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Having completed his dream move to Barcelona from Liverpool in January of last year after months of complicated negotiations, the world seemed to be at Philippe Coutinho’s feet.
The 26-year-old had dazzled for six seasons in the Premier League with The Reds, cementing his reputation as not only one of the best attacking midfielders in the league but indeed one of the premier creators anywhere in the world.
Possessing peed, technicality, close control and a blistering shot with unerring accuracy, the Brazilian international is almost a complete midfielder and it was believed he would take his game to an even higher level at Barcelona owing to the numerous world class players at the Nou Camp.
There are usually three main reasons why regulars at a football club seek a transfer viz – for better pay, to win trophies and to improve their game and while the first two have been achieved by Coutinho, it is in the latter category where he finds himself struggling.
It all started so brightly for the Barcelona number 7 – heralded as the long-term successor to Andres Iniesta, he became a mainstay in the first team, contributing his quota to help the club win the double in his first half-season with the club (although he was powerless to stop their capitulation in the UCL as he was cup-tied with Liverpool).
With Iniesta departing the club last summer, this season was seen as the one in which Coutinho would fully settle in at the club and help the Blaugrana launch their assault on three fronts this season.
However, it has not gone to plan for the former Liverpool man, as he finds himself currently struggling for form and out of Ernesto Valverde’s first team plans.
His last league goal for the club came when he opened the scoring in the 5-1 drubbing of Real Madrid in the El Clasico way back in October, while his last assist came in the middle of January and his poor form has led to rumors indicating that he is interested in a move away from the Nou Camp.
While holistic reasons have been given as to why he is struggling at the moment, it is imperative that Coutinho gets back into form and justify the club record fee expended to get his services. In this piece, we shall be highlighting five factors which could help bring out the best of Coutinho once again.
#5 A change in formation
Coutinho is an explosive ball-carrying midfielder who performs at his best either out wide on the left flank or operating through the middle of the park.
At the start of the season, Ernesto Valverde utilized a 4-4-2 formation, deploying Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in a two-man attack, with Coutinho occupying the space in behind them, but that has changed in recent months.
A resurgence in form saw Ousmane Dembele restored back to the starting 11, with Coutinho dropping out in his place, as Valverde resorted back to a 4-3-3 to accommodate the Frenchman alongside Messi and Suarez in attack.
For as long as Barcelona continue to deploy the 4-3-3 formation, it might be difficult for Coutinho to regain his place in the starting 11 unless it is at the expense of Ousmane Dembele (who it must be said has not maintained the form which saw him win over his critics earlier in the season).
An alternative would be to utilize a 4-2-1-3, with Coutinho being the ‘one’ as the playmaker in behind the front three, or Lionel Messi (who is vastly superior as a playmaker dropping deep while Coutinho takes his spot on the left). However, a drawback to this is that it would have to see Valverde sacrifice one of his three midfielders in a bid to accommodate his attacking quartet.
A change in formation would see Coutinho restored to the starting 11 and the extended run of games could help boost his confidence, conversely bringing out the best in him.
#4 Playing him more regularly
It is often said that the best way to overcome a poor run of form is by playing more regularly and this might hold true in the case of Philippe Coutinho.
The Brazilian international has completed the full 90 minutes in La Liga just seven times out of the 25 times he has turned out in the league for Barcelona and this is rather disappointing considering his immense talents.
An extended run of time in Barcelona's first team would improve Coutinho's confidence and this could help see him overcome this bad spell
While his extremely poor form might suggest otherwise, by playing him more often, Valverde would show Coutinho that he has his trust and this could be the spark the turnaround in his Barcelona career, as it has been long established that one of the most motivating factors in footballers in the unerring trust of their manager.
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#3 Services of a psychologist
While a lot of attention is being drawn to Coutinho’s physical struggles on the field of play, not much attention is being given to his emotional state and this could very well be where the problem lies.
Football is very much a physical game as it is mental, with the state of a player’s mind being as important if not more so as his physical condition, with the saying ‘the game is first won in the mind before the field’ holding true.
Players’ struggle with emotional health is more rampant than you might think, with a report indicating that an ever increasing number of professional footballers deal with emotional and psychological trauma, most of which go untreated.
Barcelona themselves have been in a scenario like that in recent years, as the much-loathed Andre Gomes revealed that he was dealing with tremendous emotional distress, likening his struggles to kind of a hell, which unsurprisingly affected his performances on the field of play.
Coutinho is the most expensive player in the history of Barcelona and that in itself is enough pressure, coupled with the immense demands of performing at an optimum on a weekly basis at a club the size of Barca might prove too much for anyone to handle.
The drop in performance levels and going from a player confident in his own abilities to one who is afraid of taking risks and making mistakes is too drastic and could be indicative of an underlying problem which could be emotional.
The club could employ the services of a psychologist to help Coutinho deal with the tremendous pressures associated with being a modern-day footballer. After all, he is very much human - susceptible to the same caprices as the rest of us.
#2 Public and private defense of his talents
On his day, Philippe Coutinho is undoubtedly one of the most talented midfielders in the world capable of unlocking any defense on the planet and while this is a truism, at the moment he is not performing at his usual standards.
As expected, the ever hungry and unforgiving press as well as rival fans have been quick to castigate him and call him out over his poor form, with sensational headlines and social media bants targeting him being the order of the day.
However, while the rest of the world might be hostile and quick to chide him, it is imperative that his club offers him protection, shielding him from the harsh criticisms of the outside world.
The onus is on the coach of Barca ditto his teammates to publicly defend his abilities and focus on the positive side of his game anytime negativity is raised whenever the press is discussing him, as this could help give him a confidence boost knowing the club management and his teammates have got his back.
Football clubs are like a family to footballers and it is the club structure that they hope to turn to when everyone else is against them and if Barcelona could rally around Coutinho in these trying times, then he might well get over his poor run of form and the club would undoubtedly be better off for it.
#1 Exercising patience
Football is a beautiful game played by human footballers and like every other thing done by humans, none is perfect.
For all of their seemingly superhuman attributes, all players – from great to mediocre throughout history have had their bad spells where things did not seem to go right for them.
No one is immune from this no matter how great they are (read Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo) and when a bad spell comes for a player, he/she can only work their way around it and return to their former levels of greatness.
It is a scene we have witnessed throughout the course of football – legendary players who could seemingly do no wrong with the ball at their feet struggling to perform at their usual levels – and it is one we shall continue to see for as long as football exists.
Since it has been established that all players go through a rough patch in form, it is imperative that patience is shown to the suffering player, with fans and management alike providing the necessary support to see the player through.
While patience might run thin among today’s set of ever demanding sets of fans (in part due to the fast-paced nature of the game), it is pertinent to note that dips in form are a fact associated with all players and as such, the Blaugrana faithful must rally behind Coutinho to get through these trying times and this show of support could help him get over these trying times..
