Sandro is discussing the Olympic silver medal he won at London 2012 with Brazil. His usually animated demeanour clouds over a little. He smiles then winces as he tries to explain his conflicting emotions in English.
‘I was brought up like this,’ said the Tottenham midfielder. ‘If you are second you are nowhere. Brazil always have to be on top. Always. I am proud of that Olympic medal because it’s difficult to get a silver, but…’ His voice trails off…
Sandro’s response provides a window into this ostensibly easy-going, gregarious character; a player who, minutes earlier, had been entertaining the room with his guitar and singing skills.
Laughter comes easily, yet there is also a fiercely combative side to a footballer Spurs fans warmly call ‘The Beast’. He likes the nickname, and it is apt. Sandro looks you in the eye when he talks to you, even when he is searching for the right word in his adopted language.
Tottenham have been good this season, he says, but not good enough. They have to ‘give more’ to develop the consistency that characterises the best sides: grinding out results, improving their home record and taking scalps away at big clubs — starting with Manchester City on Sunday. Sandro keeps repeating the mantra ‘Win. Win. Win.’, stabbing his hands towards his knees with each syllable.
He said: ‘We have to give a little more to be up there; to win the Premier League. We have to win more at home.
‘Win, win, win. The top teams, who win the title, just keep winning. Win, win, win. How good can this team be? Wow. If you look at the squad one by one you say “Why can’t we fight for the title?” But it’s hard. You have to show that in every game.
‘We have to go to Manchester City and win — like we beat Manchester United at Old Trafford last season.’
Sandro, 24, has sympathy for new team-mates such as £26million signing Erik Lamela, who has also moved to England at a relatively young age and struggled to adapt. Yet he still had no hesitation telling Paulinho ‘life is good at Tottenham’ ahead of the Brazil midfielder’s £17m move from Corinthians.
‘I feel part of London now,’ he says. ‘I live closer to the centre and I can go to the restaurants in the centre more now. I’m British now!
‘A lot of new players have to feel at home to play their best. It’s hard to learn English, but you have to open your mind to learn because it’s for your whole life, you know? It’s nice the manager speaks Portuguese. I can tell him more about what I feel, even during the games.’
Sandro feels his right knee intermittently as he speaks and admits the period after he tore ligaments in it last January was the worst of his career.
He felt so low, physically and mentally, he wondered if he would ever recover. Thankfully his mother, Rosangela, was visiting from Brazil to help her son through the pain.
‘It’s strong now, please God, but it was the worst time of my life. I love to play football. But I learnt how to be even stronger. I learnt a lot about myself.
‘I did wonder if it was the end when the doctor said I had such a bad injury. My mum was a big help.’
There is a sensitive side to this 6ft 2in athlete, a marauding, fearless defensive midfielder. He also laughs at himself.
We meet in an airfield in Leicestershire on a cold November day while Brazil are in Miami ahead of a match against Honduras. He rolls his eyes, wailing comically about missing out on glamour and sunshine.
Sandro is desperate to be into Luiz Felipe Scolari’s squad ahead of a home World Cup. Yet he has not worn those famous colours since October 2012.
He said: ‘In every game, training session, we have to push hard to improve. If not, you don’t play. I like it. I feel good again. There’s still a little more I can give. But I feel my power.’
He flexes his biceps to demonstrate. ‘I have to do my job here at Tottenham, win games and titles. And it’s my dream to play in the World Cup so I fight for it.’
Second, after all, is nowhere.
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