Most of the youngsters I grew up playing with do not have a career in the game now. Sometimes people think it is easy to be a footballer, but it is hard work that never stops.
Philippe Coutinho
I don't like to talk about myself. I don't want to talk about what I do, what I think I do. The position I play on the pitch, I am expected - and I expect - to create chances for my team-mates and score goals.
If there is something that needs to be done on my behalf back home, for example, my brothers take care of it for me. I share everything with my family; all my happiness and success is theirs.
I try to enjoy the moment, I like to play football, and every time I go on the pitch, I try my best.
Liverpool is a great club worldwide. I'm here, and I will give my best as always. I'm working hard; my thoughts are on the team's goals, making a good season.
I want to show that I have the same attitude to the game and personality that my hero had. I only ever met Ronaldinho once, at a charity event in Rio.
First, you have to play good football so that you get to play for a good team. Then, hopefully, you achieve such a level that you are invited to play for your national side, in time for a World Cup if possible. Then, obviously, play a good World Cup. That's my dream.
At Liverpool, I studied Steven Gerrard all the time and improved my game that way. Here, I absorb all I can from Iniesta and Messi.
Where we lived was a nice residential area, but if you know Rio, you understand you can be 100 metres from a favela. It could be a little dangerous on the streets, especially at night.
It's just such an honour to be spoken about by Steven Gerrard in such a way, that I might also become such a great player for Liverpool. He is an icon, one of my personal football heroes.
Football is more disputed in England than it is in Italy. Every match is a very hard match because the referee doesn't blow his whistle as much as in Italy, and every team plays against each other like it is a final. I enjoy it more in England because you have to think quicker. The pace of the game is faster, so you don't have much time to think.
I know I have to be ready for every single ball, every pass, every challenge. Everything has to be at 100%.
I will go to Rio to support Brazil even if I'm not in the squad.
I work hard on the precision of my long shots, but you can't plan it in games. Sometimes it all just opens up for you to give it a try.
I have no idea if anyone is watching me from the Brazil national team, but the best way to have a chance is to do well for Liverpool.
My parents eventually moved back to Brazil, so since then, it has been me and my wife, although they are always involved.
I like to smile when I am playing because I try to show people that I am enjoying myself, and I think Ronaldinho did the same.
You have to think and act quickly. You have to quickly come up with a solution to beat a player, because most of the time, you are in a one-v-one.
When I come onto the pitch, that's when I'm able to get into that zone and forget about everything else other than just doing my job. But even then, it's not a job. It's playing football, and that's something I love.
I only ever met Ronaldinho once, at a charity event in Rio. Once every year, he stages a game and invites different players and personalities to play and raise money for his charity.
I also had a chance to play in Brazil for Vasco against Flamengo, the local rivals in Rio. So it is the sort of game the players like to play in, and I like the atmosphere, the build-up, and all the preparations throughout the week. You want to be involved in these kind of games.
I really like Ronaldinho. He is the player I have watched the most and tried to copy the most, but I am still learning.
I know the expectations are higher on me now because I've played more matches and done well. But I need to keep improving to make the supporters happy. I know I can improve.
Liverpool have always shown a great warmth to me, so when they came to me with a proposal, I did not need to think twice to renew the contract. I have always been looked after very well by this football club, and I am very happy at this football club, so I didn't even have to think about it.
My confidence has been really building since my time at Espanyol. The two coaches are actually very similar on the pressing side of the game. They spend a lot of time on that side of it, and it's a lot of hard work.
I have always tried and always believed in myself, so I went after it, to do my best, to achieve my dream, and I always thought I'd achieve my dream. And I always, always wanted to be a football player.
I was so anxious for it to be my turn, for the manager to read the letter from my mum. I waited and waited for it. The manager had spoken to the mothers of every player in the team; he'd been reading a message before every game for months, and finally my turn had come.
Stevie G is the best midfielder I've played with. He was an idol for me and for everyone who watched him play, but when you were together with him, and you see him training, it was different: he was even better.
In Brazil, the one who wears 10 constructs the attacks. That is what I will try to do here. The number I have at Liverpool does not give me any added pressure. The pressure I have is to play well and do my best for the team. I know that I am representing a huge club, and I want to enjoy my football.
What I need to do is to work hard and to always do my best to help the team.
I have always said I want to work harder so I can develop, learn, grow, and improve. I love to play football, and when I come on the pitch, I want to do my best to help the team. It's up to the coach the position I play.
I see football as a bit like a stairway, and you have to climb it bit by bit. First, you have to play good football so that you get to play for a good team. Then, hopefully you achieve such a level that you are invited to play for your national side, in time for a World Cup, if possible.
I am the type of person who relishes the chance to stand up and perform under pressure. I have had to do that my whole career.
I have conquered my space in four, five years and never had any problems with anyone - the fans, the board, my team-mates, the coaching staff. That has not changed.
It's wonderful being out on that pitch, being able to play there, with the fans supporting us. It's hard to describe, to be honest, when the team is playing well, when the supporters are chanting and singing their songs, when they are really behind the team.
The No 10 shirt? Yes, I understand what it means in Brazil. The icon number. Yes, it's important. It is the number given to a creative player, and I am happy to have that responsibility, but it is not your shirt number that defines you: it is what you do with a football.
You define the success of a player by his loyalty or his titles. Or both.
It's an incredible feeling when you look across the dressing room and see Andres, Leo, Luis and Sergio Busquets, and everyone else. They are players I used to watch on TV or play with on PlayStation, and now I am sharing the same dressing room. It's incredible for me.
Andres is a genius, and it's an honour to share the same dressing room. I hope to learn a lot from him. Of course, there is only one Iniesta. I have come here to try to create history of my own and learn from these great players.
Like everyone else, I thought Messi was the best player in the world, and to be here with him now is a fantastic honour. It's a great experience watching him in training and in matches... the way he can transform a match is unbelievable.
Barcelona is one of the best teams in the world.
Liverpool is a great club, and we have to put Liverpool back in the Champions League.
In Brazil, we play quite open, but I'm doing my best to adapt as quickly as I can.
I need to improve my muscles because they are still quite small at the moment.
I need to spend some time at a club, but I also need to enjoy my football to play my best. I didn't lose my enjoyment at Inter. Sometimes I was disappointed, because every player wants to play, but I always did my best for Inter.
I'm going to play with one goalkeeper, obviously, one defender, one midfielder and two attackers, very offensive because we need to score goals.
I was really shy when I was back in Brazil, so coming to Europe was very tough. I was arriving as a kid fresh from Brazil into a big team like Inter with a lot of star names.
My confidence has been really building since my time at Espanyol.
Aine had to change her entire routine; my dad had to quit his job, which was painful because he loves to be busy. My parents eventually moved back to Brazil, so since then, it has been me and my wife, although they are always involved.
I share everything with my family; all my happiness and success is theirs.
