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If Philippe Coutinho was asked to sum up his club career so far, only one word would be necessary.

Nearly.

At Inter Milan and Liverpool, the Brazilian has regularly flirted with silverware and success, only for ultimate glory to remain tantalisingly out of reach.

Now the creative fulcrum is determined to end his trophy drought when Jurgen Klopp’s side step out at Wembley for the Capital One Cup final against Manchester City.

“Yes, it would be the most important to me to win a trophy by taking part in it and playing in the matches,” says Coutinho.

“When I first moved to Inter, we won a few trophies but I didn’t feel involved as they’d played the whole year and when I arrived they were already in the finals.

“Now, for sure, it’s very important to be at Wembley for that reason. It’s better here because I feel more involved and have played a bigger part.

“That said, I won the under-20 World Cup with Brazil which was very important to me.”

That U20 World Cup win with his country in 2011 aside, Coutinho has been left frustrated by his experiences in major events.

Having moved to Inter from Vasco da Gama in 2010, the midfielder was an unused substitute in their Italian Super Cup win over Roma a few months later.

A knee problem meant he had to sit out the FIFA World Club Cup final against TP Mazembe, while he wasn’t in the squad when the Italian side beat Palermo to win the Coppa Italia later that season.

In the one showpiece occasion in which he did appear, Coutinho played only the final 11 minutes as Inter lost the UEFA Super Cup to Atletico Madrid.

Moving to Anfield has seen more near misses, from the title challenge of 2014 to last season’s semi-final defeats in both domestic knockout competitions.

The FA Cup loss to Aston Villa came on Coutinho’s only previous appearance at Wembley, and he recalls: “It was a difficult moment because we were so close to the final and we made it 1-0 but then the score was turned around and it was a frustrating moment for us.

“But now we have a chance again so I hope we all can give our best so we won’t let this chance get away.

“You need to win trophies to be happy, not just here but at any club.

“For you to be happy and feel confident and make history as every player wants to make, you need to win titles and this can start on Sunday.”

Having further improved his fitness with a man-of-the-match performance in Thursday’s Europa League win over Augbsburg, Coutinho will be among the first names on Klopp’s teamsheet against City.

However, despite his urge for greater involvement, the Brazilian has featured for only 74 minutes of Liverpool’s run to the Capital One Cup final.

After playing 56 minutes in the third round against Carlisle United, his only other appearance was at Stoke City in the semi-final first leg which was aborted after 18 minutes with the hamstring problem that threatened his Wembley involvement.

Coutinho, though, was integral in Liverpool’s sensational 4-1 Premier League win at City in November, a result that highlighted both the potential of Klopp’s tutelage and some glaring weaknesses in Manuel Pellegrini’s Etihad outfit.

“We did well in that game as the manager asked – we had a great game,” says the 23-year-old.

“I hope we carry on following up what the manager asks so we can improve each time and get good results.

“We’re a new team that’s been developing and we have many young players. But we also have experienced players so we try to learn every day.

“Wembley is a big occasion for us. I hope it’s the beginning of a good period for Liverpool.”

Coutinho could be one of three Brazilians starting for the Reds at Wembley, with Roberto Firmino a fixture in attack and Lucas Leiva flitting between central midfield and, latterly, a centre-back role.

“We always get together as friends when we have a day off, then we meet in one of our homes or go out for dinner together as we do in our Brazilian families,” he says.

“Have I learned any Scouse words? I’ve heard about them and the guys joke about it but it’s still a bit difficult to understand when people from here (Liverpool) speak but we’ll try it little by little.”

Coutinho’s form last season was a rare high point of a difficult campaign for Liverpool and earned him a place in the PFA Team of the Year.

It also caught the attention of Brazilian great Pele, who was complimentary of his compatriot ahead of a visit to Anfield last April.

“It’s always good to hear nice things from great players who made history like Pele,” says Coutinho.

“I also heard good words Steven Gerrard, which means a lot to me and gives me confidence to carry on working and always want to do a little more.”

A little more and Coutinho could be celebrating his first silverware with Liverpool this weekend.