BREN’S A MOULD MASTER
CRAIG SWAN in DUBAI
BRENDAN RODGERS has revealed he received a complimentary text message from Philippe Coutinho as the Brazilian superstar was completing his staggering £142million move to Barcelona. The Celtic manager’s purchase of the playmaker for Liverpool at a cost of just £8.5m has turned into one of football’s shrewdest ever signings with the Merseysiders raking in an incredible profit of £133.5m. Rodgers helped Coutinho grow into an elite star. At the age of 25 the midfielder’s move to the Nou Camp cements his rapid ascent in five years at Anfield. Rodgers started it by plucking him from the fringes at Inter Milan and giving him the platform to shine but says it’s personality as well as talent that has made his former charge so special. Coutinho has stayed humble and his former boss Rodgers said: “He sent me a nice text the other day when he was arriving in Barcelona. “He is a great young guy, he was never a moment’s problem for me. “He was a magical player to work with. “It’s brilliant for both as he is a Barcelona player if ever there was one. “At the time when I brought him, he wasn’t in the team at Inter Milan. “People questioned whether he was big enough and tall enough. “But I’d seen him as a young player at 18 at Inter around top players and I always felt he had the technical quality. “And of course he was always going to get better physically. “We kept in contact ever since we left. Before he came over to Liverpool his confidence was low. I believed in his ability. It was clear what he was.
“If you see him play now, he played like that when he was an 11-year-old child, if you see videos of him playing Futsal.
“He was exactly the same. But he needed that belief.
“He came in and developed and improved.
“Philippe was outstanding for me and a real humble boy.
“He will go and join Luis Suarez now. They both got on very well.
“He is in the middle of his asset age so he’s going to light it up there for the next eight, nine, 10 years.
“A brilliant player who works really hard and never forgets his roots.”
Rodgers takes pride from playing his part in the rise but said: “I’ve always said it’s not about what’s on my CV.
“I get the joy in seeing the likes of him get his move and Raheem Sterling improve from being an 18-year-old kid and leaving for £49m and other players that I’ve worked with.
“You feel you have played a little part in helping them achieve what is a dream for them.”
Rodgers gets a kick out of development. Moulding and improving talent seems almost as important as winning at times for the Celtic manager.
The likes of Kieran Tierney, James Forrest, Callum McGregor and Stuart Armstrong are all homegrown prospects who have flourished under the management of the Northern Irishman.
Next on the project list is Lewis Morgan.
Signed last week from St Mirren in a deal that will see the attacker stay in Paisley until the summer, Rodgers spoke for the first time about the capture from Celtic’s base in Dubai.
He said: “He was a boy that really caught my eye when we played St Mirren.
“Even though we won the game 4-1 I liked how direct he was and could see his quality. He was a handful.
“We kept an eye on him from then and watched him for Scotland Under-21s against Holland where he was up against a really physical player that night.
“It was interesting to see if he could
cope with that and he did. He’s a boy that is hungry.
“I spoke to Jack Ross at length about him and then I was given permission to speak to the player.
“He is a very humble boy, he knows where he’s at in his career.”
Morgan clearly has the talent but, again, it’s character and personality as well as ability that will determine whether the kid cracks it at the top.
Rodgers said: “You come to Celtic and it’s hard for lots of players so if he can cope with that level of scrutiny and pressure and expectations then he could go on to be a wonderful player.
“He has the talent. He’s direct, quick, he can score goals and has two great feet.
“So we will look forward to the chance to work with him when he comes in the summer.
“You look at the player and do your homework on him and try to find out all the different aspects of his life.
“I like players that are hungry, coachable and want to learn. Everything I had heard about him was very good as a boy.
“I had a real nice chat with him. You can’t always go on what they’re like but obviously the first impression is important.
“I’ve spoken to players who looked me in the eye for three-and-a-half hours and never moved.
“Others tell you everything you want to hear but I’ve been really impressed with Lewis and hopefully there’s a great platform for him to go on and finish the term with St Mirren.
“Everybody has to get an opportunity. Not too many would have heard of Jorge Cadete or Pierre van Hooijdonk and these guys when they came to Celtic. The Di Canios. Even Lubo Moravcik.
“Virtually nobody knew about Coutinho when I got him in but players need an opportunity, they need a start.
“What you look for is the profile. Can they do the playing style and mentality you think will fit into the way we work.
“If I was working in Spain my core would always be Spanish. In Scotland my core will always be Scottish.
“That’s important because they understand and live and breathe it.
“But what is also important is that, if you are working in the Champions League, you need to be able to branch out and bring in the best of other nationalities.
“I know I have a core of Scottish players I’ve been really happy with.”