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Philippe Coutinho joined Liverpool in January 2013 from Inter Milan.
His talent was evident from an early age, with comparisons being made in his homeland to several of Brazil's modern stars - including Kaka and Ronaldinho - due to the attacking midfielder's deft touch and creativity.
He began his career at one of Rio de Janeiro's biggest clubs, Vasco da Gama.
Alerted to his potential at 16 years old, Europe's heavyweight clubs battled for his signature and it was Italian giants Inter Milan who won the race to conclude a transfer worth around €4million in 2008.
Due to Italian rules, Coutinho was ineligible for his new club until his 18th birthday so remained at Vasco to continue his education. In 2009, he helped Brazil's U17 side claim South American spoils, scoring in the final against Argentina.
Coutinho appeared for Vasco on 43 occasions in total, netting five goals, before his transfer to Inter - then managed by former Reds boss Rafa Benitez - was completed in the summer of 2010.
"He is a young player with lots of quality. He can be the future of the club and we expect him to do very well for us," said Benitez when the Brazilian arrived at the San Siro.
Capable of playing in any forward
position, Coutinho was regularly used in a wide role by I Nerazzurri - making his debut in the Uefa Super Cup and racking up 20 games and a single goal in 2010-11.
The Brazilian enjoyed further international success in 2011, featuring in all seven matches and finding the target three times as the U20 side lifted the U20 World Cup in Colombia.
Injuries would hamper the midfielder's progress into the Inter first team, with just eight appearances the following season before the Italians loaned Coutinho to Spanish outfit Espanyol for the second half of 2011-12.
There he thrived - under the stewardship of Mauricio Pochettino, the diminutive attacker played consistently and struck five goals before returning to Inter with a first-team spot in his sights.
During 2012-13, Coutinho was largely used in the Europa League by boss Andrea Stramaccioni, striking twice as the Italians qualified for the knockout stages.
Then after weeks of speculation regarding his future, the 20-year-old completed a move to Anfield in January 2013 as Brendan Rodgers further honed his Liverpool forward options.
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Philippe Coutinho
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My story
As many of you know my wife and I are proud parents of a beautiful baby boy, Finlay George Barlow, who sadly passed away on 7th September 2011, aged 21 days old. Finlay sadly died suddenly, of sudden infant death, of which there is no cause. As a parent it is really hard to deal with the term 'unexplained' as naturally as humans we all want answers to help us come to terms with things. On October 25th 2013 Me and a team of friends will be climbing Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in africa 5895m in memory of our little boy, and donating the proceeds to FSID (The foundation for the study of infant deaths). They work endlessly to try and find answers, in the hope that one day no parent will have to lose a child in the same way that we have lost our baby, Finlay George. xx
Finlay's Kilimanjaro Charity Climb 2013