Alex Sandro Lobo Silva (born 26 January 1991), better known as Alex Sandro (Brazilian Portuguese: [aˈlɛks ˈsɐ̃dɾu]) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Flamengo.
At club level, Alex Sandro began his career with Atletico Paranaense and later also played for Santos on loan. In 2011, he joined Porto for €9.6 million, alongside former teammate and countryman Danilo who played as a right-back. Joining Juventus in 2015, winning the domestic double in his first three seasons, followed by two more consecutive league titles over the following two years.
At international level, Alex Sandro represents Brazil, for which he has gained over 40 caps. At youth level, he also represented the Brazil under-20 team, winning both the South American Youth Championship and the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2011. He was also part of the Brazil squad that won the 2019 Copa América.
After winning an impressive amount of honours with the Atletico Paranaense youth setup and a very good performance in the Copa Parana with the U23 side, Alex Sandro earned his first call up to the senior side in October 2008. He played one game in the Brasileiro, taking on Internacional on 18 October.
In 2009, Alex Sandro played a role in Atletico's championship run in the Campeonato Paranaense, playing in eight matches. He scored his first goal on 25 January against Rio Branco, passing the ball to himself around the keeper. As of October 2009, he has played in nine Brasileiro matches, playing a total of 269 minutes.
Alex Sandro was signed by Santos in 2010 on a two-year loan deal. Atletico Paranaense sold him to the investors, using Uruguayan club Deportivo Maldonado as a proxy to hold the registration rights. According to Atletico Paranaense's 2010 financial report, the club received R$1,114,000 from Deportivo Maldonado for transactions of unnamed players.
On 23 July 2011, Portuguese Primeira Liga club Porto signed Alex Sandro for €9.6 million from the proxy club Deportivo Maldonado. He signed a five-year contract with a release clause of €50 million.
On 20 August 2015, Alex Sandro joined Italian Serie A champions Juventus for €26 million on a five-year contract. He made his club debut on 12 September 2015 in a 1–1 home draw against Chievo in Serie A. Defending champions Juventus endured a difficult start to the season, and were in the bottom half of the table by late October. The club mounted a comeback that started with a last-gasp Turin derby win on 31 October, with the Brazilian left-back playing a key role in that upturn.
On 21 November 2015, Sandro assisted Paulo Dybala with a cross, helping Juventus beat rival side AC Milan 1–0 in Serie A. Four days later, on 25 November, he assisted another winning goal, for Mario Mandžukić, in a 1–0 home win over Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League to secure the club a spot in the round of 16 of the competition. On 17 January 2016, Alex Sandro scored his first Juventus goal – and his first in Serie A – from the top of the 18-yard box in the 42nd minute of a 4–0 away win over Udinese.
On 17 February, it was confirmed Alex Sandro would be sidelined for ten days after he picked up an injury to his rectus femoris muscle in his left thigh during training at the Juventus Center the day before, forcing him to miss out on the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League on 23 February against Bayern Munich. He returned for the second leg in Munich, where he could not prevent his team's elimination despite putting on a strong individual performance.
The Brazilian completed his first season in Turin winning a Serie A–Coppa Italia double. He came on as a substitute for Patrice Evra in the Coppa Italia final against Milan at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, which was decided by an Álvaro Morata lone goal in extra time.
Despite scoring an own goal in a 3–1 away defeat to Genoa, Alex Sandro carried his form of the previous season into the new one. A series of impressive performances saw him displace incumbent Patrice Evra from the starting left back role. The Frenchman eventually moved to Marseille in January 2017.
Alex Sandro completed the season with 43 appearances across competitions, 11 more than the previous year. That made him one of the most frequently used players by coach Massimiliano Allegri. From a statistical standpoint, the Brazilian also further improved his goalscoring output, netting three times in the league as Juventus completed a third successive league and cup double.
The one trophy that evaded Alex Sandro was the UEFA Champions League, which saw his side lose 4–1 in the final to holders Real Madrid at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Alex Sandro played a key role in Mario Mandžukić's temporary equaliser in the first half, supplying the cross that was chested down to the Croatian by Gonzalo Higuaín. In the second half, however, Alex Sandro's and his teammates' performances were less convincing, and one of Alex Sandro's mistakes led to a goal from his former Brazil Under-20 and Porto colleague Casemiro.
Prior to the final he had played a vital role in the Bianconeri's run, especially in the quarter-finals against Barcelona, where excellent defensive performances helped to neutralise the attacking threat of Lionel Messi, and enabled Juventus to keep clean sheets across both legs of the tie.
In his third season with Juventus, Alex Sandro made 39 appearances for Juventus in all competitions, scoring four goals, all of which came in Serie A, from 26 league appearances; he finished the 2017–18 season by winning a third consecutive domestic double with the club.
On 23 October 2018, Alex Sandro made his 50th UEFA Champions League appearance (excluding qualifying rounds) in a 1–0 away win over Manchester United. He made his 100th Serie A appearance with Juventus on 30 March 2019, in a 1–0 home win over Empoli. In Juventus's following league match on 2 April, a 2–0 away win over Cagliari, he made his 150th appearance for the club. On 20 April, he scored the temporary equalizer as Juventus came from behind to defeat rivals Fiorentina 2–1 at home and win the Serie A title.
On 24 August 2019, on the opening match day of the 2019–20 Serie A season, Alex Sandro assisted Giorgio Chiellini's goal in a 1–0 away win against Parma. On 18 December, he provided two assists, one for Paulo Dybala and another for Cristiano Ronaldo, in a 2–1 away win against Sampdoria.