Roberto Firmino: The Unsung Hero

When you have too many talents in a squad, it becomes difficult to celebrate each of them enough. Usually, some players are very outstanding and these are the ones that keep making the headlines. While others, who still contribute largely to the success of the team get little or no praises. This is the situation Roberto Firmino finds himself in at Liverpool FC.

source - wikicommons

With the likes of Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane, Virgil Van Dijk, and Diogo Jota in the squad, some people tend not to see the impact Roberto Firmino has made in the overall success of the Liverpool FC club so far. It's true that as a center-forward, his core responsibility is those balls into the net.

However, he hasn't netted the ball enough or as expected of him. Instead, we see wingers Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane scoring more goals than he does repeatedly. Even Diogo Jota seems to have a consistent scoring habit.

To think that he's never won the Golden Boot at Liverpool FC makes his position questionable whereas, both Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane have grabbed the Golden Boot. That notwithstanding, Roberto Firmino has always been very instrumental to the Merseyside Reds. The game is never complete for me if Bobby isn't on the pitch. Some of us enjoy seeing him in action.

Ever since joining the Reds in 2015, Roberto Firmino has made 226 appearances in the English Premier League so far, scoring 70 goals and making 50 assists. But in all competitions as a Liverpool center-forward he has made a total of 316 appearances, scoring 90 goals only and making 73 assists.

One of his critical and match deciding goal was his lone goal against Flamengo on December 21 2019 at his home country - Brazil. This Roberto Firmino's goal landed Liverpool FC their first-ever FIFA Club World Cup trophy in history. On many occasions as well, he has been someone who came to the club's rescue with his goals.

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My special liking for him is built on the fact that, Bobby is an amazing team player. For him, individual trophies and recognitions isn't his topmost priority like for some players. Rather, being a contributor to the overall squad's successes and victories mean more to him.

Also, Roberto Firmino is a tactical playmaker. By that I mean to say that he's got the ability to create chances whenever he's with the ball and also helps the squad maintain possession of the ball. Being a Brazilian, he loves skillful ball play; he's got quite some admirable skills, and a few times, he's been displaying.

More so, Roberto Firmino is always everywhere on the pitch. Not minding that he's an attacker, you will always see him tackling whenever possession is being lost by the team. He'll always retreat to the midfield and backline to support his teammates, unlike some strikers. In addition, Firmino is a cool-headed player.

Firmino's contract with Liverpool is set to expire in 2023 and I just hope it's being renewed. He makes the frontline more aggressive and lethal.

About Roberto Firmino

source - Wiki Commons

Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira is a Brazilian professional footballer born on October 2, 1991. His main position on the pitch is the center-forward but sometimes plays as an attacking midfielder. He joined Liverpool in 2015 from the German team, 1899 Hoffenheim. His youth clubs were Clube de Regatas Brasil (2004-2007) and Figueirense Futebol Clube (2008-2009).

Conclusively, it would be nice if some supporters looked at the overall performances and contributions of Roberto Firmino in the Liverpool squad and not just the goalscoring aspect.