Video of the Day: Philippe Coutinho

Good for him! Hope he continues to get time.

now this is the kind of players that is brazilian not those useless players like ramirez and those stupid defensive midfilders

As an Inter fan, I was perusing their Offside blog. Now, I wasn't personally able to watch the game, but from the comments that I read, Coutinho more than impressed the fans, as well as the management. They were practically begging to see more of him.

This is a very, very good sign for young Coutinho. How old is he again? If he could get semi-regular play time on a team like Inter… which I know he could, as he has the talent for it…

I predict he'll be called up for the Selecao sometime in the future.

Apparently Thiago motta is about to get called up to the Italy squad it will be a shame if brazil loses him

I watched Inter's first friendly (vs. Man City), Coutinho's performance was really impressive. And I'm glad he scored in the second friendly. I just hope that he will keep getting play time so that he can develop his skills further and play against the big guys. I was quite impressed by his composure actually. He is only 18 years old? I think he will get called up by Mano sooner or later (since he is not afraid to give the youngsters a chance to shine at all!). If Coutinho keeps improving, maintains his fitness and form (well, he is really young anyways) and remains DISCIPLINED and FOCUSED, I can totally see him representing Brazil in Olympics 2012. Hope he will have a good season!

He will be called up sooner or later. Hopefully, he will have more chance to shine as the regular season begins.

I found it quite interesting (but not surprising) that Inter played so much better when their internationals (Lucio, Maicon, and other WC players) came on late in the second half. We are seeing Brazil undergoing a lot of changes lately, and Mano called up a lot of youngsters. But we cannot just drop the veterans immediately, and I do hope that Mano will call some of the veterans in the future as their experiences will help the team and the youngsters as well.

Oh, we'll see Maicon and Lucio and other veterans again. Mano's not going to start a youth-only movement. But as its only been a month since the World Cup, now's the time to experiment with the future, not the present.

When we get closer to the Copa America you'll see the regulars get called up again. It's which youngsters get called alongside them that's the question.

1) his name is Ramires not Ramirez.
2) He's not a defensive mid.
3) it's good to have different types of players on the field
4) you're a horrible poster.

You are right, Black Matt. It will be interesting to see which youngsters will remain on the Selecao for Copa America.

You are right. Motta is more likely to play for Italy than Brazil since there is a general feeling that he has a better chance of making the Italian team, which I really don't understand. He played for Brazil in the 2003 Gold cup so I hope FIFA will not allow him to represent Italy. His claim to Italian citizenship seems very flimsy at best- his grandfather is Italian.

I get really upset when Brazilian players who could have been of tremendous use to our team switch allegiances to other countries for the simple fact that they were ignored by Brazil. Coincidentally, it happens more often in the defensive positions where ironically they are needed. Some examples include Marcos Senna,Pepe, Deco, and now Motta. We all saw how impressive Pepe was for Portugal at the defensive midfield position and we could have used a player like that.

Even on the offensive side, Amauri will likely play for Italy. He is the prototypical striker we are currently lacking (tall, physical and fast) and and he definitely deserved a chance. I know that he hasn't done too well for Juventus but Juventus has so many problems and the team may be responsible for his lackluster performances. Besides, Robinho, Batista, Elano, and Melo at some point weren't doing too good in the respective clubs so Amauri's performance at Juve shouldn't automatically exclude him.

On the flip side,I am afraid that given his age, I can't guarantee that he will be in top form come 2014 but he is worth a try.

Jesse wins

BTW, that wasn't Julio Cesar in goal, was it? Not a good night for him, at all.

Not a big loss since Thiago Motta is due for his annual season ending injury. Its a lock.

I agree with you Kenny about these players though, stay true to your country. My personal opinion is that when a player is about to do what Thiago Motta is trying to do, just call him up to the national team for a friendly, and then they are probably locked in. You dont want your country's players playing a key role in beating you.

I remember there words that Amauri was torn between Brazil and Italy last year…Dunga called him up for a friendly, but his club didn't want to release him…at the same time, there were words that he might be playing for Italy…something like that. In the end, I don't think Italy called him up for WC 2010, and so as Dunga. Anyways, it is always going to be a tricky issue. I was quite worried that the da Silva twins (Rafael and Fabio) would play for Portugal. While Fabio remained set to play for Brazil (although no call-up yet), Rafael did consider the possibility of playing for Portugal if he couldn't play for Brazil…so I was received when Mano called Rafael up.

Unfortunately, other countries poaching from Brazil is nothing new. It's wildly easier to make the national team for just about any other country than Brazil, because the pool of players in line to represent Brazil is truly huge. Motta hasn't played an A matches, and even though his claim for being Italian is specious at best, the fact that he possesses dual nationality is enough for FIFA.

That, and I doubt he'll be reliable enough/able to keep from injury to help Brazil in 2014.

I'm pretty sure a friendly wouldn't work. He has to have played a competitive match with the A team, so that means you have to call him up for the Copa America before he is 'locked in' with Brazil for life.

Yeah, the pool is large on the offensive end but not as much on the defensive end. What upset me is not so much that they switch allegiances, it's that some of the ones that we neglect are actually BETTER than any of the players we chose.

For example, in his prime, I will rate Senna slightly higher than Gilberto Silva. Deco is better than any central midfielder we have ever had in a long time. I am yet to see another midfielder who is as skillful and creative as he is, at the same time actively participates defensively.

I can live with ignoring offensive players such as Amauri, Eduardo (arsenal) or Liedson since we have better and more offensive players than we need.

No it was not.

It was a 40 year old third string keeper that had seen maybe… 14 mins of play in the past 2 years.

Inter wasn't really 'playing to win', as they might say.

No, it wasn't! Inter started their third choice goal keeper in this game…Anyways, JC is finally wearing the No.1 Jersey at Inter!!!

Good to hear. I couldn't really tell from the video, so I wasn't sure.

Even for a friendly, can't imagine JC having that kind of a performance.

Haha…JC would be really angry at himself if he delivered such performance.

BTW, Brazil and Germany will play each other in a friendly NEXT YEAR – August 10th, 2011!!!! According to Germany coach Joachim Loew, it will be a classic. I think it will be a great test for both teams, particularly Brazil at that point.