Can Philippe Coutinho fill the Neymar void and inspire Brazil to glory at the Copa América?

Filling Neymar’s boots in the Brazil team is one of the great Sisyphean tasks in modern sport, up there with being Deontay Wilder’s sparring partner or doing PR for Team Sky. Boil the Seleção to a sticky liquor and it basically is Neymar, with all the wonders and warts that entails.

Ahead of the Copa América opener against Bolivia there had been a few rogue missives, whispered into the wind, to the effect that Brazil could even be better off without their quicksilver prince. This is plainly nonsense, at least from a pure sporting point of view: he is this country’s best footballer by a country mile.

Coutinho is an excellent player, but not on the same level. He hasn’t even been at his own level this season, with his struggles at Barcelona well documented. Nor does he offer anything like the same raw, gravitational star power that Neymar does; in fact, he is really best viewed as the anti-Neymar. If the Paris Saint-Germain forward is the very model of a modern major superstar, Coutinho is a quiet man squinting into the spotlight.

He is, however, one of Brazil's great hopes at this summer's Copa América, as I wrote in my opening-night piece from the Morumbi over at The Independent.

Gabriel Jesus interview: 'I didn't know anything about England. Fernandinho was like my godfather'

It can be easy to lose sight of the human factor that lies beyond the broad strokes that make up a footballer's CV.

The costs, the sacrifices, the challenges that come with upping sticks and moving halfway across the globe... these don't appear on a player's Wikipedia page, but they're in the background, shaping everything.

Gabriel Jesus, who was just a teenager when he left Brazil to pursue his dream, is well-placed to comment on the culture shock that such a move entails. "I was 19 years old, in another country with a different culture and a different language," he recalls. "I didn't know anything. It would have been difficult if it wasn't for the people helping me."

I interviewed Jesus about his adaptation to life in England, pizza, living in Manchester and Palmeiras. You can read it over at Bleacher Report.

Roberto Firmino interview: 'I used to sleep with my football when I was a kid. It's good to dream big'

There are two players living inside Roberto Firmino's body.

The Brazilian, one of the key figures in Liverpool's reemergence as a domestic and continental force, is a striker with an eye for the spectacular. But he's also one of the hardest-working footballers out there, tireless in his efforts to help his team-mates.

He is daring but diligent, silky yet self-sacrificing, at once wizard and workhorse.

I got the chance to ask Firmino about this duality in an exclusive interview a couple of months ago. We also talked no-look finishes, people getting his name wrong, idolising Ronaldinho, and Jürgen Klopp's Anfield revolution.

Have a read on the Bleacher Report site.

The best youngsters emerging from Brazil, including 'Little Onion', a classic No.9 and the second coming of Ramires

Scouts have to act fast these days, especially those working in Brazil.

Two of the country's most impressive young talents have already agreed big-money deals: Flamengo’s Lucas Paquetá is on his way to AC Milan, and Rodrygo, the latest teen sensation to come through the ever-reliable Santos system, will eventually move to Real Madrid.

But there is still plenty of potential in the Brasileirão if some of the European big boys decide to go shopping in January.

I pick out five of the best up-and-coming talents in my latest for Unibet.

Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Jesus or Richarlison: who deserves to lead the line for Brazil?

After two years of real stability, Brazil's No.9 jersey seems to be up for grabs again.

Gabriel Jesus, the incumbent for the majority of the Tite era, was left out of the squad for friendlies against the USA and El Salvador, following some under-par displays World Cup.

That gave Richarlison a chance to make an impression, and with Roberto Firmino forever pressing his case and Jesus now back in the mix, it's shaping up to be a three-way Premier League battle to lead the line for the Seleção.

I assess each of their chances in my latest for Unibet.

Arise, King Arthur: Midfielder a perfect fit for Barcelona – and will be a key man for Brazil for years to come

For 78 minutes, he set the tempo of the game, probing and plotting from the left side of the central midfield three. Pass, pass, pass; see ya! He yanked the opposition around the pitch like a cat playing with a ball of wool.

Already, Arthur looks like a key cog in the Barcelona side, adding guile, craft and balance. But the Camp Nou love-in is about more than just ability.

It's a question of identity, too; Arthur is no La Masia graduate, but there's something about his game – the low centre of gravity, the 360-degree vision, the unwavering bravery on the ball – that just fits with the Barcelona way.

Read my piece on Arthur's start to life in Europe – and his importance to Brazil – on the Unibet blog.

Explained: Mick Jagger's powerful and long-standing influence on Brazilian football

It was, on the face of it, a nothing story. Brazil were preparing to play Costa Rica at the World Cup, and Rafaella Santos, Neymar's sister, was in the stands. Footballer's sibling watches match: one for the minor celeb pages, at a push, but no more than that.

Yet as kick-off approached, a photo posted by Santos on Instagram from the Saint-Petersburg Stadium started going viral in her homeland. Many saw it as a bad omen – one that the Seleção, who had already failed to beat Switzerland in their opening game, could have done without out. "WHO TOLD HER THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?" ran one typically energetic response.

Santos' crime? Wearing a Rolling Stones jersey.

In the end, Brazil just about managed to grind out a win, scoring twice in extra time. It was, by common consensus, a lucky escape from one of international football's more nefarious invisible forces.

It's Superstitions Week on The Athletic Soccer, so naturally I wrote about the curse of Mick Jagger.

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