Over the weekend, Philippe Coutinho and \u00c1ngel Di Mar\u00eda reminded football fans why they once lit up Europe. The two veterans produced unforgettable set-piece moments \u2014 Coutinho with a thunderous free kick in Brazil and Di Mar\u00eda with a perfect Olympic goal from a corner in Argentina \u2014 proving that quality, and magic, endures no matter the league.<\/p>\n
At 33, Philippe Coutinho has lived a career of huge peaks and massive disappointment. After 41 goals in 152 appearances for Liverpool \u2014 where he won player-of-the-year honors twice \u2014 a big-money move to Barcelona never quite delivered<\/a> the sustained heights everyone expected. Loan spells at Bayern Munich and a stint at Aston Villa<\/a> followed, and the last few seasons saw his output dip. He scored once in 22 appearances for Villa, spent time in the Middle East with Qatar\u2019s Al-Duhail, then returned home<\/a> to Brazil with Vasco da Gama, the club that shaped his early years.<\/p>\n Like other big names who have returned to South America, Coutinho joined a Brasileirao that has become a refuge for high-profile talent \u2014 alongside the likes of former Barcelona and PSG star Neymar<\/a> at Santos, Dutch international top scorer Memphis Depay<\/a> at Corinthians, and Tottenham hero Lucas Moura<\/a> at S\u00e3o Paulo. Despite mixed team results, Coutinho remains a focal point and a marquee name for Vasco.<\/p>\n