Barcelona and Brazil midfielder Philippe Coutinho said on Saturday that his hunger for success has increased three-fold after his season-long loan at Bayern Munich.
“I’m aiming to achieve many things this year at both a personal and collective level,” Coutinho told a virtual news conference, Xinhua news agency reports. “I can say that I returned to Spain with a lot of motivation. My desire to work and make things happen in my favour has tripled.”
The 28-year-old, who endured a difficult 18 months at Barcelona, has rediscovered his confidence since returning to the Camp Nou last month, shining in a central attacking midfield role behind Lionel Messi.
He carried that form into Brazil’s opening 2022 World Cup qualifier against Bolivia on Friday, scoring a goal and providing the cross that led to an own goal from the visitors as the Selecao cruised to a 5-0 win in Sao Paulo.
Coutinho said his time at Bayern had taught him the importance of a strong work ethic.
“What I learned at Bayern and what I can stress is the need to train hard. It’s something I’ve always done. But, now, if I have to work three or four times harder than normal, I’ll do it. I’ve been working on my physical fitness and I’m feeling really good. The intensity of the training is something that Bayern take very seriously and you can see that the players benefit from that,” he said.
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