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Philippe Coutinho joined the club for £142m and was signed as a long-term replacement for Andres Iniesta. A player entering his prime, he was the third most expensive signing of all time in January 2018.
Previously, the little wizard made a name for himself in the Premier League. He bamboozled defenders with his array of tricks and split defences wide open with his sharp vision. Hence, since making the switch, he was expected to immediately fit in at Barcelona.
Barcelona, one of the biggest clubs in the world, brings an added pressure of the world watching your every move. (That's apart from the pressure due to politics in Catalonia). With the club, fans and the media expecting goals and assists every match, it is common to see his hefty price tag mentioned in headlines every now and then.
With such high expectations and lowering confidence, comparisons with Andre Gomes have never been so close. So, let's have a look at three possible reasons why Coutinho has struggled to find his feet at Barcelona.
#3 Rise of Ousmane Dembele
In the minutes before Levante vs Barcelona, the first leg the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, Barcelona assistant manager Jon Aspiazu acknowledged that "Dembele has moved a bit ahead (of Coutinho)." He added, "Hopefully it will improve, since Coutinho is a very important player for us."
However, in the weeks since then, the only thing that has improved is the status of Dembele as the first choice. His form, since the turnaround in November, has been too good to ignore, so much so that Ernesto Valverde has been comfortable switching from his preferred 4-4-2 formation to a 4-3-3 with Dembele on the left flank.
Due to the injuries Dembele suffered in his debut season, the Frenchman could only show glimpses of what he could do. However, his second season has been a revelation. His raw pace and directness have rightfully bagged him a place in the front three. Even, a three-week injury to Dembele in February, couldn't dislodge him from the first team.
All of this simply sums up that, Coutinho has been a makeshift winger. He definitely lacks a lot in what is expected of a Barcelona winger. And therefore, he will continue on the bench, for Dembele doesn't seems to be stopping any time soon.
#2 Conservatism of Valverde
In his debut season, Valverde broke the Cryuffjist 4-3-3 shape that Barca became synonymous with, his go-to system last season was an asymmetrical 4-4-2 with Messi and Suarez acting as the two forwards and an extra midfielder as a shuttle player, usually Paulinho. The interactions in this system allowed for stable buildups and control of the game in both the offensive and defensive phases.
This season saw Barcelona revert to their favoured 4-3-3 formation but with less solidity. Ousmane Dembele was to be given a more prominent role and Valverde simply had to find a way to accommodate both of his big signings into the starting XI. So, far we have seen why Coutinho can't come into the team as a winger.
The only other option is midfield. The Barcelona midfield sets a very high bar of technical qualities. Ball retention, high pressing (high work rate), properly utilising time and space are a must. Similarly, a typical Barca midfield would consist of a creator, a controller, and a lynchpin. Under Valverde, though, defensive qualities have taken over. Given, the heavy defensive duties of the controller and the lynchpin, Coutinho simply can't be effective there. As for the third midfielder, Coutinho hasn't been able to hold ball under high pressure. Factually, he's twice as likely to get dispossessed than any other Barcelona midfielder(as per Whoscored.com).
Setting up the formation to field a player as good as Coutinho in midfield might seem easy in theory but Valverde still has to figure it out. The trick is to utilize him so that he shows all his strengths but hides most of the weaknesses. Is Valverde the right man to do that? That’s also a question that still needs answering.
#1 Unclear Role
Let's follow the timeline of Coutinho at Barcelona. He joined in the window of January when Dembele was injured. Hence, he was slotted into the first team as a left winger. At the left wing, his lack of serious pace and muscle made it difficult to thrive in those areas. It was apparent that he can't work as a winger for Barcelona as defenders with some pace and/ or muscle dealt with him with ease. When finally moved into midfield, he faced some serious competition from the likes of Arturo Vidal and Arthur.
However, even when played in midfield, he ended up taking higher position than it should be, due to his high attacking instincts and low defensive tendency. Albeit, given the lack of proper winger characteristics, he always ended up playing as a 'Hybrid Winger'.
Whenever Coutinho plays as a hybrid winger, he is unable to engineer much for his partners. Though, he is no stranger to playing in midfield as a creator, his roles at Liverpool were mostly positioned a bit higher up the pitch. It was more of a number 10 position. However, at Barcelona, playing alongside Lionel Messi who occupies that same space means that, there is no room for another player. Also, Coutinho almost always operates in the left half space, regardless of his “official” position, which complicates his situation.
During his spell at Anfield with Liverpool, he was predominately used as a central attacking midfielder. The fact that the opposition teams didn't sit back against Liverpool then, as they do with Barcelona in La Liga, also helped him. His role was to pull strings and provide defence splitting passes. However, the Barcelona version of him mostly makes square passes and runs into the box. Maybe the pressure to perform has overburdened him. He isn't much involved in playmaking these days and mostly attempts for goals, that too with poor decision making.
Perhaps a new formation with a more defined role could bring the best out of him. Or maybe he has still not understood the 'Barca DNA'. Whatever the reason is, one thing is certain, time is running out and Coutinho needs to switch on reall soon or......
