Roberto Firmino is World Class
And you can’t convince me otherwise.
When Liverpool recruited Roberto Firmino in 2015, the idea was to plot him as an attacking outlet behind the main spearhead in Christian Benteke or Daniel Sturridge, by taking a central role or flank Philippe Coutinho on the right end to bolster the goalscoring force that was deemed mediocre at that time.
In a Daily Mail UK interview with Ian Ayre, it was revealed that Liverpool had scouted Firmino since the day he arrived in Hoffenheim from a second-tier Brazilian football club in Santa Catarina, Figueirense FC. The former CEO, who had the final say (interestingly it’s not Rodgers!) had to take multiple flights to three different countries in two hemispheres to seal the £29 million deal.
And it was done after an arduous scouting process done by Dave Fallows and Barry Hunter, and the number-crunching by Michael Edwards brought to the table. Firmino’s level of production in two seasons with Hoffenheim until May 2015 was comparable to Europe’s best Brazillian footballer at that time in Neymar, as the former involved in 44 goals, only two behind the latter’s tally of 46.
After such a rigorous process, it goes without saying that the club and fans would demand an instant impact. But it was until Jürgen Klopp’s arrival to Liverpool that Firmino flourished into one of the best forwards in the league and even the world.
It was started in Klopp’s earlier fixtures when Liverpool faced Chelsea and Manchester City in away from home, as Firmino was instructed to lead the front line as a center-forward. Firmino’s tenacity and intelligence to press the opposition and create spaces to exploit helped Liverpool to defeat City by four goals to one.
Since then, Firmino has been one of the most — if not the most — important player under Klopp as he racked the most games (229), minutes (17,504 minutes), assists (51), goals involved (128), and winning matches involved (139) under the German manager.
So, what are the factors of Jürgen Klopp’s heavy metal Liverpool that makes them one of the best teams the world and why Roberto Firmino is one of them?
Firmino’s role is quite unique, to say the least. Positioned at the front to drops back and create spaces behind the defenders for Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah to exploit like a false-nine, he is also the forefront of the aggressive pressing line when the opposition has the ball. It’s unlike the conventional striker role to score as many goals as possible so it wouldn’t do justice to solely compare Firmino’s goals production with Aguero, Kane, Vardy, and the likes.
Under FBref data of Premier League Players Standard Stats, Firmino isn’t even in the top-15 in G+A (Goals plus Assists) and G+A per 90 this season when compared to players who are listed as forwards (FW) and played more than 1000 minutes. He is in the region of top-10 when it comes to advanced goal contribution metrics like xG+xA (Expected Goals plus Expected Assist) and xG+xA per 90, but that won’t make the case for him to be acknowledged as a top player in terms of goals contribution.
Luckily, FBref (powered by StatsBomb) provides a metric that will do justice on Firmino’s unconventional type of play. Introducing Goal-Creating Actions (GCA) and Shot-Creating Actions (SCA), metrics that define offensive actions taken which lead to a goal (GCA) or a shot (SCA). Actions that are considered in the calculation are:
- Live-ball passes
- Dead-ball passes
- Successful dribbles
- Shots which lead to another shot
- Being fouled
Let’s look at Firmino’s production in those creating actions compared to household center-forwards in the Prem:
Firmino leads in both SCA and GCA amongst the top forwards in the league. For further comparison, we select players that are categorized as forwards (FW) by FBref, played for at least 1000 minutes, and spend most of their playing as center-forwards. Even after compared with the whole 29 players under that filter, Firmino still reigns supreme. But how about his efficiency?
Albeit not being the top-ranked player in efficiency, Firmino is still well within the top-5. He is fifth and fourth overall in SCA per 90 and GCA per 90 respectively.
Firmino is an active player who looks for opportunities from various situations, and he makes the most out of it. In offense, he usually drops deep from the front three formed to occupy the space between the defense and midfield. By dropping deep, it opens up opportunities for Salah and Mane to run inside and wreak havoc. It also enables quick link-up plays between the midfield and forwards.
In this snap against Spurs, Firmino (9) drops to pick up the ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold (66). This lets Salah (11) and Mane (10) push up higher.
Firmino then launches a needle-threading pass to Salah, but unfortunately Salah unable to finish. This act of Firmino counts as an SCA, and it would’ve been a GCA if Salah scored.
As for how Firmino created space for his teammates, we are yet to have a metric that is as easy-to-understand and easy-to-use like SCA and GCA, but the brilliant minds in football are on the move towards the idea of it. You can check out a paper published in MIT Sloan Sports Conference about Wide Open Spaces by Javier Fernandez and Luke Bornn, or simply watch Nouman’s video in explaining how Firmino plays his unique role to learn more.
Another aspect of Firmino’s game is pressing. He is exceptional in leading the front three as the tip of the spear in closing down the opposition, with Salah and Mane in support by blocking the passing lane. Let’s look at Firmino’s defensive metrics:
While not being the best in conventional defensive action metrics like tackles and interceptions, Firmino is brilliant in turning over the possession by being effective when tackling opposing players dribbling at him. Also, he boasts a 30.8% pressure rate, second only to Shane Long which his team Southampton being the leader in total pressures in Europe. To compare, Liverpool are not in even in the top-20. It screams efficiency.
By being an efficient presser, Firmino is an indispensable player in Klopp’s Liverpool that emphasize counter-pressing as the mean to create chances and win games.
Football has been, and will always be a collective sport. Success is defined in how eleven heads collaborating with each other, fulfilling each of their own roles in the predefined strategy in order to beat the opposing eleven. Firmino carried out the role he was designed to fulfill and he excels in the environment Klopp has designed for Liverpool. And that is what makes him a world-class.
