Brazil national team coach Sylvinho has hailed the qualities of Liverpool FC frontman Roberto Firmino. The 28-year old Brazilian international has received much flak this season for his lack of goals across the league title-winning campaign for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
According to Sylvinho, a former Brazilian international himself, Firmino does not fit the bracket of forwards who rack up 40 goals in a single season. However, the player’s ability on the pitch is measured by his overall efforts that contribute towards his team’s success.
“If you say ‘I want 40 goals’, maybe he’s not that striker but if you want someone complete, who generates spaces, goes outside, inside… brilliant.”
It is true that despite Firmino’s lack of goals in recent times, there is no doubt that the 28-year old is still one of the most skillful players in the Premier League. Moreover, his defensive contributions to the game despite being an attacker, are praiseworthy by any footballing standards.
Sylvinho, who was once sent on a scouting mission by Brazil boss Tite, recounted how Firmino’s style of play for the Reds’ was an outstanding measure of the player’s caliber.
“You see him play [on TV] and think: ‘Yeah, he’s very good.’ But at the ground? Wow. He does so much. I left there enamoured.”
“The ball’s on the other side and you see him move, the generosity with which he links team-mates, how he never lost the ball – that’s incredibly hard in the Premier League.
Ex-England and Liverpool FC striker Emile Heskey too had praised Firmino recently and had warned off Jurgen Klopp against replacing the 28-year old in the Reds’ squad. According to Heskey, the Merseyside club did not require any sort of upgrade on their existing attacking options, in particular Firmino.
“They get most of their goals from the wings and Firmino is the one that makes it all tick.
“Do you disrupt that by taking him out of there and putting in someone who might get you more goals but might disrupt the balance of what makes that particular three work?”
ALSO READ :
- Analyzing Roberto Firmino’s indispensability to Liverpool FC amid recent criticism
- 9 Amazing Facts About Roberto Firmino
- What makes Liverpool FC’s front three so lethal in 2020?
