Latest news with #Alexsandro
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Brazil international Alexsandro evokes Lille future
Alexsandro (25) has bolstered his reputation in recent weeks. After a successful season in the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1 with Lille OSC, the centre-back has now made the step up to the international stage. Alexsandro was handed his first call-up by Carlo Ancelotti for the recent international break. His name was previously not on the radar, however, not only has he now made his debut, he has started both of Brazil's games and now looks to be in contention to be a regular starter for the Seleçao. Advertisement Speaking after his second match for Brazil, a 1-0 win over Paraguay, Alexsandro was grateful to his club. 'When I came on the pitch, I really think about my team (Lille), my President (Olivier Létang), and my teammates… I played for them tonight,' he said in a post-match interview transcribed by L'Équipe. The defender then went on to evoke his future with LOSC. 'It depends on President Létang. You'd have to ask him. I am calm and not in any rush to leave. He will decide my future,' said the centre-back. As per Foot Mercato, Lille are indeed anticipating interest in Alexsandro, as well as his centre-back partner, Bafodé Diakité, this summer. One of them could leave the club, therefore, during the summer transfer window. GFFN | Luke Entwistle
The Guardian
05-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Alexsandro sold litter to provide for his family. Now he's in the Brazil team
In 2021, Alexsandro wrote down five dreams in his notebook: to marry and have children with his wife, to live in a big house, to take his family out of the favela, to play for a big club and to save some money for his holidays. This year, he has been called up to the Brazil squad for the first time, and now hopes to play at the 2026 World Cup. 'Now that I've turned those human dreams into reality, it is time to work on my professional dreams even more,' says the Lille defender. Alexsandro, who grew up the eldest son of a single mother in a poor family, knew the meaning of the word work. They lived in the Dique II community, a favela to the north of Rio de Janeiro, where they had to find items in the 'Rampa', a rubbish tip, to make ends meet. His whole family worked by recycling things. They picked up plastic, iron and copper, which they sold to make money for food. 'Behind my house, many trucks passed with rubble. We manually removed all those stones with a hoe to sell them. That's also where a lot of my food, clothes and toys came. People often say it is a difficult place but that's how we lived for many years. It's not that I didn't accept it, but I wanted to change that reality. So, from a young age, I was very focused on seeking improvement for my family through football,' he says. Alexsandro never skipped class or training but he worked with every moment of free time he had to provide for his four younger siblings. No training today? OK, let's work. The weekend? That's when he had to put in the most effort. 'As a brother-father, what do we have to do? Bring sustenance into the house and set good examples for my siblings, who often call me dad today. I worked on construction sites with my uncle; I helped my grandmother sell sweets on the train. I worked as a counter attendant, serving people. I also sold fish. 'I often worked instead of playing or being on the street doing any other nonsense. A dignified way to live, right? I brought sustenance into the house. And having that responsibility was super natural for me. Of course, it's difficult. There's that weight, but today I can deal with it very well.' He joined his first club, Bonsucesso, at 13 years old. After a good tournament, he landed a move to Flamengo, where he was in the youth sides alongside Vinicius Junior, who he met again last season when Lille beat Real Madrid in the Champions League. He left Flamengo in 2016 as he wanted to play first-team football but ended up going from club to club without signing a permanent contract. 'I went to eight or nine clubs,' he says. 'My first evaluation was at Internacional. I didn't make it so I went back home. I went to Grêmio, did a trial and passed. I trained with the squad but, after two months of training, they released me. In Avaí, the same situation; they let me go after two months as well. 'So that's when the thought of giving up comes. You try once, twice, three, four times. When things don't happen, you start to lose hope. That dream becomes more distant. I went to Palmeiras, Botafogo twice, Fluminense, Vasco. And all those clubs also rejected me. So it's normal to think about giving up.' Alexsandro's next chance was at Resende, one of the smaller clubs in Rio. After a solid campaign, the defender went to Fluminense but everything happened the same way as before: he was promised a contract, two months passed and then came another rejection. That was the last straw. 'I had taken so many hits, so many rejections. I thought about giving up but when I got home I saw my family's situation and knew deep down that only I could change that situation. And in the end, I was right. That voice inside me said I couldn't give up because of them. I would see my brother with all those difficulties. We didn't have the basics at home. Many times there was no rice, no food to eat. Many times we wanted to go out and had no clothes, no money, nothing. 