Emi Buendia idolised Ronaldinho as a child, loves Philippe Coutinho’s skills and wants to play in Europe at Aston Villa as he reveals targets for season

Argentina vs Brazil is one of the great rivalries in international football but two players Emi Buendia looks up to come from his homeland’s South American adversaries.

The Argentine Aston Villa star revealed to talkSPORT that as a football mad boy Brazilian star Ronaldinho was the player who always stuck out to him, and he also rates the World Cup winner’s compatriot – and new teammate – Philippe Coutinho.

Coutinho made an immediate impact on his Villans debut as he came off the bench to get a goal and assist as they fought back from 2-0 down to claim a point against Manchester United.

And Buendia is excited by what the ex-Liverpool man can bring to the team as he hopes to see Coutinho return to the form he produced on Merseyside.

“The Coutinho in Liverpool was one of the best dribblers and skills players in the world at that time,” Buendia said on Darren Bent’s Boot Room.

“He’s got the quality, he’s never lost it and I hope he gets the confidence to play that football again.

“He can bring lots of positive things to help the team.”

On Ronaldinho, Buendia added: “I watched lots and lots of teams when I was a kid. I had lots of shirts from teams around Europe, not only Premier League but in Spain and Italy, I also had a Bayern Munich shirt.

“I really liked to watch different leagues in different countries. The only player I was really watching was Ronaldinho – he was the best player in the world. It was a joy to watch him so he’s the one.”

Villa are still only 13th in the Premier League despite their heroics at the weekend, but the feeling is very positive under new boss Gerrard.

As well as Coutinho, they completed the signing of Lucas Digne from Everton and Buendia is hopeful these deals can help them finish in a European place come the end of the season.

Buendia added: “We are ambitious. The club has shown ambition in this transfer window with the signings of Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho.

“We had a strong squad before these two signings and we keep going higher and higher in the table.

“We want to be in the top half of the table in as high a position as possible and are looking to get into a European position at the end of this season.”