Felipe Anderson

Early career

Felipe Anderson began his career in Associação 14 Companhia de Polícia Militar Independente (CPMIND), in his hometown of Santa Maria, Federal District at 6 years old. In 2006, he was moved to Federal FC, and later to Sport Clube Recreativo Gaminha FC. After some impressive performances on the club, he was moved to Paraná to play for Astral EC, finishing the year. In 2007, he was moved to Coritiba youth side, and then in 2007 summer he was moved to Santos.

Santos

Felipe Anderson then played for Santos' youth categories, and was promoted to the senior squad following a rash of injuries in October 2010. He began training with the senior side and signed a professional contract until July 2013. He made his debut for Santos on 6 October 2010 as a 90th-minute substitute in a 3–0 win against Fluminense.

His first goal of his footballing career came on 11 February 2011, when Felipe came off the bench at half time to replace Keirrison against Noroeste, scoring from a long range shot in the 70th minute. On 7 September, he scored his first league goal, against Avaí. In November, he signed a new contract with Santos, running until 2016.

In his following season, Felipe Anderson had more chances in first team alongside Neymar, due to Ganso's injuries and Elano's poor form (both players left Santos in the middle of the season). On 9 February 2012, he scored his first goal of the season, against Botafogo-SP.

On the 31 January 2013, the agreed transfer to the Italian club Lazio for €7.5 million failed due to late arrival of a necessary international fax from Brazil to close the deal.

Lazio

On 25 June 2013, Lazio agreed a €7.8 million fee with Santos, and Felipe Anderson signed a five-year deal worth €800,000 a year. Santos received 50% of the transfer sum and the third part owner Doyen Sports will get the rest. Lazio's sporting director Igli Tare criticized the third part owner Doyen Sports for numerous times delaying the transfer, “It will remain in history as the most paradoxical and shocking negotiations I have ever been a part of,” said Tare. “These third party owners changed their minds continually. When we had everything decided, they would start from scratch two hours later. It all happened for a full week, so it felt like being in the Twilight Zone."

2014–15 season

In his second season at the club, Felipe Anderson achieved 10 goals and 9 assists in 27 games across all competitions by April 2015. This included the concluding goal as Lazio defeated Varese 3–0 in the fourth round of the season's Coppa Italia, and an assist in both legs of the tournament's semi-final against holders Napoli, the one in the second leg providing the winning goal by Senad Lulić. He played the full 120 minutes of the final on 20 May 2015, a 1–2 loss to Juventus.

2015–16 season

In July, it was announced that Felipe Anderson would not be wearing the number 7 shirt that he had worn in his previous season with Lazio, but that he would instead be awarded the number 10 shirt. On 8 August, Felipe Anderson appeared in Lazio's 2–0 defeat to Juventus in the 2015 Supercoppa Italiana.

International career

Felipe Anderson was one of seven stand-by players named by coach Dunga for Brazil's squad at the 2015 Copa América in Chile. He made his debut in a warm-up match against Mexico on 7 June of that year, playing the final seven minutes in place of Fred in a 2–0 victory at Allianz Parque in São Paulo.

In June 2016, Felipe Anderson was included in Brazil's squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics on home soil by the Olympic side's manager Rogério Micale. On 20 August, he appeared in the final of the tournament against Germany at the Maracanã in Rio; Brazil won the match 5–4 on penalties following a 1–1 draw to capture its first Olympic gold medal in men's football.

Style of play

A quick, well-rounded, and technically gifted midfielder, with a slender and diminutive but long-limbed physique, Felipe Anderson is considered a promising and talented young player. He is predominantly known for his pace, and is regarded as one of the fastest players in the modern game; although not imposing physically or in the air, he also possesses good ball control, quick feet, and excellent dribbling skills, which allow him to beat opponents in one on one situations. A tactically versatile player, he is capable of playing in several different positions due to his wide range of skills, high work-rate, and ability to both create and score goals: he has been used as a forward or as a central midfield playmaker, but has most frequently been deployed as either a winger or an attacking midfielder, due to his offensive movement and tendency to operate between the lines; he is capable of playing on either flank or through the centre of the pitch, due to his ability to cut into the middle and strike on goal, or move out to the wing to provide accurate crosses to teammates in the area. In addition to his speed, stamina, creativity and technical ability, he is known for his eye for goal, and is gifted with a powerful and accurate shot from distance with either foot, despite being naturally right-footed; he is also an accurate set-piece and penalty kick taker. He can also serve as an assist-man due to his creative ability, vision, dead-ball delivery, and eye for the final pass.

Career statistics

Club

International