This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.
Philippe Coutinho has so far been enjoying his stay in Germany.
Barcelona decided to loan out their big-money signing in the summer and the Brazilian was shipped off to Bayern Munich on a one-year loan deal.
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Of course, we still don’t know whether or not he’ll ever be making his return to the Catalan capital but he’s certainly starting to find his footing away from Spain and La Liga.
Still, for all the great performances he’s been mustering so far – he has scored twice and laid on two assists for Bayern in six games – Coutinho has also received his first criticism from the German media.
Sport Bild have come out with a report slamming Coutinho for a lack of any defensive work and his poor involvement in the 2-1 defeat to Hoffenheim.
In that clash, the Brazilian could not turn the tide in his side’s favour and the outlet were quick to state that “two or three magic passes are not enough”.
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Interestingly enough, however, this is actually pretty similar to what Coutinho was criticised for during his stay with Barca.
He didn’t have the right work rate to function in their midfield and was even branded as “lazy” in their 4-0 bashing at Anfield by Sport (via Metro), suggesting he didn’t work hard enough and even questioning his signing.
Other outlets, like Mundo Deportivo (via Metro as well), pretty much echoed that statement by calling the Brazilian “invisible”.
So even though he can definitely muster a great performance and is sometimes a joy to watch when he’s on the ball, he’ll still have to put in some more work if he is to be truly revered.
And granted, these are very much the first criticisms he has received in Germany but it’s a worrying sign since these are the same old cracks that appeared in Catalonia as well.
But who knows, maybe Niko Kovac and Bayern will manage to fix that.
They surely know, however, that Barca couldn’t.
