Felipe Anderson explains having a difficult childhood “A difficult childhood, but a happy one. As the youngest of five siblings living in Santa Maria, 150 miles from the border with Uruguay. There were times when we didn’t have enough food on the table.
When it came to the end of the month, I could see my parents were sad because they were unable to give us the best. They had lots of debts. Sometimes they had arguments about it. Buying a pair of football boots, despite having obvious talent and a fierce determination to make the most of it, was impossible.”
But Anderson did not see it as an obstacle. “If it meant I had to borrow boots from friends so be it.” Something he takes strength from now and has helped him keep his feet on the ground and remain humble, also having the drive to help others.
Overcoming obstacles, Felipe Anderson’s kept his feet on the ground when things got difficult at Lazio, after 5 years with the club, During the 2017–18 season his form suffered numerous setbacks. A falling out with manager Simone Inzaghi after a 2–1 defeat to Genoa in February 2018 coupled with a knee injury that kept him out from August to December 2017 restricted Felipe Anderson to just nine Serie A starts for the season.
On 15 July 2018, Felipe Anderson signed for West Ham United for a reported transfer fee of £36 million. The fee surpassed the previous record paid by the club, set with the £22 million signing of Issa Diop earlier in the same transfer window.
Anderson says the Premier League is the best league in the world ‘I was very motivated from day one to repay the belief the club has shown in me. I have worked very hard to settle in quickly and am enjoying being part of the team, being in the city and taking part in such a project.’
In 2018, Felipe Anderson scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham with a back-heeled finish in a 3–1 home win against Manchester United, a goal he remembers “We had played eight games before that and I hadn’t got a goal.”
Anderson has gone on to score 8 goals from 27 appearances, missing only one game in the 2018/2019 season with West Ham, He is creating his own history at the London Stadium, just as he did when he was part of the first Brazil side to win an Olympic gold medal at the Rio Games in 2016.
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