Being on top of the table with both Liverpool and Brazil, Roberto Firmino couldn’t be any happier. The player is living through a period of great form and finally attracting some attention from the Brazilian media.
Firmino wasn’t really known in his home country before joining Liverpool. He only played for modest first division side Figueirense before leaving for Germany, where he joined Hoffenheim and stayed for four years.
His first call-up for the national team happened in late 2014, a few months before the move to Liverpool. Most Brazilians didn’t have a clue who he was, until his football started speaking for him.
The player has given an interview to O Globo this Tuesday, mostly talking about the form with the national team, but the Liverpool bits were far more interesting.
“Liverpool have a way of work that has everything to succeed. The punctual signings to strengthen our squad were well planned and improved our football,” he told the newspaper.
Asked about the adaptation after the move from Hoffenheim, Firmino said: “English football is a bit faster and the technical level is higher than in Germany, but a big factor is that there are more games, which makes the intensity bigger.
“It’s clear that in a change of team and country, there is always an adaptation process. Fortunately, the opportunity to work with Jürgen Klopp was a great help in my adaptation to Liverpool. He is a coach who well knows the squad, the league that he plays, and studies the opponents before each match. The English League, in my opinion, is the most disputed League, and not by chance last season a team without expectations managed to win the title.”
On the work under Jurgen Klopp, Firmino commented: “He is friends with everyone who surrounds him, works with great respect and has the affection of everyone wherever he goes. On the other hand, he is very demanding, both with himself and with everyone who is part of our daily work, on and off the field. He is a football scholar, he analyses each match in every detail that may exist.”
The Brazilian couldn’t sound any happier with his club and that’s great news for Klopp and Liverpool, it may also help the Anfield club keep Philippe Coutinho happy.
