Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino looking forward to Coutinho link-up

Roberto Firmino is retracing the steps that have taken him from Brazil's north-east to England's north-west when he recounts an event that demonstrates how far his country has departed from the style that once brought international acclaim and titles.

It was 2008 and Liverpool’s £29 million (€40 million) summer signing had secured a trial at Sao Paulo. Firmino’s lifelong dream of turning professional depended, so he thought, on impressing coaches at one of Brazil’s biggest, richest and most successful clubs. But he was rejected without kicking a ball. The reason? He did not meet their physical requirements.

“I never had a proper trial at Sao Paulo,” recalls the 23-year-old. “I wasn’t accepted because I didn’t have a chance to play football. I mean, I didn’t have a chance to play with a football. It was just a physical assessment. One week later I had another trial at Figueirense and was accepted straight away. They had different ways of assessing a player. That happens in football sometimes, but I never doubted I would make it.”

Firmino flourished at Figueirense, leading to a €4.5 million move to Hoffenheim in 2010, and in fairness to the Sao Paulo coaches it was only by bulking up in the Bundesliga that the 23-year-old “made it” in terms of the Selecao and a move to the Premier League.

Liverpool’s most intriguing summer signing cites Ronaldinho as his childhood inspiration and yet it was his relentless work ethic, as much as any individual gifts, that caught Brendan Rodgers’ eye.

"I've been impressed with his quality and his touch, which is natural," the Liverpool manager said. "But it is his ability to work and press the game that were key things for us."

Successful dribbles

Ten assists in a Hoffenheim team that finished eighth last season, the third highest tally in the division, more successful dribbles than any player except Bayer Leverkusen’s Karim Bellarabi and winning possession 28 times in the final third, again the second highest total in the Bundesliga, no doubt appealed to Anfield’s statisticians too.

Firmino says: “I am very proud of being Brazilian but I am also thankful for having the chance to play in Germany for four and a half years. I have completely changed the way I play football because Germany is a tougher, faster game which is more tactical with tighter marking. While I’m very proud to be a Brazilian player, I consider myself to be half Brazilian and half German on the pitch.”

Liverpool supporters have had to be patient for a glimpse of this Teutonic-Samba hybrid, with Firmino restricted to two substitute appearances totalling 32 minutes so far. He hopes the wait for his full Liverpool debut will be over today at Arsenal, where Rodgers may be forced into a midfield reorganisation by a foot injury to his captain, Jordan Henderson.

It was Philippe Coutinho who sold Liverpool to Firmino, just as Lucas Leiva did to the then Internazionale player before he moved to Anfield in 2013. Together, Firmino insists, they can demonstrate that Brazil remains home to purveyors of the beautiful game, not simply the physical.

Best players

He says: "It would be hard for anyone to be as good as Ronaldinho or Ronaldo but me and Philippe are going to do our best and be the best players we can be for Brazil. It was ugly what happened in the World Cup semi-final against Germany but there are new players in Brazil to turn things around and who can show that Brazil still has lots of talent and opportunities to be successful." Guardian Service