There was a name that few in Brazil recognised when Carlos Dunga, the head coach, announced his squad to face Turkey last November. That is not so unusual these days, not when there are certain games in which the world’s most famous national team are commanded to select only foreign-based players, so as to ensure that their demanding fixture schedule does not disrupt the domestic calendar.

This was an extreme example, though; a player who needed a bit of an explanation. If Roberto Firmino was going to be donning that famous yellow shirt, if he was going to be a part of Brazil’s attempts to put their World Cup humiliation behind them, it would help if people had heard of him.

The background of Liverpool’s