Philippe Coutinho is a creative player who can offer a new approach to Bayern Munich’s attack, which has been at times sluggish and ineffective by their own high standards.
Although it’s a cliche, the grass doesn’t seem to be greener for Coutinho. After leaving Liverpool, they found themselves Champions League winners two seasons later, and although he won two La Liga titles with Barcelona, he’s never become a firm fan favourite. His attacking returns don’t match what a player of his quality should be producing. Now, at FC Bayern, he’s part of a project – designed to protect their superiority over the Bundesliga, but more importantly to win the Champions League.
At Liverpool, Coutinho operated centrally or on the left-wing, and primarily the latter with Barcelona, where he was rarely seen at his best. Coutinho divided fans of the Blaugrana, with just five goals and two assists in the 2018-19 La Liga campaign. Bayern, meanwhile, did not activate James Rodriguez’s option-to-buy in his loan deal from Real Madrid, meaning the German champions needed to recruit a ‘playmaker’ this summer.
Bayern started their Bundesliga campaign with an uninspiring 2-2 draw at home to Hertha Berlin. Just two days later, Coutinho’s paperwork was complete, putting an end to a transfer saga which linked him to a host of clubs, including his former team Liverpool themselves. In between the two events, Borussia Dortmund made their intentions clear with a 5-1 drubbing of Augsburg.
Where have the German champions been going wrong?
The final 30 minutes of their encounter with Hertha was not untypical of the Munich outfit. After the equaliser, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was just a question of when, not if, the winner would come. But it never did. This reminded me of the Champions League round-of-16 second leg against Liverpool last season: dominating possession; fluid movement of the ball around the middle of the pitch easily; but, ultimately, lacking in attack and leaving Lewandowski isolated.
Against Liverpool, Bayern set themselves up in what looked like a 4-2-3-1, with James Rodriguez in number 10, but performed poorly. Under pressure from Fabinho, the Colombian failed to exert influence on the match, leaving Gnabry and Lewandowski, for the most part, on their own. Bayern’s movement in the final third seemed restricted, the opposition blocked off the outside channels, and defeat followed.
Keen followers of Bayern will have noticed the same formation, dominance in possession and outcome in the Supercup at the start of this season.
Here’s where Bayern hope Coutinho will come in.
Niko Kovac has the luxury of midfield depth to choose from at Bayern. Players like Leon Goretzka and Corentin Tolisso are tactically versatile, having both been used in both box-to-box and defensive pivot roles. Thiago has been the smooth operator of choice in the engine room for 5 years. Mickaël Cuisance, newly from Monchengladbach, joins with Renato Sanches waiting on their chances to break into the XI.
This gives Coutinho the freedom to operate how he wishes to. It is likely that Kovac will revert to a 4-2-3-1, allowing Coutinho to take up the number 10 position. At 27 years of age, Coutinho should be in his prime. He will have ideal attack partners in Gnabry and Kingsley Coman. Let us assume this is the formation of choice, with Goretzka and Thiago sitting behind the attacking trio. Goretzka is a good passer, but has strong tackling and defensive ability. Thiago works hard off the ball, and on it, will feel freer to move into the opposition half – with Coutinho drifting between the left and the centre.
Coman is prone to injury, so Kovac can and, likely, will experiment with Coutinho on the left, with either Thomas Muller or Goretzka next to him. Ivan Perisic recently joined Bayern on loan from Inter Milan, and his experience in the left-wing position will keep Bayern tactically fresh and competition for a starting place high. David Alaba and Joshua Kimmich are a formidable full-back pair, and will provide Coutinho with further options if required. In short, Coutinho’s skillset frees up the Bayern attacking four in a spatial sense.
Coutinho is somewhat similar to James Rodriguez on paper. Both are talented players from La Liga, on loan, with an option-to-buy, recruited as creative options. The key difference is Coutinho’s work ethic. He is known for not feeling restricted to the offensive third, and uses his excellent vision to start play from near the halfway line. Coutinho has the potential to give Bayern the spark they have lacked in key moments, and one feels that the possession-based passing game that they play will suit him.
Bayern will look to do considerably better than a round-of-16 exit in this year’s Champions League. Last year, unconvincing attacking play cost them, and towards the end of the Bundesliga season they were figured out – there’s a lack of a Plan B when the supply line is cut. Coutinho won’t come to Bavaria brimming in confidence at the start, but if he settles, there’s serious potential for him, and for Bayern as a whole, to rediscover success in the 2020 Champions League campaign.
Bayern’s squad as a whole has undergone change – with the dual retirement of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery leaving Bayern with holes to fill on the wings. Robert Lewandowski turns 31 tomorrow and will soon be replaced if Bayern are to compete at the top-level. Coutinho, indeed, is not young in football terms at 27 years of age. But, given Bayern’s usual style of picking off youth talent from the Bundesliga, the signings of Coutinho, Lucas Hernandez and Ivan Perisic may indicate Bayern are looking to change their approach for good.
The other missing piece of the jigsaw may be commitment. Bayern are too used to winning the Bundesliga, but the Champions League is of a higher standard altogether. Complacency may be their biggest enemy – they can’t expect victories against their European rivals, especially those in the Premier League, if they refuse to adapt tactically by opponent, and raise their game from weekend to midweek.
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