A spectacular descent of an extinct star. He won’t get to the World Cup, his numbers are worse than the goalkeepers

Philippe Coutinho was to save his career at Aston Villa. However, a successful start was followed by a spectacular descent without any safety brakes. The 30-year-old lost his form, reputation and minimal chances of participating in the World Cup.

Zero. This is a figure that is the perfect summary of the current season by the Brazilian. Exactly so many goals and assists Coutinho has recorded in the last dozen or so games of Aston Villa. The very void in the Canadian standings should disqualify the attacking midfielder from discussions about a possible departure to the World Cup. The problem is that the “Cou” collapse is not limited to the lack of goals and opening passes. In most games, the footballer does absolutely nothing on the pitch, being a ballast for “The Villans” and a reason to wonder how you can have such talent and waste it so much.

And it all started so beautifully

Coutinho joined Villa Park in January this year. At the time, it seemed that each side of this movement would benefit from it. Barcelona got rid of a player who was no longer allowed to fire at the Camp Nou, Aston Villa at a promotional price gained a former star in the Premier League, and the player himself finally found himself in a new environment with a carte blanche in hand. In the capital of Catalonia, “Cou” was already “burned”, you could feel that each day spent there does not lead to anything useful. The footballer therefore moved to the perfect environment, where excited fans, a coach with a full confidence package and a team in need of a field leader awaited him.

– Before I came to the club, I talked a lot with Gerrard. He told me about the team, about their ambitions and of course he also said that he would love to work with me, so I made my decision quickly. Now I am very happy. I wanted to go back to England, play in the Premier League again and it came true. It’s always nice to have a trainer who believes in you. I work hard to repay Steven’s trust on the pitch – Coutinho admitted on “Sky Sports” right after the transfer was finalized.

Already on his debut, the offensive midfielder showed why he could be the undisputed star of Aston Villa. It took several minutes for him to score and assist in his first match. At the same time, he did it in a clash with not just any rival, because Manchester United. In the first six games for “The Villans” he took part in scoring six goals. It was again the beautifully playing Coutinho, who once fell in love with millions of fans around the world.

– Coutinho has already shown what he can offer on the pitch. Other players gained a lot from his arrival. We have to build a team around such players, talented, hardworking and capable of playing at the highest level – Gerrard melted after the successful start of “Cou”.

Ecstasy and disgust

Coutinho had such a successful start at Aston Villa that he was running out of epithets for some of his performances. Although it must be admitted that already in the previous season there was a noticeable downward trend in terms of the quality of his next matches. In April and May, he did not play at the same level as during the honeymoon at Villa Park. However, a few successful weeks were enough for the stewards, supported by Steven Gerrard, to pay Barcelona 20 million euros and obtain “Cou” permanently. We already know that this was a mistake.

Since the closing of the deal, the Brazilian has distinguished himself only once, scoring a goal in a lost game against Leicester. Also, Coutinho plays bad, very bad or just tragic. In many games, the 30-year-old resembles a foreign body, a straggler who, for unknown reasons, found himself on the pitch of the stadium in the Aston Villa jersey, but he does not know what to do with it.

Coutinho’s biggest problem isn’t even that he is doing something extremely wrong. The problem is, he’s not trying to do anything constructive. The representative of “Canarinhos” often puts on the invisibility cloak and forgets that he is even a footballer of “The Villans”. In addition, it has the harmful quality that when it is under the form, it exudes mediocrity. Already his body language is a symbol of helplessness, powerlessness, incomprehensible stagnation. As if the player himself wanted to do anything in the last place to change an unfavorable situation.

As a result, Aston Villa simply hits the jackpot with long fragments of this season. It is difficult to consider a player who does not score goals, does not score assists, does not dribble or create an advantage as a full-fledged member of the team. It is just in the graphic showing the composition. Coutinho’s fall hurts, because even at the beginning of the year, one wondered whether such a successful player with a past at Bayern, Barcelona and Liverpool should aim higher than Aston Villa. It turned out that even this club exceeded its current capabilities.

Seller of unfulfilled dreams

In the case of Coutinho, unfortunately, it is no longer possible to speak of a single case as his career is an ever-repeating pattern. A Brazilian has a thunderous start in virtually every club, inviting the jaws of observers to drop quickly. The faster it reaches its peak, the faster it takes a course in the opposite direction, to the bottom.

Suffice it to recall that Coutinho was initially a successful Barcelona transfer. In the spring of 2017/18, he scored nine goals and seven assists in just 22 games, helping the Catalans reach the national double. Later, in the following years, he managed to double the achievements achieved over the course of several weeks. It was similar in Bayern Munich. There, in the fall round, the Brazilian scored six goals and added as many assists to kick his forehead for several months in the second half of the tournament.

Unfortunately, it seems that the next club simply fell into the illusion of the size of this player. Coutinho is slowly becoming a master at building the illusion of how good a footballer could be. A few weeks is enough for a person to believe again that in this filigree body there is an immeasurable amount of talent straight from the country of coffee, samba and top football. The worst mistake that can be made, however, is placing your trust in a soccer dealer of unfulfilled dreams.

– I completely trust Philippe Coutinho. Nobody suddenly loses talent, does not lose their class. The statistics show that Phil is not in the best shape, but it’s our job to support him to get to the right level – admitted Gerrard on October 19. Two days later he lost his job.

– Coutinho owes Gerrard an apology for his performances after receiving the trust. Phil was his man, and he didn’t play for him on the pitch Gabriel Agbonlahor said on Talksport.

Katarsis

– This is not Coutinho at his best, but we know he is a player with a lot of potential. We want to help him get back on track. After all, no one can question his talent – said Tite a year ago, when Coutinho was still a Barcelona player.

However, there are many indications that even the national team coach eventually lost patience with the offensive midfielder. In recent years, Coutinho could count on a place in the team almost regardless of his form. However, everything has its end and, according to recent reports, the 30-year-old will pay for the tragic activities at Aston Villa. Tite is to ignore him when compiling the list of the World Cup appointments.

Given the strength of Canarinhos, it would be more surprising if a player as weak as Coutinho went to Qatar after all. Comparing the form of Aston Villa’s player with Vinicius, Neymar or Rodrygo would of course be an insult to these players. For now, however, “Cou” could focus on overtaking Alisson Becker and Ederson in the Canadian classification. Both goalkeepers have already scored one assist this season, while Coutinho holds his form stably hopeless.

Of course, the hope for the Brazilian is the change of coach he has already made and the belief that Unai Emery will shape the genius again. However, sooner or later the player should be expected to change the club, make his debut from high C, jump out like Philippe from cannabis, and then start the process of decay. This is how the career of this player, for whom Barcelona once paid 140 million euros, is constantly going. Who would have guessed that in 2022 the same player would be Aston Villa’s brake.