In the summer he was a £60 million target for Chelsea. A key figure in Juventus reaching a second Champions League Final in three seasons, Alex Sandro was absolutely essential to making Max Allegri’s 4-2-3-1 formation work. Catching the eye of the Stamford Bridge outfit with a string of devastating performances, he was able to run push forward and provide a stream of accurate crosses for Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala while never neglecting his defensive duties.
When the Bianconeri eliminated Barcelona by holding them scoreless in both legs of their semifinal clash, it was the Brazilian – along with the hardworking Mario Mandžukić – who neutralised Lionel Messi. Whenever the Old Lady needed a boost, it seemed Sandro was on hand to provide it, and, much like with Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba, his name became quickly became a hot topic on the transfer market.
“Without question,” former West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop said on ESPN FC when asked if Chelsea should go in for him. "Alex Sandro is a perfect fit for anybody and I'll say this unapologetically, for my money he’s the second-best left-back in world football. Second only behind Brazilian team-mate Marcelo.”
High praise indeed. It was easy to see why after two superb years in Turin, the 26-year-old quickly supplanted Patrice Evra in the starting XI and going on to become a devastating weapon at both ends of the pitch. He adapted to life in Serie A almost immediately, his tactical awareness and recovery speed making him a perfect fit for a league renowned for its attention to detail and fixation upon the nuances of systems and positions.
Yet Juve rebuffed every advance, Director General Beppe Marotta insisting the Brazilian was going nowhere. “He said he wants to stay here, so we sent the offers right back where they came from,” the club official told reporters back in August, with the player even receiving praise from his childhood idol Roberto Carlos.
"Alex can be my heir, and I see a bit of myself in him,” the former Real Madrid star told Tuttosport. “He’s a modern full-back who knows how to defend and to attack. He might not shoot at goal like me, but I have to admit that his crosses might be more precise than mine. That's his specialty, and his balls are very inviting for strikers.”
But since the start of 2017/18, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone making such lofty comparisons. Indeed, while Juve have struggled for defensive solidity and cohesion throughout the side, no player has looked more out of sorts than Sandro. A shadow of the force he was last term, statistics provided by WhoScored.com show that his contributions in almost every category have fallen below their previous standards.
Averaging 1.5 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game during the current campaign, last seasons figures of 2.3 and 2.1 show just how off the pace he has been. It is a similar story in possession, Sandro creating just 1.3 scoring chances per 90 minutes this term compared to 1.9 in 2016/17 and his Coach has certainly noticed.
Juve have lent on backup full-back Kwadwo Asamoah far more this season, the Ghanaian international having already made six starts in place of the usual first choice man. “It happens in the career of a player to have a drop in form, for reasons that are indecipherable,” Allegri told reporters earlier this month. “We are trying to stay close to Alex Sandro and work out how he can get back to giving his best.”
Whether or not he had his head turned by that transfer chatter is impossible to know, but there is no denying the evidence that he has seemed distracted and disinterested in the opening few months of this campaign. As talk rages over a possible change in formation as the cure for the Old Lady’s recent struggles, seeing Sandro back to his dynamic best could arguably make just as much of an impact.
With him in delivering such subdued performances, Mandzukic’s lack of attacking incision makes the 4-2-3-1 unsustainable, the left flank offering almost nothing going forward without his overlapping runs and dangerous low crosses into the box. Whatever shape they adopt and however Allegri opts to alter their approach, there is little doubt that having Alex Sandro back firing on all cylinders could be the difference between a trophyless season and ultimate glory.
