that won the 2019 Copa América on home soil.

Early life

The third and youngest son of Esmeralda Coutinho and architect José Carlos Correia, Coutinho was born on 12 June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. He was raised in Rio's northern Rocha district between an old shanty town and industrial warehouses.

As a child he was very shy and would prefer to be alone; he started playing football after watching his elder brothers Cristiano and Leandro play with their friends at a local concrete football pitch. He began playing futsal, and he said it helped him develop his skills as a footballer. Coutinho thrived in the street environment, developing skill and improvisation. After Coutinho joined a local football academy on the insistence of his friend's grandmother, his father was approached at a tournament by youth coaches at Vasco da Gama, where Coutinho attended a trial and joined their youth system.

Club career

Vasco da Gama

Coutinho flourished in Vasco da Gama's youth system and was soon called up to the Brazil national under-14 team. In July 2008, at age 16, he signed for Serie A club Inter Milan for €4 million. Coutinho remained at Vasco on loan for two years as FIFA prohibited international transfer of footballers until they reached age 18, and he became a regular first-team player despite his young age. In 2009, he made 12 league appearances as Vasco won the Série B title and achieved promotion to the top tier. In 2010, he made 31 appearances and scored 5 goals in all competitions as he established himself as a key player.

Inter Milan

2010–11 season

Coutinho's move to Inter Milan became effective in July 2010, after he turned 18, with new manager Rafael Benítez being quoted as saying, "Coutinho is the future of Inter." On 27 August, Coutinho made his debut for Inter as a substitute during a 2–0 defeat to Atlético Madrid in the 2010 UEFA Super Cup. After dropping out of selection in the starting line-up, he returned to play in the crucial 3–2 win over Bayern Munich in Germany, which saw Inter progress to the quarter-final of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League.

On 8 May 2011, in a 3–1 win at home against Fiorentina, Coutinho scored his first goal for Inter from a free kick that curled over the wall and into the net. His second goal for Inter came in a match against Cagliari on 19 November 2011, where Coutinho received a through-ball from teammate Ricky Álvarez and scored into the bottom left corner of the net to give Inter a 2–0 lead.

2011–2013: Loan to Espanyol and return to Inter

During the 2011–12 season, Coutinho struggled to establish himself in Inter's team, leading him to join La Liga club Espanyol on 30 January 2012 on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut on 4 February, starting in a 3–3 draw with Athletic Bilbao. The following month, he scored his first goals for Espanyol side when he scored a two goals in a 5–1 victory against Rayo Vallecano. He scored 5 goals in 16 appearances during his loan with Espanyol before returning to Inter at the end of the season.

Following the expiry of his loan deal with Espanyol, Coutinho returned to Inter Milan but once again struggled to find game time at the San Siro, making just 10 league appearances and scoring one goal in the 2012–13 season.

Liverpool

2012–13 season

On 26 January 2013, Premier League club Liverpool agreed an £8.5 million transfer fee with Inter Milan for Coutinho, pending a medical exam and a work permit. Southampton had also expressed an interest but Coutinho said he would prefer to join Liverpool. On 30 January, Liverpool confirmed the signing of Coutinho on a long-term contract. The former director of football at Liverpool, Damien Comolli, later revealed Liverpool had scouted and ultimately signed Coutinho following a recommendation by then-Inter Milan manager and former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez, who said the Brazilian would be "world class".

Coutinho made his Liverpool debut on 11 February 2013, as a 77th-minute substitute in a 2–0 home defeat against West Bromwich Albion. On 17 February, he scored his first goal for Liverpool on his full debut in a 5–0 home victory over Swansea City. On 2 March, he set up Liverpool's first and second goals in a 4–0 win over Wigan Athletic and followed on with a goal in a 3–1 away loss to Southampton and another assist in a 2–1 away win against Aston Villa. He was named Liverpool's Player of the Month for March.

Towards the end of April 2013, he was named man of the match for his performance in Liverpool's 6–0 away victory over Newcastle United, claiming two assists and winning the free kick from which Jordan Henderson scored Liverpool's sixth goal. Coutinho then scored Liverpool's final goal of the season against Queens Park Rangers, executing a driven shot from 30 yards out after being played in by Jordon Ibe. He ended the 2012–13 season with three goals in 13 Premier League appearances for Liverpool.

2013–14 season

Coutinho began the 2013–14 season well before injuring his shoulder in a 2–2 draw with Swansea City on 16 September 2013. He was restored to the starting line-up for a 4–0 home victory over Fulham on 9 November. On 23 November, Coutinho scored the opening goal against Everton in the Merseyside derby in the first minute of the game. On 13 April 2014, Coutinho scored the winning goal in the 78th minute in a 3–2 win against Manchester City. The result put Liverpool seven points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the 2013–14 Premier League table with four matches remaining. However, Manchester City had six matches remaining and went on to win the title, with Liverpool finishing second.

During the season, Coutinho mainly played in central midfield and earned praise due to his long and accurate passing from midfield, dribbling skills and creative play to set up strikers Luis Suárez and Daniel Sturridge. Coutinho made 37 appearances and scored 5 goals for Liverpool in all competitions during the 2013–14 season.

2014–15 season

On 17 August 2014, Coutinho started in Liverpool's first match of the 2014–15 season, a 2–1 home win against Southampton. He created his first assist of the season in a 2–1 win against Swansea City in the fourth round of the 2014–15 League Cup, when he supplied the ball for Dejan Lovren to head the winning goal. Coutinho scored his first goal of the season on 19 October in a 3–2 away win against Queens Park Rangers after coming off the substitutes' bench.

Coutinho signed a new contract with Liverpool on 3 February 2015 to keep him at the club until June 2020. On 26 April, he was the only Liverpool player named in the PFA Team of the Year, and was named Liverpool's Player of the Season on 19 May. At the end of the season, he was shortlisted for the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the PFA Young Player of the Year, ultimately losing to Eden Hazard and Harry Kane, respectively.

2015–16 season

On 9 August 2015, Coutinho scored the winning goal in the 86th minute with a curling 25-yard shot in Liverpool's first match of the 2015–16 Premier League, a 1–0 victory away to Stoke City. He was sent off on 29 August in a 3–0 home defeat to West Ham United, being booked the first time for dissent and the second for a foul on Dimitri Payet. On 31 October, he scored his first Liverpool brace, with two long-range shots in a 3–1 away victory over Chelsea. On 21 November, Coutinho scored in a 4–1 away victory over Manchester City, the first time he had scored in three consecutive Premier League matches.