Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has spoken of his delight at winning the Samba Gold award for the best Brazilian player in Europe.
The 24-year-old was presented with the award at Melwood this afternoon having scored 18 goals for club and country throughout 2016, joining an illustrious list of winners that also includes the likes of Kaka, Thiago Silva and Neymar.
Coutinho described 2016 as a "good year" both individually and for the club despite losing in the League Cup and Europa League finals, and believes that the team's success is down to manager Jurgen Klopp's demanding nature.
"It means a lot. I'm very happy to know that this past year I have been recognised by many people. It was an important year for me and I'm very happy to win this award. It was a good year. As a team, we played very well and we managed to get to two finals. Unfortunately, we did not win the finals, we lost. That was a very difficult time for us to deal with the defeat [to Sevilla] but this certainly made the group stronger," he told the club's official website.
"We started the season very well, at a high level. We all played very well, so, of course, 2016 was a good year. In the end I got injured, I missed a few games at the end of the year, but it was a positive year. The coach demands a lot from the group. We work hard as a group and of course Liverpool has great players.
"Everyone has been playing well this season and has done what the coach has asked for. And in relation to that, the coach lets us do what we want on the field. Of course, everyone has their responsibility, when they do not have the ball, they should mark, be in their position, defend. But he lets us do what we want. No one feels pressure determine who will make decisions and who will defend. Everyone works together, as a group."
Liverpool host managerless Leicester City on Monday night as they look for back-to-back wins for the first time in 2017.
Barney Corkhill
