Felipe finally got the win his performances in a Nottingham Forest shirt have merited as he shone again in the 3-1 victory over Brighton.
The experienced Brazilian has been a rock in the centre of the Forest defence since his move from Atletico Madrid, but he had failed to be on the winning side in his first 11 appearances for the club.
That changed against Brighton though as Reds legend Garry Birtles praised the player's leadership qualities and attitude.
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"I've watched him in training and he's the same there. He doesn't hold back. He's the same as he is on the pitch," he told the Garibaldi Red podcast.
"You can see his leadership qualities and I think players look up to him."
Felipe was seen rowing with teammate Serge Aurier after a Brighton player got in behind the defence in the second half - something Birtles was delighted to witness.
"I loved it. You can overdo it sometimes. I remember once when Larry Lloyd gave a penalty away in a pre-season game and Peter Shilton had a go at him," he said.
"Larry grabbed him by the throat in the dressing room and said you can have a go at me, but not on the pitch. Nowadays I think fans appreciate it and want to see that desire to win at any costs and roll up your sleeves.
"I didn't mind it. It drove me on to do things right. You can switch off and at that level if you do you get punished. A dig in the ribs from a teammate can make you focus."
Fellow contributor Emily Anderson said she was thrilled to finally see the former Porto man get the points his performances have deserved.
"I love Felipe. I was slightly worried when he got in bother in the first five minutes and got a yellow card. It didn't dampen his fire," she said.
"He's what we've been crying out for for a long time - his phyiscality, the way he just goes for it every time. He's one of the reasons we've not been pummelled by four or five goals with him in the team.
"If we had a back four of Felipe's we'd be fine. It was great that he got a win finally."
How good has Felipe been? Have your say in the comments section below
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