Sandro.

Why the rapid rise of this youngster has given Tottenham fans reason for cheer:







Posted on Saturday, 30th July 2011 by FFC



In the space of one season, Tottenham Hotspur defensive midfielder Sandro
went from being an exciting young player with great potential to the
established first team starter alongside Luka Modric. His rise was
rapid, ascending the White Hart Lanepecking order with disconcerting
ease, but how did it happen?

At the beginning of the 2010/2011 season, Tom Huddlestone was
Modric’s preferred partner. The fans love Huddlestone for his superb
technique and his range of passing but he frustrates them with a lack of
speed and urgency. He was however, established, and captained the side
against Inter Milan in November. Shortly after this he suffered an ankle
injury that was to rule him out for the next 3 months and open up the
central midfield role to auditions.

Wilson Palacios was the logical replacement, at this point Sandro had
barely featured for the first team, making his league debut against
Fulham in October. Palacios did not convince Redknapp in Huddlestone’s
absence and several displays of terrible passing could not be atoned for
with his trademark aggression. Previously such a reliable, dynamic
player for Spurs, Palacios suffered a loss of form last term and Sandro
was the beneficiary.


Sandro’s biggest chance to establish himself came against A.C. Milan at the San Siro on the 15^th
February. He was partnered with Wilson Palacios as Redknapp attempted
to nullify Milan’s attacking options by playing two, hard working, hard
tackling defensive midfielders. The plan worked as Spurs came out with a
memorable 1-0 victory and after the game Redknapp singled the Brazilian
out for praise. ‘He is powerful, strong and aggressive with good feet
and he can pass the ball.’ Encouraging words to hear from such a
notoriously blunt manager. It was this performance that announced
Sandro’s arrival to the Spurs faithful. From this point on he was handed
the responsibility of breaking up play in front of the back four. In
typical Brazilian fashion, he likes to wander forward and was harshly
rebuked for doing so by Redknapp after scoring a 35 yard volley against
Chelsea.

The Tottenham midfield is bloated and Sandro’s rapid ascension will
not have aided the sleep of Jermaine Jenas and Wilson Palacios one bit.
It does however offer the exciting prospect of watching Huddlestone and
Sandro competing for that central role or just watching them playing
together. Let’s hope he continues to improve.

Written by Philip Wroe for FootballFancast.com. Who would you choose in central midfield? Tell me on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/philipwroe