West Ham winger Felipe Anderson was quick to acknowledge Mauricio Pellegrini’s role in his recent Seleção recall. But he also took the time to credit the work of his former Santos coach Muricy Ramalho.
Anderson was recalled to the Brazil squad for the first time since 2015 for friendlies against Panama and Czech Republic later this month. He says his improved end product with West Ham this season can be traced to Muricy’s influence.
“Professor Muricy always pressured me very much for not getting into the box and always asked me why I did not get in the box to score goals. I knew I had to improve on that, but of course I always had a style of being creative,” he told SporTV.
“But I worked hard on this issue of arriving and making the final move to receive the ball. Of entering the box and receiving the cross. And now I’m accomplishing this feat of scoring several goals and being a top scorer of the team.
“I believe that with him I learned a lot, knowing that it’s important not only to make assists, but also contribute directly with goals for the team. It’s important for an attacking player to score goals. And this year things are happening, the goals are coming out, everything I learned from him I have put into practice throughout my career.”
