Sandro Raniere

Sandro

Personal information
Full name	Sandro Ranieri Guimarães Cordeiro
Date of birth	(1989-03-15) 15 March 1989
Place of birth	Riachinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Tottenham Hotspur
Number	30
Youth career
2005–2008	Internacional
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2008–2010	Internacional	68	(4)
2010–	Tottenham Hotspur	42	(1)
National team‡
2009	Brazil U20	8	(1)
2012	Brazil U23	-	(-)
2009–	Brazil	9	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 April 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 August 2011

Sandro Ranieri Guimarães Cordeiro (born 15 March 1989), or simply Sandro, is a Brazilian international defensive midfielder, who plays for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. He joined Tottenham at the end of Internacional's victorious 2010 Copa Libertadores campaign in September 2010.

Club career

Early career

Sandro is a product of Internacional's youth academy. He signed his first professional contract and began his senior career in 2007 as an 18 year old. He has been described as a defensive midfielder who gets forward.

Sandro was one of the main players of Inter's winning 2010 Copa Libertadores 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[d] with great intensity, as each game could be the last". With this in mind, he worked hard to stay in 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

On 30 August 2009, Tottenham Hotspur were reported to have had a £14 million bid rejected for the player. However, on 20 October 2009, Spurs and Internacional agreed an affiliation of the two clubs, ensuring that Tottenham have first option on all academy players from the Brazilian outfit. Following this agreement, there were rumours of a near-concluded deal pending for the 2009–10 Premier League January transfer window. Six days later, on 26 October 2009, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp 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 transfer amount was speculated to be around €10 million, with only the contract yet to be signed.

On 23 March 2010, both Internacional and Tottenham announced on their respective websites that a deal had been agreed for Sandro for an undisclosed fee. It was also announced Sandro would join Tottenham following the end of the Copa Libertadores, which finishes on 18 August, subject to the player passing a medical. Internacional announced in its financial report that the fee was R$ 20,633,850, with about 25% re-distributed by Inter to third parties owner.

On 26 March 2010, 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 in the third round of the League Cup on the 21 September 2010.

On 9 January 2011, Sandro made a start against League One side Charlton Athletic, assisting Andros Townsend and playing the full match. He made his UEFA Champions League debut for Tottenham on 15 February 2011 at the San Siro against seven times winners A.C. Milan, 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. He scored his first goal for the club against Chelsea 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 will run till 2016.

International career

Sandro playing for Brazil in a friendly against Scotland in March 2011

Having represented Brazil at Under-20 level, and captaining them at the 2009 South American Youth Championship, Sandro made his full debut for the Brazilian national team as a substitute in a World Cup qualifier against Chile on 9 September 2009. He was named as 1 of 7 back-up players to the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad. Sandro scored his first full international goal against Gabon in a friendly match on 10 November 2011.

International goals
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Goal	Competition
2011
1.	November 11, 2011	Libreville, Gabon	Gabon	2–0	1	Friendly

Career statistics

As of 18 December 2011

Club	Season	League			Cup			League Cup			Continental1			Other			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Internacional
	2008	7	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	2	1
	2009	41	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	45	1	1
	2010	20	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	0	0	1	0	0	37	1	1
	Total	68	4	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	0	0	1	0	0	89	4	3
Tottenham Hotspur
	2010–11	19	1	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	26	1	1
	2011–12	23	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	27	0	1
	Total	42	1	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	6	0	1	0	0	0	53	1	2
Career Total		104	5	3	1	0	1	2	0	0	26	0	1	1	0	0	134	5	5

¹Includes other competitive competitions, including the Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Champions League.

Honours

Club

Internacional

• Campeonato Gaúcho: 2008, 2009
• Copa Sudamericana: 2008
• Suruga Bank Championship: 2009
• Copa Libertadores: 2010

External links

• ESPN Soccernet Profile
• Sandro Raniere at National-Football-Teams.com
• (Portuguese) Internacional.com.br
• Sandro career stats at Soccerbase
• Sandro – FIFA competition record