Hansi Flick defends Philippe Coutinho and backs him to come good at Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich is enjoying great results under Hansi Flick in the last three months. Along with getting big results in the Bundesliga, the German manager has got the team playing an attractive style of football.
Flick has managed to improve performances of almost every Bayern player since taking over the charge from Niko Kovac. However, Philippe Coutinho is yet to show his best under him. The Brazilian playmaker has been struggling to stamp his authority on the pitch.
Coutinho delivered a timid display during the midweek cup clash against Hoffenheim. He is currently making mistakes in the final third, which is surely down to low confidence. The Brazilian used to create chances even if he was having a bad day, but right now, nothing is going his way.
Bayern players love Flick for his man-management. The German showed his astute skills of handling players in the pre-match conference by defending Coutinho. While speaking to media (via Bundesliga.com), Flick insisted that Coutinho will help the team a lot in upcoming games, and it is just a matter of time that he returns to his best.
"“He’s been training really well of late. It wasn’t his best game against Hoffenheim, but it wasn’t his worst either. I don’t think he’s 100 percent happy with his performances right now, but he’s one of ours and we have to help him. I’m sure he’ll help us a lot, but we have to be patient.“Every player experiences dips in form, and it’s not easy to integrate into such a consistent team – but he’s fit and I’m positive about the situation.”"
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Coutinho currently finds himself on the bench when every midfielder and forward is fit. The Brazilian impressed in the final games of 2019, but couldn’t take this form into Ruckrunde. The form of Thomas Muller and Ivan Perisic meant that Coutinho had to be content with the role of impact sub.
Bayern will be hoping that Coutinho gets back to his best and help the team during the Champions League knockout clash against Chelsea. His creativity can be very handy against top European clubs, so Flick will be hoping that this public backing may reignite Coutinho’s form.
It will take some extraordinary performances from Coutinho in the next three months to seal a permanent move to Bayern. At the moment, a return to Barcelona is looking the most realistic scenario as Die Roten will look to tie down the transfers of players such as Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane instead of signing Coutinho.
Having said that, Coutinho can surely go down as a cult hero at Bayern if he manages to guide them deep into Champions League. Despite his poor performances in recent games, I think the Brazilian playmaker will go on to have a big say in Bayern’s fortunes this season.