'In my house, there was no shower. We had to use a bucket to throw water on ourselves. I didn't give up on football because of them, because I wanted to change that situation. And, in the end, God sent me an angel.' That angel is Leo Percovich, a youth coach at Fluminense, and the only one who believed in Alexsandro. He went to Praiense, a club on the Azores in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and asked the defender to join him. After two years, Alexsandro earned a move to Amora, and then to Chaves, both on mainland Portugal. This whole time, he did not see his family in person. 'That was the moment when I wrote the list,' he says. 'Buying a house for my family at that moment was the most important thing. Something I value very much in this world is family. I had been in Portugal for four years and I hadn't seen them. I asked for a house – one that had a bed and a shower. We didn't have a house like that. So, that's why I asked for a very big house. I hadn't married my wife yet, we hadn't had a daughter. So, I was asking for things that were within my sight.' Alexsandro was selected in the team of the season in Portugal, which helped him earn a move to Lille in the summer of 2022. At the start of the season, the new players were asked to share their dreams with their teammates. Some wanted to win Ligue 1, others to play in the Champions League. Alexsandro was the last to talk. 'I want to help you achieve your dreams,' he said. His desire was to become a key player at Lille but first he had to adapt, and quickly. Over the last three years he has solidified his position in the team and become a leader. A call-up to the national team was slowly becoming a reality. 'I set the goal of conquering this during 2025,' he says. 'I had already bought my family a house, married my wife and had a beautiful daughter. So now it was time to dream about my life as a player. I played in the Champions League. Now I wanted a spot in the Brazil squad and, of course, to play in the next World Cup.' When Alexsandro was called up to the national team by Carlo Ancelotti last month, he was at home with his friends in Brazil. They drove to the favela to spread the love and happiness in a place he felt he belonged. They honked horns and were thankful for the achievement, which was shared by everybody. There were pictures, congratulations, kids running around. A good day. Alexsandro likes to go home, help people out and show them their dreams are also within reach. When he returned to the favela after earning his call-up he ran into Mr Zé, a shopkeeper from his youth, and offered to square up his bill from years ago. 'That little stall and that gentleman bring back so many memories from when I was a kid. My mum would send me to his stall to ask for things on credit: 'Go get something on credit from Mr Zé, get this, this, and this.' When I passed by there, I remembered, so I went and said something. It was funny, but with a little bit of truth in the end,' he laughs. And that's how life goes. 'We dream but I lived in the present moment. I dedicated myself, I positioned myself, I gave up many things. I stopped having fun and going out with friends to get good rest, eat well, so that in the end I'd have this result. There's no point in dreaming, asking God for help, and just standing still. We have to go after it, there's no other way. Even with fear, we have to take that step of faith, believing that he will make it happen. I believed, and in the end, he made it happen, as always.' This is an article by Tom Sanderson and Josué Seixas
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lille continues to push for a Champions League place with win at Angers
PARIS (AP) — Lille kept pushing for an automatic spot in next season's Champions League with a 2-0 win at Angers in Ligue 1 on Sunday. Lille moved provisionally into second place ahead of Marseille's home game against Brest later Sunday, where Marseille needed only a draw to reclaim second spot on goal difference. Advertisement The top three sides in France qualify automatically for the Champions League, with the side finishing fourth entering qualifying. Brazilian defender Alexsandro put Lille ahead in first-half stoppage time when he headed in Hakon Haraldsson's free kick from the right. Haraldsson doubled Lille's lead shortly after halftime when he was set up by striker Chuba Akpom. Monaco dropped points on Saturday following a 1-1 draw at lowly Le Havre, while Lyon, Nice and Strasbourg all won their games to close the gap in the race for Europe. Nantes closer to safety Nantes picked up a useful point in its fight to avoid relegation following a 0-0 draw with Toulouse. Advertisement Toulouse held on despite having French striker Noah Edjouma sent off late in the first half and avoided a sixth straight loss. But Nantes striker Mostafa Mohamed fluffed a golden chance from three meters out midway through the second half. Nantes is in 14th place and four points clear of Le Havre in 16th and the relegation-promotion playoff spot with only three games left. Other matches Rock-bottom Montpellier was already relegated on Saturday because of Le Havre's draw but at least stopped a 12th consecutive defeat with a 0-0 home draw with Reims. Also, midtable Auxerre romped to a 4-0 win at Lens with two goals from striker Ado Onaiwu and one each from forward Gaëtan Perrin and Dutch defender Ki-Jana Hoever. ___ AP soccer:
