Coutinho hoping that special two months can yield a Premier League winner’s medal and a World Cup appearance.
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Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has not given up hope of representing Brazil at this summer’s World Cup in his home country.
The 21-year-old’s only senior international appearance to date came back in a friendly match against Iran in October 2010.
He does not appear to be in Luiz Felipe Scolari’s plans for Brazil 2014, despite playing a starring role in Liverpool’s Premier League title charge this season.
Coutinho has netted five goals and contributed seven assists in 30 English top-flight matches this term, with Reds boss Brendan Rodgers describing him as “sensational” and hailing his £8.5m arrival from Inter Milan in January 2013 as a bargain.
Liverpool are top of the table with three games remaining and Coutinho is determined to finish the job and help the Anfield club claim their first league title since 1990.
While the Rio-born youngster is currently focussed on club matters, he admits that he still has one eye on the World Cup.
“The players know how important these remaining games are, and we will fight and do our best on the pitch to make winning the league happen,” the Daily Mail quotes him as saying.
“It is a very special moment, with Liverpool going for the title and my country staging the World Cup. Don’t forget the saying ‘Brazilians never lose hope’ – I still hope to play for Brazil at the World Cup. This could be a very special two months.”
Coutinho believes that he has become a better player since moving to Anfield and claims that he is perfectly suited to the brand of football that Rodgers likes his teams to play.
He added: “Moving to Europe has added an extra dimension to my game. At Inter, Rafa Benitez changed my mentality. He made me more of a team player and encouraged me to move the ball more quickly and get more involved.
“Now, with Liverpool, I am moving faster still and thinking even more quickly. It just felt right for me here from the outset.
“The team have been playing with a great deal of freedom in attack and that has helped me adapt so easily.
“It also helped to move into Fabio Aurelio’s old house, opposite Sefton Park, with my wife Aine, my brothers and our two dogs, Will and Mell.”
Coutinho has just over four years left to run on his current contract at Anfield.
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