It came as a bit of a shock to see that Liverpool attacker Roberto Firmino had been left out of the Brazil National team for their World Cup qualifiers with Uruguay and Paraguay in late March, but following an injury to veteran midfielder Kaka, the 24-year old has been drafted in to fill the gap.
Selecao boss Dunga has been quite fond of the Reds man as of late with the former Hoffenheim man becoming an increasingly familiar face for the South Americans, so it came as a bit of surprise to see his name left off of the team-sheet — especially when he’s been in such good form at Anfield.
Firmino initally struggled to adapt to English football following a big money move from the German Bundesliga with various injuries and a new role to fill with the Reds looking a bit much for him at first, but under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp he’s scored 8-goals and provided 7-assists in 19-starts so far this season — numbers that make the likes of Arsenal super-star Alexis Sanchez pale in comparison.
“Firmino is a complete offensive player. He can play each position. It took him time to move from Hoffenheim — a small development club in Germany — to play at Liverpool,” said Klopp of the mercurial Brazilian. “It was a big difference and Firmino needed to adapt to his new situation, this new pressure,” he continued. “I know him very well from Germany so he does not have to show something special to me because I know everything about him and his qualities.”
