Roberto Firmino: ‘I want to be the best footballer in the world’

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Bobby Firmino’s career has been interesting thus far; if you speak with a football fan in Germany they’ll probably tell you of the midfielder Roberto Firmino of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

Obviously the Brazilian international is now known as one of the finest false nine strikers in the Premier League – if not the whole world.

Bobby is invaluable to his team-mates – players like Mo Salah and Sadio Mane simply wouldn’t have the goal-scoring records they do without their toothpaste enthusiast of a mate.

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He’s all about team work. When Firmino was younger he would often play in the number 10 role – a position his good friend Phil Coutinho is renowned for bossing.

The Brazil national team has shown us some amazing attacking midfielders over the years and – for Bobby – Barcelona legend Ronaldinho is up there with the best.

I was wowed by his way of playing football,” the Liverpool forward told Eight by Eight magazine of his appreciation for Ronaldinho. “But that was not enough. I needed to improve my own game, to try to be the best footballer in the world.”

Bobby has thrived playing under Jurgen Klopp – amassing an impressive 61 goals and 44 assists in 181 games for the Reds and it seems the striker always knew he’d end up at the top of the tree.

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I was a midfielder, though for a while I even played as a central defender,” the Brazilian explained. “But whenever I got the ball, I would start to dribble and to nutmeg people and join the attack. So every year I evolved a little bit further forward up the pitch.”

Firmino goes on to admit that he now wants to play as a number 9 for the remainder of his career after Klopp convinced him that he’d benefit from adapting to the role.

We get along so well. He’s an excellent coach, an amazing person, so passionate on the pitch. When he says that, to me, it’s a sign that I’m giving back what he wants. It motivates me to keep going, to do the things he asks.”


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