FIRM FAVOURITE
Roberto becoming a Kop hero just like Suarez and the Brazilian puts his skills down to playing in street as a kid
ROBERTO FIRMINO has revealed how the street kid in him has catapulted him towards Premier League stardom.
The Liverpool striker was compared to Luis Suarez by Reds’ old boy Jamie Carragher this week, with the TV pundit suggesting Firmino is equally irreplaceable to the current team.
The Brazilian is on course to record his highest-ever total of goals in professional football, after reaching 19 this season, along with nine assists.
And he explained that his early experiences in street football have honed his instincts in front of goal, especially when producing such precise finishes such as the brilliant near-post effort against Huddersfield recently.
“I actually commented with my family and friends afterwards that when I was very young, I used to play football with very small nets,” he said.
“Occasionally, we had keepers, but generally I was practising scoring using very small, empty nets.
“I used to be quite successful, even with a keeper on the line, and I think this is the reason why I was able to score because I used to try it in training with my youth teams.
“Now, things have become easier for me in small gaps because of this.”
The goal at Huddersfield, he explained, only came because there were no team-mates in a better position to pass to, and manager Jurgen Klopp has suggested that unselfishness is part of his immense appeal to the Reds.
“He doesn’t give a s*** whether he passes the ball or scores himself, and that is very rare,” the Liverpool boss has said.
But while Firmino is the ultimate team player, he did admit nothing gives him greater pleasure than scoring goals, especially when it means he is compared to Anfield great Robbie Fowler.
The Brazilian’s recent goal against Manchester City was uncannily similar to Fowler’s epic chip against Manchester United in the Eric Cantona comeback game in 1995, and he said: “I saw the comparisons and similarities with Fowler’s goal because I was sent an Instagram example.
“I was very happy when I was compared to him. He is a legend, he was an excellent player, and that left me very happy and pleased to see my goal being compared to his.
“I always enjoy scoring for my team and I always plan to do my best and try and help the team with goals.
“That makes me very happy because I know I am helping the team when I score. I intend to score as many goals as I can.”