Alexis Alejandro Sanchez Sanchez, simply know as Alexis Sanchez, is a 25-year-old Chilean forward who plays for La Liga giants Barcelona. Born December 19, 1988, in the city of Tocopilla, the 1.70 metres tall winger can play in the centre-forward position, too, using a lethal combination of speed, strength, and agility to devastate opposing teams' defenders.
The Blaugrana ace made his first-team football debut with Chilean team Club de Deportes Cobreloa, before being signed up by Serie A side, Udinese, a year later. Sanchez then enjoyed two successful loan spells at Cola-Cola and River Plate, before returning back to Italy,in 2008, establishing himself as an integral player at the Stadio Friuli. He spent the next three years with Udinesse, striking up a lethal attacking partnership with Antonio Di Natale, before being signed by the Catalan side for a transfer fee of €26m.
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Sanchez, nicknamed “El Nino Maravilla”, made his national side debut in 2006. He featured for his national team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, held in 2007, in which they finished in third place, before impressing for the senior side in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The versatile Chilean attacker, who can play anywhere in the final third, heads to Brazil on the back of a successful individual season with Barcelona, scoring a personal best of 21 goals in all competitions. His four goals in the World Cup qualifying round means he finished as their third-highest scorer in the group stages, behind Eduardo Vargas and Arturo Vidal's five goals, as Chile finished in the number three spot.
Did you know?
- Alexis Sanchez holds the record for most goals scored by a Chilean in a single Serie A game, at four.
- Alexis Sanchez and Antonio Di Natale hold the second-highest record of goals scored by duo in one season, at 39, two short of Del Piero and Trezeguet's all-time high of 41 goals.
- In 2011, Sanchez was chosen as the world's most promising youngster by the users of FIFA.com.
- Sanchez is already Chile's fifth highest goal-scorer, at 22 goals, 15 goals shy of the record held by Chile legend Marcelo Salas (37 goals).
- Sanchez scored a brace at Wembley, against England, as Chile beat the Three Lions 2-0 in an international friendly.
