Sandro Raniere Guimarães Cordeiro (born 15 March 1989), or simply Sandro, is a Brazilian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Portuguese

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

club Belenenses.

Club career

Early career

Sandro is a product of

Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonat ...

's youth academy. He signed his first professional contract and began his senior career in 2007 as an 18-year-old. Sandro was one of the main players of Inter's winning

2010 Copa Libertadores The 2010 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2010 Copa Santander Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 51st edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, CONMEBOL's premier international club tournament. The tournament began on ...

campaign. Sandro was already signed to Tottenham through most of the competition, but that did not affect his performance negatively: on the contrary, he said he "live with great intensity, as each game could be the last". With this in mind, he worked hard to stay at Internacional as long as possible in order to help the team reach the finals. After winning South America's top trophy, he flew to England the following week.

Tottenham Hotspur

In August 2009

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

were reported to have had a £14 million bid rejected for the player. However, on 20 October 2009, Spurs and

agreed an affiliation of the two clubs, ensuring that Tottenham have first option on all academy players from the Brazilian outfit. Six days later Tottenham manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his ...

confirmed he was interested in Sandro for a fee rumoured to be around £8 million. On 10 March 2010, Internacional President Vitorio Piffero confirmed the transfer of the midfielder to Tottenham, after the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

. The transfer amount was speculated to be around €10 million, with only the contract yet to be signed. Both Internacional and Tottenham reported on their respective websites that a deal had been agreed for Sandro for an undisclosed fee. Sandro joined Tottenham following the end of the

, which finished on 18 August. Internacional's financial report stated that the fee was R$ 20,633,850, with about 25% re-distributed by Inter to third party owners. Tottenham Hotspur confirmed that a deal for Sandro had been completed and that he would join up at the end of Internacional's Copa Libertadores campaign. Sandro said of the move to England that he thought Spurs were "a great fit for me" and that "a club that is growing every year makes it the ideal club for me". He made his Tottenham debut in a 4–1 home defeat against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the third round of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

on 21 September 2010. On 9 January 2011, Sandro made a start against League One side

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

, assisting

Andros Townsend Andros Darryl Townsend (born 16 July 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Everton. A graduate of the Tottenham Hotspur academy, Townsend was initially loaned out to several League One and then Champions ...

and playing the full match. He made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

debut for Tottenham on 15 February 2011 at the

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

against seven times winners

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

, receiving special praise from manager Harry Redknapp in his side's 1–0 win. Playing a pivotal role just in front of the back four, he was man of the match in the return leg at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

. He scored his first goal for the club against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

with a 35-yard volley in a 2–1 defeat. Sandro signed a new five-year contract with Tottenham on 8 September 2011, a deal which would have run till 2016. In January 2013, Sandro picked up a knee injury during the game against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. After the game it was announced that Sandro would be out for the remainder of the 2012–13 season. Prior to the game, after a run of impressive performances Sandro has been affectionately nicknamed 'Beast' by the Tottenham fans. He scored his third goal in Tottenham colours in December 2013 against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, with a powerful shot from into the top corner described by opponent

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while als ...

as "a great strike".

Queens Park Rangers

On 1 September 2014, Sandro signed for

for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut against

, coming off injured and replaced by

Karl Henry Karl Levi Daniel Henry (born 26 November 1982) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Boldmere St. Michaels. Henry was a product of the Stoke City academy who went on to make over 120 appearances for the club, also spending ti ...

. He scored his first goal for QPR against former club Tottenham on 7 March 2015. On 29 January 2016, Sandro signed for West Brom on loan. He made his debut in the 1–1 draw with Swansea City.

Antalyaspor

On 11 January 2017, Sandro signed for Turkish club

Antalyaspor Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Antalya. The club's colours are red and white. They play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the club won the First League twice in 1982 and 1 ...

on a three-year deal. On 10 January 2018, Sandro signed with a loan contract with

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

until 30 June 2018. He made his debut on 28 January 2018 in 3–0 away loss against

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

. He scored his first goal for Benevento during his 4th match by scoring the 1-1 goal in a 3–2 home win against

Crotone Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until ...

Genoa

On 3 July 2018, Sandro signed a contract with Italian club

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. His contract with Genoa has been terminated in early 2020 after he didn't appear in any games for the club in the 2019–20 season.

Udinese

On 31 January 2019, Sandro joined

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a fo ...

on loan for the remainder of the 2018–19 season.

Goiás

On 18 January 2020, he joined

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiânia. ...

International career

Sandro and Scott Brown - Brazil vs Scotland Mar11

Having represented Brazil at Under-20 level, and captaining them at the

2009 South American Youth Championship The 2009 South American Youth Championship (Sudamericano sub-20) was a football competition for national teams U-20 who are associated with the football federation CONMEBOL. It was the 24th time the tournament was held and took place in Venezuela ...

, Sandro made his full debut for the Brazilian national team as a substitute in a World Cup qualifier against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

on 9 September 2009. He was named as 1 of 7 back-up players to the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

squad.

Personal life

During his time in England, Sandro became interested in darts, and recorded a video with professional player

Bobby George Robert Francis George (born 16 December 1945) is an English television presenter and former professional darts player. He is widely recognised as one of the game's biggest personalities, known for his flamboyant entrances in which the "King ...

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

Sandro
at tottenhamhotspur.com * *
Internacional.com.br
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandro 1989 births Living people Brazilian footballers Sport Club Internacional players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Antalyaspor footballers Benevento Calcio players Genoa C.F.C. players Udinese Calcio players Goiás Esporte Clube players Belenenses SAD players Brazil international footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Premier League players English Football League players Süper Lig players Serie A players Brazilian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Portugal Association football midfielders 2011 Copa América players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Brazil Olympic silver medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in football Brazil youth international footballers Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Minas Gerais