On the morning of the 13th January, Sebastião Tomé Gomes sent his white Fiat crashing through the streets of Santa Maria in Brazil, killing his ‘love rival’ on a runaway motorcycle, as well as a woman who was sound asleep when the two vehicles came crashing through her walls. The headlines were soon quick to point out that this man was none other than the father of a certain Felipe Anderson, a footballer, no less – the new darling of Lazio.

It was slightly fortuitous timing then that it was merely hours before that a more famous footballer had walked up some steps, nabbed a golden ball, and walked off with it. Cristiano Ronaldo would have been glad to take the spotlight away from Felipe Anderson: the Ballon d’Or winner must have his day; Anderson must be relieved to have this little bit of respite, at least.

Yet the forcefulness with which these headlines had hit the media – more so than the death itself of another young talent Junior Malanda – has shown how Anderson’s celebrity stock is on the rise. This is a man who had started 2015 better than anyone else: on his first game of the new year he put in an astonishing performance against Sampdoria, literally plating up goals for Marco Parolo and Filip Djordjevic while himself scoring from the finest and firmest of strikes (see from 0:44 of the video). Still, the highlight of the match came after that when Sampdoria’s manager Sinisa Mihajlovic proclaimed that he “looked like Cristiano Ronaldo”, magic words that would send every decent journalist flurrying after their pen. This was high praise of course coming from Mihajlovic, himself a Lazio legend and a key cog in The Eagles’ last great title winning side 15 years ago.

The Next Ronaldo

What struck me about Mihajlovic’s words were not merely the truth in the statement, but also the rarity of it, especially at the highest level. Titles such as the ‘Next Pele‘ or the ‘Next Maradona’ or the ‘Next Messi’ are bandied about rather flagrantly, but the ‘Next Ronaldo’ appears to be something else altogether. Because Ronaldo is not so much that elegant, graceful dribbler who attacks with a real finesse – the sort you’ll see bullying poor kids in a hopeful demo-tape. Nor is he that cheeky, extravagant – almost obnoxious – player that for a short while gave Nani the mantle of being Ronaldo’s replacement at Old Trafford.

Because Ronaldo is football’s alpha male, the sort that exists only at the highest professional level: a complete player who is both fast and powerful, technically perfect, direct and confident. For a while Gareth Bale came close, but now that the two are put side-by-side, few have since dared openly suggested this parallel. It remains that Ronaldo himself is a freak mismatch of gift and guile, dedication and desire, and that the ‘Next Ronaldo’ is better found not in a particular type of player, but in a phenomenon – yes the very word used to describe the original Brazilian prototype.

Enter Felipe Anderson, football’s latest sensation. It may be pre-mature to be making a call at this juncture, but where is the fun in dealing with a known entity? Anderson is my firm candidate to follow in the Ballon d’Or winner’s footsteps as a phenom ready to take the football world by storm.

It may be early days yet, but the now infamous stat line of 5 goals and 5 assists in his past 5 games may seem too good to continue until you actually watch this kid. Among his best attributes are his speed (rated as the fastest in Serie A), skill and ball control – just imagine the velocity of Bale that springs him past defenders, coupled with Hazard’s turn of pace that can send him on mazy measured runs that are near impossible to halt. Add in a touch of Iniesta’s inventiveness and we might be dealing with something really special here:

More than anything I appreciate the little things: his youthful approach to attack – more direct, less patient, yet also his maturity to constantly look out for his teammates’ runs, even while on the fly. Indeed he appears poised, composed, and fairly grown up for a 21 year old. Then again he has had his fair share of growing: this is Anderson’s second season in Serie A – meaning he’s already been through worst bit – and if he can avoid the sophomore slump, he’s just got clear skies ahead.

But there is also a lot of growing in him left: this season is also his first under Stefano Pioli, who appears to have created a system that gives Felipe Anderson real freedom going forward, perhaps the same sort of mandate Ferguson gave to Ronaldo when he set him loose against Bolton that autumn day in 2003. The 35 year old captain Stefano Mauri also appears to have taken the kid under his wise wings, maybe in the same way that Ryan Giggs might have done to CR7. Lazio might not be able to hold on to him for long, but it does seems like he’s found himself a good place to call home for now.

Or the Next Neymar?

Along with Cristiano Ronaldo, Felipe Anderson recognises Neymar as a player who inspires him (of all things for his “spectacular movement without the ball”). These are strange yet humbling words coming from someone merely a year Neymar’s junior, someone who while at Santos must have at some point fancied himself to be no less than Neymar. Still, Felipe Anderson looks up and recognises how far he has come, yet also how far he has left to go. The boy who was from his kindergarten class invited by businessman Rafael Felix to train with Coritiba covets playing for Barcelona one day, perhaps lining up alongside Neymar once again.

The last time that happened, Santos were Copa Libertadores champions, their first since 1963 when a certain Pele led them to cup glory. Now that Neymar has achieved what many other ‘Next Pele’s before couldn’t for Santos, could Felipe Anderson perhaps achieve what no other ‘Next Ronaldos can? One will hope that the kid has the hunger to do so, just as Cristiano himself did, and still does to this day.