roberto firmino
Firmino Calls The Tune
While playing football may be on hold for the moment, plenty has already happened during the 2019/20 season. Liverpool FC are 25 points clear at the top of the Premier League and have lifted two pieces of silverware – the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. Roberto Firmino has been central to the Reds' achievements in all three competitions.
Seven of Firmino's 11 goals this season have been match-winners. Five of those winning goals came in Premier League victories at Southampton FC (2-1), Chelsea FC (2-1), Crystal Palace FC (2-1), Tottenham Hotspur FC (1-0) and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (2-1). The other two came in Qatar.
Our number nine came off the bench to score a 90th minute winner against Mexico's CF Monterrey in the FIFA Club World Cup semi-final before netting the only goal in extra-time of the final against CR Flamengo. It's a moment he will forever cherish despite condemning a team from his home country to defeat.
“It was strange playing against a Brazilian team,” he admits, “but it makes it extra special. It's a strange sensation scoring the winning goal and winning the championship against a Brazilian club. It was obviously a really happy moment for me, to have scored and helped the team to a title they’d never won before. I was very happy.
“I demand a lot of myself. I'm very professional and want to be improving constantly for the club to show my potential. I want to be developing and improving every day. I don't want to stop here, I hope to get even better, giving more each day and I want more – more goals and more assists contributing to more wins.”
It shouldn't be overlooked either that Firmino scored during Liverpool FC's UEFA Super Cup final penalty shoot-out success against Chelsea FC in Istanbul – after assisting Sadio Mané for a goal in extra-time – and has created more goals for both Mané and Mo Salah than any other player. So perhaps it's no wonder that Jürgen Klopp described Bobby as 'world class pretty much every day'.
“It was incredible hearing that from an incredible coach,” he says. “I'm really happy to be working with him and to hear something like that motivates us to do better every day, to run more and win games, to work towards getting the results to make him happy. I'm very happy and I can only thank him for everything.
“I want to provide assists and help out the team defensively, tactically and in every way possible, but I also want to score goals. I'm very critical of myself, so I want to be scoring goals whenever possible. In terms of preferences the first thing is to win the game, but I would also like to score some goals to make me happy and help the team out by scoring as well.”
Scoring goals will have to wait for now with football suspended due to the Coronavirus outbreak, but that has given Firmino time to learn another skill – playing the piano. If you follow him on Instagram you'll be well aware that he is a key player off the pitch as well as on it, but has he been taking piano lessons?
“Lessons? Yes, yes, I really wanted to learn to play the piano! I'm having lessons and getting better every day. Singing isn't for me, I play and my wife sings, my friends sing as well and we jam.”
He won't be following in the footsteps of other footballers and releasing his own tracks, however. “I'll leave that to the professionals. It's just a hobby, but I'm crazy about music. Music is my favourite thing after football and being with my family.”
Firmino will have been a Liverpool FC player for five years this summer and while he admits it took him time to settle in England, he's now so relaxed living in the city that he even tries speaking a bit of Scouse.
“At the beginning it was difficult, but we aimed to settle in as quickly as possible and to be playing and doing my best for the club. I feel 100% settled. I like living here, I like being at this club and want to continue winning things here. I've improved a lot with the language. I understand it [Scouse] a lot more now, I try to speak a bit as well!”
Like everyone else, Firmino can't wait for football to resume and, when asked to describe what it feels like to be part of the current Liverpool FC squad, our number nine is almost lost for words.
“Words can't describe it,” he says. “I'm really grateful to be here at this club with such amazing players and coaching staff. I'm genuinely grateful and happy to be here. I don't really have words to describe it, just gratitude.
“I hope we'll be champions, that's what we're fighting for – to be the Premier League Champions. We’ll be immensely happy and it will bring joy to the fans of this great club.”