Associated Press
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Lille continues to push for a Champions League place with win at Angers
PARIS (AP) — Lille kept pushing for an automatic spot in next season's Champions League with a 2-0 win at Angers in Ligue 1 on Sunday. Lille moved provisionally into second place ahead of Marseille's home game against Brest later Sunday, where Marseille needed only a draw to reclaim second spot on goal difference. The top three sides in France qualify automatically for the Champions League, with the side finishing fourth entering qualifying. Brazilian defender Alexsandro put Lille ahead in first-half stoppage time when he headed in Hakon Haraldsson's free kick from the right. Haraldsson doubled Lille's lead shortly after halftime when he was set up by striker Chuba Akpom. Monaco dropped points on Saturday following a 1-1 draw at lowly Le Havre, while Lyon, Nice and Strasbourg all won their games to close the gap in the race for Europe. Nantes closer to safety Nantes picked up a useful point in its fight to avoid relegation following a 0-0 draw with Toulouse. Toulouse held on despite having French striker Noah Edjouma sent off late in the first half and avoided a sixth straight loss. But Nantes striker Mostafa Mohamed fluffed a golden chance from three meters out midway through the second half. Nantes is in 14th place and four points clear of Le Havre in 16th and the relegation-promotion playoff spot with only three games left. Other matches Rock-bottom Montpellier was already relegated on Saturday because of Le Havre's draw but at least stopped a 12th consecutive defeat with a 0-0 home draw with Reims. Also, midtable Auxerre romped to a 4-0 win at Lens with two goals from striker Ado Onaiwu and one each from forward Gaëtan Perrin and Dutch defender Ki-Jana Hoever. ___ AP soccer:
The Guardian
20-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
European football: Orsolini last-gasp bicycle kick dents Inter's title charge
A stunning last-gasp goal by striker Riccardo Orsolini gave Bologna a 1-0 home win against Inter Milan in Serie A on Sunday in a blow to the visitors' hopes of retaining their title. Treble-chasing Inter stayed top of the standings with 71 points after 33 games but second-placed Napoli are now level on points with the leaders after securing a late 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Monza on Saturday. Orsolini sealed the three points for the hosts in stoppage time with a superb bicycle kick after Bologna's long throw-in was flicked on by an Inter defender and fell kindly for the striker. Bologna are fourth, the last Champions League qualification spot, a point ahead of Juventus who have a game in hand and visit Parma on Monday night. Borussia Dortmund struck three times in nine first-half minutes to battle past visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 in the Bundesliga, and keep their slim hopes of a top four finish alive with four matches left to play. Only five days after their Champions League exit to Barcelona despite a 3-1 quarter-final second leg win, Dortmund came from a goal down to bag the win that lifted them to seventh on 45 points, four off fourth spot, the last place to offer automatic Champions League qualification. The hosts had complete control at the start with more than 70% possession and two good chances before Gladbach struck against the run of play with Ko Itakura in the 24th minute. The Japanese, however, allowed Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy too much space in the box four minutes before the break to drill in from a Pascal Gross cutback. Only three minutes later in an almost identical move it was Felix Nmecha who slotted in to put them in front before Daniel Svensson headed in on the rebound deep in first-half stoppage time. Gladbach pulled a goal back with a Kevin Stöger penalty in the 56th but Dortmund held on for their third league win in the last four games. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion In Ligue 1, Canada striker Jonathan David scored two goals and set up the other as Lille beat Auxerre 3-1 to maintain their push for a Champions League place. Belgium right-back Thomas Meunier gave Lille an early lead after being found by David, who then scored close to half-time in the first half with a clinical snap effort. After an own-goal from Brazilian defender Alexsandro made it 2-1, David ran through deep into stoppage time and held off defenders before grabbing his 16th league goal of what is likely to be his final season at Lille. Victory was soured by a freakish injury to goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, who was accidentally bumped into by Alexsandro when the defender scored the own-goal. 'He has two or three broken teeth,' Lille head coach Bruno Genesio said. 'He was angry about it and I can understand. He'll go to the dentist this week.' This story will be updated
