Philippe Coutinho's Maracana dream alive at Anfield

He is 11 years old, having followed his older brothers to their daily football game in their home district of Rocha, hoping they will let him join in. Ten years on, there are similar feelings of being on the outside hoping to be summoned towards Rio's football cathedral for this summer's World Cup.

This time, Coutinho must capture the attention of Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. "I will go to Rio to support Brazil even if I'm not in the squad," says Coutinho. "I'm a Brazilian who loves my country, so of course I will be following and supporting the side.

There is plenty of time for me to be part of it. It's going to be difficult because there are a lot of players in my position who have been given their chance and are playing well, but there is a lot of football before the World Cup. The best way to have a chance is to do well for Liverpool."

Coutinho's cause was not helped when his shoulder gave way against Swansea four games into this season. Liverpool boasted a 100 per cent record at the time. Many felt the fluency and balance of Brendan Rodgers's side exited with him, even if victory against Everton tomorrow (Saturday) could return the club to the top.

On his first start since surgery, against Fulham a fortnight ago, Liverpool created 32 goalscoring opportunities, more than any this season. "I would not agree the team was not playing so well when I was not there," Coutinho protests. "When I was not playing, the team still won and was playing very well. What I would say is this; the manager gives me complete freedom to play to link the play between midfield and the striker.

He does not limit me to a particular area, his instruction is to move around and work in different positions that are best for the team. "My focus in the training sessions is always about movement to create openings. When you don't have the ball, you still need the discipline, to know where you should be, who you should be marking, but when we have the ball it is important to be able to move around." Coutinho's football education began at the team he supported, Vasco da Gama.

"The moment I arrived at Vasco I realised I could become a professional footballer," he said. "Until then I would just play with friends. It was always football for me, every day. No other sports. It was always the passion of my family. "My father loves the game and my two brothers were always playing with their friends. We lived near the Maracana and I'd go off with them hoping they'd let me join in.

That was where everything started for me. After I joined Vasco I knew I had to live my life in a certain way to make it to the top. I have many managers who have helped me since then, but one of my first when I was 11 was a coach called Zeica. Sadly he has passed away now.

"When I arrived at Vasco I didn't know where my best position was. I'd play as a striker or even a defender, but he was the one who told me to play centrally - the No?10 - and directed me to be a better player. Most of the top players from Brazil think about moving to a top European club at some point.

We all want to be part of the Champions League and competing for the major trophies, so Europe is the target point. When the chance came I took it. I was playing for the Brazil youth team and we travelled to Europe a lot, so that's when Inter Milan saw me and became interested."

Coutinho's pounds 8.5?million departure from Inter is curious. "Sometimes you can be a good player at a good club and for some reason it just does not work out," he says. "There is no explanation. Then you move to another club and it fits perfectly and you feel comfortable.

"Jose Mourinho was the manager when I was preparing to join Inter, but he left before I moved. It was a difficult period, strangely, because they had won the national championship five times and just won the Champions League but the club was preparing for change. I had some chances at Inter, but by the time Liverpool were interested I was not getting many. I knew at Liverpool I would get that opportunity so I didn't think twice."

Southampton were the competitors for Coutinho's signature a year ago. Mauricio Pochettino worked with Coutinho when he was loaned by Inter to Espanyol. "Coutinho can become like Messi or Ronaldinho," the Southampton manager has said. Coutinho laughs.

"I heard this when he said it at the time, but it's a bit of long shot," he says. "We all need to win trophies here before we can start talking about how good we are." Coutinho's derby record at Vasco de Gama and Inter was mixed, although he believes the passion and intensity of the occasion on Merseyside is comparable. "People said to me before the first derby to expect a physical game, but there was a lot of football played," he said. "The derbies are the same wherever you play. But as a player you can only think of winning, not the fear of losing."