Felipe Anderson’s return to the Brazilian national team has become a big thing in the local press in the past couple of days.
The West Ham midfielder hadn’t been called up since 2015, when he played only one game with the yellow jersey, and is now back to prove himself again.
On Thursday we had already covered his chat with Sportv, and now the Hammers’ star has spoken to website UOL as well.
Leaving those questions about ‘how does it feel to go back to the national team’ aside, Felipe Anderson has also talked a lot about his first season at West Ham and his quick success at the club.
UOL’s headline calls Felipe Anderson the ‘king of nutmegs’, and he explained a bit about how things have worked out for him in the Premier League.
“The guys always say a lot about this thing I’m nutmegging a lot”, Felipe Anderson told UOL. “Even in training my teammates joke with me so I don’t try to do it on them, but it’s something that happens naturally. The play sometimes asks to risk something different. It’s not premeditated.”
“I’m happy with the repercussion, to be able to show a little of the resource and the improvisation that Brazilian football has. I’m not going to be talking about it too much for the opponents not to come and mark me with the legs closed (laughs).”
Asked if he needed to change any of his characteristics to succeed in English football, the player claims he was ready for it after so many years in Italy.
“I believe that the experience I had in Italy was very important in this sense of evolution and game awareness. I learned a lot about the tactical part, I had many good coaches, so it made me mature a lot. I’m always connected in how the game is drawing, in making a recomposition and helping defensively as well. Thank goodness things are going super right.”
Felipe Anderson was also quizzed if the intensity he’s getting used to in English football could help him in the national team.
“I believe so, because here in English football the level of demand is very high. Every game you have to do your utmost and I am already used to it. Perhaps the best players in the world today are playing in English football today, so you have to be always attentive, always at your best. I think this can be an important factor in this issue of intensity of competitiveness that the games of the Brazilian national team always demand.”
