There's a good article on Firmino in todays Guardian. In it the author describes Firmino like this. the Brazilian made his Bundesliga debut a month after arriving in Germany and played in 11 league games that season, mainly as a substitute, scoring three goals; and this is the thing about Firmino, he is not an out-and-out goalscorer. He is a forward who averages roughly a goal every three games, and he has done that throughout his career. What he does provide though, is an unrelenting work ethic. In that respect, he is similar to Luis Suárez and Alexis Sánchez. He will harry and press the opponents until he drops. In one match report in Germany he was described as the “clever, first stealer of balls in Hoffenheim’s pressing system”. Holger Stanislawski, his first manager at Hoffenheim, immediately described him as being “unbelievably good tactically”, which will be music to Brendan Rodgers’ ears after a season of having to teach Mario Balotelli, among other things, how to defend at corners. In fact he has been showered with praise for most of his time in Germany, the papers describing him as one of few players “who stay focused for the entire 90 minutes” and a “master of moving around without anyone noticing him, to provide goals or score them himself”. http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/jun/24/roberto-firmino-liverpool-thiever-of-balls
great to read that. if his work rate is anything close to Suarez, he'll be a hit and light-years better than Balotelli. and a goal every three games works for me from someone who's not your main striker.
They're already comparing him to Depay's signing. Hopefully by years end, it will look like us who got the better deal! Stats in article: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/roberto-firmino-memphis-depay-liverpool-5939202
Liverpool have completed the signing of Brazil forward Roberto Firmino from Hoffenheim, subject to a medical - here are 10 interesting facts about the Reds' new player. Firmino hails from the city of Maceio, birthplace of three-time World Cup winner Mario Zagallo, who claimed the honour twice as a player and once as a manager. Although he made his name at Figueirense, the attacker began his footballing journey with Clube de Regatas Brasil in his hometown and also enjoyed a stint at Tonbense FC prior to moving to Europe. In his one full season at Figueirense, the teenage Firmino helped his team to promotion from Serie B to the top flight of Brazilian football. The 23-year-old's first goal in Europe was a match-winner, as he netted for Hoffenheim in a 1-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in April 2011. His fourth Bundesliga campaign saw him net an incredible 16 goals in 33 appearances, a haul that saw him recognised as Germany's 'Breakthrough of the Season' in 2013-14. The midfielder also put on 12 goals for his colleagues that term, a figure that took him to second place in the assists chart. Firmino made his first appearance for the Brazil national team against Turkey on November 12, 2014 and netted his first international goal just six days later against Austria. Liverpool's latest signing also boasts a clean injury record, having featured in 33 of Hoffenheim's 34 league fixtures each season for the last three years. The attacker is already off the mark in England, having netted for his country in a friendly meeting with Chile at the Emirates Stadium in March 2015. Combining his own strike tally with his assists, Firmino has been involved in 45 goals in his last 66 outings in the German top flight.
I don't want to read too much into it but it could be a sign that FSG are starting to "get" the transfer window?
in other news, rumours have it that Steven Gerrard has put in a transfer request so he can return to Liverpool FC.
Some more on Firmino: http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2015/6/24/8836909/roberto-firmino-liverpool-transfer-player-analysis
I'm overjoyed. This is exactly our type of player. Work ethic of a Suarez/Kuyt. He just needs to learn how to finish in our league, and he'll help us a bunch.
It all sounds good, so far. Just the kind of player we need. Encouraging. I hope they have a striker lined up that they haven't told us about. Inconsiderate bastards!
Pearce confirms what many were thinking. Coutinho helped persuade Firmino to join Liverpool. (James Pearce)
The tall tale of how it happened: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-comment-how-ian-9517894
I have new underwear. By the way - this never happens for Liverpool. At least not since Suarez. Ridiculous.