Player Focus: Golden Displays Could Yet See Firmino Earn Brazil Call

Having only secured their Bundesliga status with a 2-1 away win at Dortmund on the final match day of the 2012/2013 season and two further victories over Kaiserslautern in the relegation play-off, Hoffenheim do not want to face another relegation battle in the new campaign.

Quite the contrary, manager Markus Gisdol’s team has higher aims this season and a spirit of optimism flows around the small town of Sinsheim, where the club is based. Since the former assistant to Hoffenheim “architect” Ralf Rangnick - who led the team from the third tier to the Bundesliga in two consecutive seasons - took over at the beginning of April, Hoffenheim seem to have gone back to their roots. They want to build a young and talented team again to play attractive and modern football, based on relentless pressing and quick transition. During Rangnick’s spell, players like Carlos Eduardo, Luiz Gustavo and Demba Ba were exemplary of this kind of strategy.

In recent times the hopes have been pinned on another young Brazilian - Roberto Firmino - who having joined the club as a 19-year-old at the beginning of 2011 understandably needed some time to adapt to the German game, before becoming the team’s highest rated player (WhoScored rating of 7.2) in a chaotic last season.

Having been the subject of an unsuccessful €12m bid from Lokomotiv Moscow this summer, the confident attacking midfielder was handed the number 10 shirt at Hoffenheim for 2013/2014 and made no secret of his ambitions in a “Bild” interview ahead of the season: “I’m glad about the acknowledgement and want to repay it. It would be a dream for me, if I could play a part in the World Cup in my home country next year. If I continue to perform here, why not?”

Indeed, Roberto Firmino continues to perform. Playing centrally behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1, a position that perfectly matches his new shirt number, he did well in Hoffenheim’s opening fixture of the season, which ended in a 2-2 draw against Nürnberg. Firmino contributed two key passes, achieved a pass success rate of 83% and - more importantly in this match - contributed a joint team-high of 5 tackles.

It’s a dimension to his game he developed over the last season when his team had to fight against relegation. He averaged 2.9 tackles per game in 2012/2013, making him the 3rd best attacking midfielder in the Bundesliga in this category, and it’s something he had to learn and work hard for after arriving from Brazil: “I’m more than satisfied with my development. I’ve gained 4 kilograms in muscles here. I became tougher, faster, harder and more aggressive in my game.” 

On the second match day of the season the former Figueirense diamond began to shine in his usual field of expertise though. He contributed 2 goals and 3 assists in a 5-1 away win at Hamburg and – naturally – achieved a perfect, team-high WhoScored rating of 10. Firmino also topped his team for key passes (6), passes (40), touches (71), successful dribbles (4) and was 3rd when it came to tackles (3).

The performance showed how prolific the 21-year-old can be on a big stage and how well-rounded his game is already. Having bettered his assist total of 2 from last season after only two matches, his goal record of 5 is ready to fall as well. When it comes to successful dribbles per game Firmino was 7th in the Bundesliga rankings last season with a figure of 3.1, leaving him only behind wingers and fellow countryman Diego.

His ability to get past opponents should become even more important this season as he continually improves his productivity, vision and passing. Firmino’s 1.2 key passes from the 2012/2013 campaign will almost certainly rise to a much higher average this year after the player spent a whole pre-season under new manager Gisdol and seems to be the key part of a more attack-minded system now. The young Brazilian has averaged 4 key passes over two games this season, a figure that says very little at this point in time, but is possibly a hint of what to expect in the near future.

“I’m feeling ready for the Seleção”, Firmino touted back at the end of July, and he’s now backing up his words with good performances at Hoffenheim. If he continues his development, potentially a future call-up for Brazil and a move to a top European club awaits – maybe sooner rather than later.