The man who first discovered No. 9 as a talent assessor in Germany says the attacker is the Reds’ most important weapon
Liverpool signed Roberto Firmino in 2015 the first building block for a recent event attacking three giants that have brought Champions League and Premier League glory to Merseyside. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane would follow Firmino to complete the impressive trifecta, taking their own qualities to the side without diminishing Firmino’s unparalleled creative influence.
Firmino’s rise in England has continued his rapid development at his former club Hoffenheim, where his former employers still speak of him as a distinguished figure. Lutz Pfannenstiel, who initially opposed him for Hoffenheim, even said that the Brazilian player was “Liverpool’s MVP”.
Amas and DAZN discussed with people at the heart of Firmino ‘s growth in Germany, and the main events of these special interviews are shared below.
What did the former Hoffenheim scout say about Firmino?
“Everyone is talking about Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah,” Pfannenstiel said. “But in my opinion, Roberto is Liverpool’s MVP. He’s the biggest runner, creating the spots and creating a lot of opportunities. He lets the other two are shining.That’s rewarded within his team, but for me he sometimes gets a short move in the cover.
“Klopp ‘s takeover at Liverpool was the best thing that could have happened from Roberto’ s point of view. He knows exactly what the coach expects from him: Pushing control, which strong, aggressive. That’s exactly what he learned at Hoffenheim, he knew the inside out and it’s kind of automatism for him. So Klopp’s style of playing fits like gloves. “
Pfannenstiel points out that, while Firmino always had a smile and a shiny smile, the best aspects of his game were shaped once he got his German victory at Hoffenheim.
“This slim, wiry Brazilian had something special with his big white teeth and braces,” said the former Hoffenheim scout. “It always seemed like Roberto would always be a little ahead of his teammates and his opponents. However, I would never have predicted that he could mature into major international player.
“It wasn’t that easy at first, the game was very fast and very physical. But his extra consistent moves in training helped him to adapt quickly.
“Because of his basic tactical understanding, he understood surprisingly quickly how he had to work against the ball. Roberto had always played Brazilian, but he thought of German. The combination of the Those two minds also make him a difference player now at Liverpool. “
Firmino is ‘the most famous player in the world’
Johannes Spors, a former Hoffenheim video analyst who worked with Firmino, said the player is going under the radar because of his desire to make others better.
“Roberto is the most accurate player in the world out there,” Spors said. “He has the skills to illuminate himself, but he often lets others shine because he works so hard. It is no coincidence that he is invaluable to Klopp.”
He said Firmino’s level of work has always been well-known, even as a younger Bundesliga spectator.
“It was immediately obvious that he has incredible creative abilities,” Spors said. “But other than that, he was at the top of his game in terms of intensity. He was the player with the most sprints in terms of his total miles. That’s unusual for his career.”
How the Hoffenheim movement came together
Talent consultant Christian Rapp was heavily involved in Firmino’s move to Germany and considered the discovery process as well as the internal work on how Hoffenheim continued their interest in it.
“Roberto caught our eye relatively early, he made his second division debut at a young age with Figueirense,” Rapp said. “We had a close partner from Brazil contact him. He gave me a very favorable cut tape. At that time, people were still exchanging CDs.
“Like many other players, we had it roughly on our radar and, after looking at the stuff, we decided we wanted to take it to Europe for further sports development. We went to Germany with the stuff and we talked to all sorts of people.
“Looking back, it seems like a lot of simplicity. But you have to understand that signing a young Brazilian player always carries a certain risk. It wasn’t so easy to find interested parties.
“When we met Roberto in person, he was very young, he had just had his first siege. At some point, we were able to convince Hoffenheim sports director Ernst Tanner and coach Ralf Rangnick that they should look at the player. Hoffenheim trusted us because they had previous good experiences with Carlos Eduardo and Luiz Gustavo. “
One performance in particular showed the agreement for Tanner, Hoffenheim’s sporting director.
“Roberto has played about 40 games for Figueirense, I’ve seen a lot of them – but this was his best,” Rapp explained. “Before the referee even blew his whistle for half a time, Ernst stood up and said: ‘We have to do this. It has to come right away in January.'”