Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile (Vinhedo, 2006) is the protagonist of an unprecedented case in the history of football: he was born in Brazil, has Spanish nationality, is an international (under 17) with Argentina… and scores in England.
Felipinho, as he is known in football, has just scored two goals last weekend in Preston NE’s defeat against Manchester United (5-2) in the FA Youth Cup.
“Felipe was born in Brazil, he has Argentine nationality because of us and Spanish nationality also because I got it,” his father, Fernando, explains to ‘Infobae’. He owes Felipinho’s thing to his roots: “He was always small and at ‘little ones’ in Brazil put the ‘inho’ at the end,” he continues.
The really curious thing is that, having been born in Brazil, he plays with the Albiceleste. “I have always fanned for Argentina. Since 2014 I have dyed my hair light blue at the World Cups, in 2018 I did it in Brazil and they almost killed me. I saw the final in Argentina and we celebrated at the Obelisk,” he acknowledged to ‘TNT’.
I always fanned for Argentina. Since 2014 I have dyed my hair light blue at the World Cup, in 2018 I did it in Brazil and they almost killed me
Felipinho
“A good vibe was generated with the Argentines through networks for him to play for the national team, they send him messages all the time. His dream is to play for Argentina,” his father insists.
Felipinho, with the Argentina sub 17. Instagram
Felipinho, who has not yet made his debut with Preston NE’s first team, maintains a love affair with the youth FA Cup. In his debut, when he had just turned 16, he scored five goals! to Rotherham United (6-1). “We thought he was going to go to the bench because the tournament is under 18. We got on the train and they told him that he would be a starter. They started losing and, suddenly, he started scoring goals. It was spectacular, magical,” says his father.
His ‘poker’ put him in the showcase. “Here in England it was an explosion. It appeared in the newspapers because it is not common. A few days later, shots began to be fired on social networks in Argentina. It was crazy,” insists Fernando.
Preston was fast and, in November 2023, he signed his first professional contract. “Felipe is a great asset for us because he has quality. We believe he has a great future ahead of him, but right now he has to continue working as hard as possible to get his first minutes with the first team,” warned his former coach, Ryan Lowe.
For now, although he has already scored in a friendly with the ‘seniors’, ‘Felipinho’ is still waiting for his opportunity. If it continues like this, it won’t take long to arrive…