The effervescent manager of Harborough Town is holding court in his press conference when he is suddenly interrupted by a familiar figure strolling through the door.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ says the former Brazil and Tottenham midfielder Sandro, who has arrived half-an-hour behind schedule after driving 100 miles from London to Leicestershire.
‘That’s a fine!’ bellows beaming boss Mitch Austin to much laughter, as his sheepish new signing blames the traffic before finding a space to stand next to the bricklayer, gas engineer and glazier who he now calls his team-mates.
After observing the rest of Austin’s entertaining pre-match media address in the stadium’s members’ bar, Sandro heads to the dressing room to get ready for his first training session with the Southern League Premier Division Central club – more than two years after he last played competitive football.
‘I think I can do it,’ jokes the 35-year-old as he ambles on to the 4G pitch in near-freezing temperatures, the last player to join the group outside following a massage and his own interview commitments.
‘He just said to me, “Have you got any gloves”,’ divulges Austin as he follows Sandro out of the tunnel. ‘I said, “No, get out there”.’
Former Tottenham and Brazil midfielder Sandro signed for Harborough Town on November 5
Sandro spoke to Mail Sport this week ahead of his first appearance in the FA Cup since 2016
Sandro played in 106 first-team games for Spurs between 2010 and 2014, scoring three goals
Sandro – who was nicknamed The Beast by Spurs fans – does soon commandeer a pair from a willing young team-mate. But if his late arrival, massage and gloves request paint the ex-Premier League star as a prima donna, that could not be further from reality.
No, this is a man who has come out of retirement to play for free for the seventh-tier Midlands club in the biggest match in their history – an FA Cup second-round tie at Reading.
And all as a goodwill gesture following a chance meeting with Harborough boss and Tottenham season-ticket holder Austin in a hospitality box earlier this season.
‘It’s a funny story,’ starts Sandro, who later poses for pictures with a replica of the FA Cup, which Austin was gifted by a friend when Harborough – who had never previously gone past the second qualifying round – reached the first-round proper.
‘I work for Tottenham at home games, talking to the fans in hospitality. Mitch was in the restaurant and was saying, “Sandro, you look good, you should play for my team”. I said, “Yeah, why not, man, let’s go”. It was just like that.’
Sandro – who does indeed look as trim as ever – officially signed for the Bees on November 5, but was actually banned from playing for two matches, having been sent off in his last professional appearance for Belenenses in Portugal’s top flight in April 2022. He is, though, eligible to make his debut on Sunday when the lowest-ranked team left in the FA Cup visit the League One promotion hopefuls.
‘It will be amazing for me, man, because I thought I was finished and that I was never going to play again,’ says Sandro.
‘On my way from London to here, I was thinking, “I will train again, I will play a proper match”. It is so magical for me after two years of just watching football and missing it.
His shock move to Harborough came more than 12 months after he had retired from football
Sandro pictured training with his team-mates ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup clash with Reading
As well as winning 17 senior caps for Brazil, Sandro played at the Olympic Games in 2012
‘Now I have an opportunity to express myself again in one tackle, one header. I used to play against Reading in the Premier League and the Championship and now I am going to face them in the FA Cup.
‘To be part of this and to enjoy myself and try to help them, it is just what I want. I know they are living the dream – and I am living the dream as well.’
Sandro’s retirement U-turn is perhaps the most eccentric act yet in a career and life that has been full of them. He famously became hooked on darts after moving to Tottenham for £8million from Internacional in Brazil in 2010, striking up an unlikely friendship with legendary former world finalist Bobby George. ‘I need to play against James Maddison!’ he jokes.
When Mail Sport interviewed him at his then Essex home back in 2012, he stunned our reporter by singing and strumming his guitar to Coldplay and the Black Eyed Peas.
It appears old habits die hard as, 12 years on, Sandro breaks into song again when asked what tune he performed in front of Harborough’s players for his initiation.
‘Nossa, nossa, assim voce me mata,’ he sings tunefully in his native tongue. ‘In Brazil, it is a good song.’
If his dressing-room rendition of Ai Se Eu Te Pego by Michel Telo helped Sandro integrate into the Harborough squad a couple of weeks ago, so too did his attitude in Wednesday night’s training, when he could be heard celebrating every tackle won by a team-mate in the small-sided games.
That is not to say, though, that Sandro was not apprehensive about playing properly again after so long out of the game.
Midfielder Sandro looked fit and appeared to be training very hard ahead of Sunday’s match
Sandro has refused to be paid by Harborough – even rejecting offers to cover his expenses
‘When I said yes to playing, I needed to start to run because I was just doing strength work in the gym, not running,’ he admits. ‘My body wasn’t ready to go again after two years. It was like, “Ah, to go again is a bit difficult”.
‘I was back in Brazil last week and I called my friends and said, “You have to help me out here because I have a game coming up”. So we arranged a seven-a-side with friends and it was good.’
The next match he plays will be 11-a-side at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, formerly the Madejski. When Sandro first played there with Tottenham in the Premier League in 2012, he enjoyed a 3-1 win, thanks to two goals from Jermain Defoe and one from Gareth Bale.
‘Gareth, I always said that he was the best player I played with,’ says Sandro, who spends most of his time in Portugal and has completed his UEFA B Licence as he bids to become a manager.
‘He could do everything, anything. At that time, we knew we just needed to pass him the ball and say, “Bale, do your thing, help us”.’
Sandro also played alongside Brazilian superstars Ronaldinho, Neymar and Ronaldo, who he calls ‘Phenomenon’, during his 17-cap international career. ‘To say names would be a long list,’ he smiles. ‘I enjoyed my time and I want to enjoy it again.’
His enjoyment could only be topped if Harborough – who have won two promotions in three seasons – upset Reading and are then drawn away to Spurs in the third round. ‘Wow, how amazing that would be,’ adds Sandro with another huge grin. ‘If that happens, count me in.’