Despite benching, Coutinho still an integral part of Barcelona

A year on from his move to Barcelona from Liverpool, Philippe Coutinho has seen his minutes dwindle but there should be no cause for concern.

Philippe Coutinho became one of Barcelona’s most expensive signings when he joined the club from Liverpool a year ago. He arrived with much fanfare and his first six months at Barcelona were going well. However, with Ousmane Dembele finally showing flashes of what he did at Dortmund, the Brazilian has seen his playing time dwindle. But Guillermo Amor believes that Coutinho still has much to offer.

“Coutinho’s a player with a lot of experience, one of the best players in Europe and he is ready to play five minutes or 90 minutes, said Amor after their game against Getafe.

Against Getafe, Coutinho found himself once again on the bench and came on late in the second half. The rise of Dembele is certainly a factor in his diminished role at the moment. But that’s only one part of it. The fact that Coutinho is willing to sacrifice himself, at least to a greater degree than Dembele, could explain his drop in contribution.

As opposed to Dembele, the former Liverpool player has shown to be more versatile, playing either in midfield or on the left of Barcelona’s 4-3-3. As a winger, he’s dropped back when needed and helped out on defense at the expense of individual stats.

As Amor stated, “He’s a player that thinks more about the team than himself and there are no doubts about him being one of the best players in the world.”

Because he thinks more about the team, he’s willing to forego seeing his name on the score sheet or in the highlights. He’s a little bit like his teammate, Ivan Rakitic, in that sense.

Another factor is that he has no defined role. When he first arrived, the thought was that he was going to take over from Iniesta. That didn’t work and with the surplus in midfield, he was switched to the wing on the left. He started off well but after a run of games where he struggled, that desperation to contribute to the team by any means necessary began to show. Coutinho would routinely cut to the inside and attempt his patented curler to the left of the keeper. He would choose this option when perhaps there were teammates in better positions to score. But that’s common. His dream was to move to Barcelona and he’s trying to stand out and prove that the club were right in signing him.

Despite rumors that Manchester United might make a move for him, Barcelona have no intention of selling Coutinho. In that same interview, Amor stated that the player still had many years left on his contract and a lot left to offer Barcelona.

With the run of fixtures for Barcelona and the fact that they are alive in all their competitions means that Coutinho should see plenty of playing time. With a manager like Ernesto Valverde who likes to rotate, he will get the chance

to get back to form and give the manager a tough choice in the league.