Roberto Firmino may be the darling of the Kop but Brazil remains unconvinced about the Liverpool striker.
Firmino has emerged as a key component in Jurgen Klopp's side , with the reigning European champions eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table going into the current international break.
The 28-year-old has this term already supplied eight assists – already matching his tally for the previous campaign – while notching three goals in 18 appearances.
But a brief career in Brazil with second-tier Figueirense and a subsequent move to unheralded German side Hoffenheim have meant that, despite more than four years at Liverpool , he remains not fully appreciated in his home country.
“Firmino didn't play in a traditional team in Brazil,” Bruno Marinho of Rio news outlet O Globo told the ECHO.
“He left pretty early to play in Germany and when Dunga became the first manager to call him up for the national team, people started to ask 'who is this guy? Where has he come from? He's nobody'.
“It's taken a long time for people to understand his value.
“But even now there are some people who don't consider him as good a forward as people think in England and Europe.”
It has been a similar story with the other members of Liverpool's Brazilian contingent, although Fabinho and in particular Alisson Becker are now being acknowledged for their talent.
“Alisson used to play for Internacional, a team outside the two biggest cities in the country, Rio and Sao Paulo,” Marinho said.
“He moved early to Rome and because of that many Brazilian fans didn't have too much credit for him. They thought he wasn't good enough to be in goal for the country.
“But at Liverpool up until now, he has changed the idea of the people. He had a good World Cup in Russia too and is now considered the best goalkeeper in the world
“Fabinho is almost the same thing. He played one year at Fluminese and then moved to Europe until he got to Monaco where he did a good job and got his move to Liverpool.
“The European Cup win gave him more recognition in Brazil.”
Arguably the most famous Brazilian to ever feature for Liverpool, though, is Philippe Coutinho .
And having seen his career stall at Barcelona and now Bayern Munich, his compatriots believe the player made a major if understandable mistake in January 2018.
“Brazilian people in general believe Coutinho made a bad decision leaving Liverpool, especially because after he left, Liverpool started to become even stronger,” Marinho added.
“On the other hand, it's easy to judge now.
“Who can say no to Barcelona, to play with Messi and Suarez, who he used to play with at Liverpool?
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“In Brazil, because of how his career has gone, especially because of his last matches for the national team especially at the World Cup, the Brazilian fans don't have a good impression about him and his skills.”
