Roberto Firmino made headlines in England as he signed for Liverpool today, for £29 million from TSG Hoffenheim. He is Liverpool’s 5th signing of the season after Danny Ings, James Milner, Joe Gomez and Adam Bogdan, besides being the second Brazilian in the current team after Phillippe Coutinho. Firmino will complete his medical once the Copa America concludes at Chile.
Here, we present you five snippets from the footballer’s career so far:-
1) Firmino started his football career in the youth team of Clube de Regatas Brasil, as a midfielder, in 2004.
2) He switched to Brazilian Serie B side Figueirense at the age of 17, and played his first professional game one year later as a half-time substitute.
3) He helped Figueirense finish as Runners-up in 2010 Serie B, by scoring 8 goals in 38 matches in the 2010 season. Figueirense were promoted to Serie A, while Firmino went on to join TSG Hoffenheim, a Bundesliga team, on January 2011.
4) Firmino continued his development at Hoffenheim, becoming one of their key attackers. He scored 16 goals in 33 games during 2013-14, and earned that season’s Breakthrough of the Season honour from the Bundesliga.
5) His performance for Hoffenheim led to a call-up from the Brazilian national team. He has maintained his prolific goal-scoring record for his country, with 4 goals from 9 matches. Presently, he is representing Brazil at the on-going 2015 Copa America.