The Brazilian star is hopeful of shining even brighter in Germany as he grows into playing with the Bundesliga giants
Fresh from his first Bundesliga start for Bayern Munich, Philippe Coutinho has declared he can get even better in Germany.
The Brazilian international joined Niko Kovac’s side on loan from Barcelona after failing to fully impress at Camp Nou.
Swapping Spain for Germany, the 27-year-old believes he’s in an even better environment to reach his full potential.
“There are a lot of good players, top players and great players [here],” Coutinho told Bundesliga.com after Bayern’s 6-1 win over Mainz.
“I’m really happy to be here so that I can learn from them and get better.”
Coutinho is being eased into Bayern’s set-up having previously made his club debut off the bench in a 3-0 win over Schalke.
“We want to build Philippe up and the opportunity presented itself here at home to put him in the starting line-up,” Kovac said.
“He had some good moments, especially on the ball. He played one or two really good passes in behind the defence and we created a great chance from one of them.
“We know he’s not 100 per cent fit yet, so we planned to give him 60 to 70 minutes here. He’ll regain his fitness by playing. I’m happy with his performance, but I know he’ll improve.”
Coutinho arrives in the Bundesliga after just 18 months in La Liga with Barcelona where he was unable to win over the Catalan faithful.
Netting just five league goals last season, Coutinho admitted his time with Barca didn’t go to script but was nonetheless invaluable.
“Concerning Barcelona, things didn’t work out the way we wanted,” Coutinho said.
“Within those years I did have great experiences. I learnt a lot, won a lot with that club and then we had the Copa America, which I won with Brazil and that was really important.
“Now I have a chance at a new club, a big club. I hope I’ll be here for a long time and win lots of titles.”
Following the international break, Bayern will take on current league leaders Red Bull Leipzig away with a win enough to return them to the Bundesliga summit.
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