Felipe Anderson has five goals and five assists in his last five games, and has been directly involved in 10 of Lazio's last 11 goals. He set up the first and scored the second in Lazio's 2-2 draw against AS Roma Sunday, and his team will be disappointed that he couldn't play defense for them as well. It was another outrageous performance on top of four previous outrageous performances for a player who's now a legitimate superstar.
Meet Felipe Anderson, Serie A’s biggest emerging star
Lazio youngster Felipe Anderson has been dominant over his last five games, and he’s not going away.
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Is it possible that Anderson is a flash in the pan, doomed to a big dropoff in form very soon? Sure, but it’s unlikely. His pedigree suggests that this is just the beginning of the 21-year-old player’s rise.
Anderson was supposed to be a world-beater by this age. He made his Brasileirão debut for Santos FC at the age of 17, and was the member of a brilliant class of youngsters that included Neymar, stylish playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso and Napoli goalkeeper Rafael Cabral. He eventually snatched his spot as a first choice player and dynamic attacking midfielder in 2012, paving the way for his eventual €8m move to Lazio.
The way that Anderson got here is a bit odd, however. Some poor form and injury troubles in early 2013 kept his transfer fee down, and kept him from going to a bigger club than Lazio. Upon arrival in Rome, he struggled to break into the first team, though he showed off evidence of his talent late last season.
He was limited to a bit part role until December, when it became clear that Lazio were in need of a shake-up after a 2-1 loss to Empoli, a 3-0 loss to Juventus and a 0-0 draw against Chievo in succession. Anderson started the next game, a 2-1 win over Parma, and scored the winner. He's been in the team since, and contributed to nine more goals.
And it’s not just that Anderson is notching goals and assists, though that would certainly be good enough to lavish praise on him. It’s that the ones he’s putting up are so ridiculous. Here’s a selection of three of them.
This goal, against Inter Milan, got casual fans taking notice of Anderson's talents for the first time. He beats four guys! And makes it look easy! He doesn't even have to shrug off a challenge, or get help from a deflection to score. He dances around and finishes this like he's in a bunch of space.
The swerve on this shot is impressive, and the reason he scored. It looks like this one is going wide at first, then cuts back inside, easily beating the Sampdoria keeper from 30 yards.
And then there's this disgusting assist for the opener in the derby against Roma. What you can't see here is the preceding 40-yard individual run, just the cutback and audacious chipped pass at the end. This is the nastiest of his five dimes.
Anderson’s progression should have been a bit more natural. He should have been dominant in his state league in 2013 before playing a bit more for Lazio than he did last season and earning a starting place earlier this season. It’s been a weird road, but this is how good Anderson is supposed to be. He’s supposed to be a guy with five goals and assists at this point in the season. He’s supposed to be emerging as one of Serie A’s best attacking midfielders. The only thing surprising about his recent achievements is the suddenness with which he’s made the leap to this level.
This guy is a star, though. A real star. One that’s going to keep an otherwise mediocre Lazio side contending for Champions League, then ultimately announcing himself as a force to be reckoned with on that stage, whether it be for the Biancocelesti or an even bigger club.
Don’t worry about why it took so long for this to happen, or why he seemingly came out of nowhere to those who didn’t follow his Brazilian career. Felipe Anderson is dominating now, like he was always supposed to.
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