Alexis Sanchez is Chile’s undisputed leader in the 2014 World Cup, with a very different role from the one he plays at Barcelona.
“Alexis is a player who needs freedom, and he does not have as much of it at Barcelona as he does with us,” said Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli.
Unlike the La Liga giants, Chile promotes and boosts Sanchez’s movement in different areas of the pitch. That freedom brings out the best in the former Colo Colo, River Plate and Udinese striker, compared to his role on the wing at Barcelona.
At Barca, he is supposed to remain by the sideline to widen play and prompt openings for passes from teammates further in, while Sampaoli wants him to be more active in play, “given all he can generate.”
In Chile’s red shirt, Sanchez is a different man and moves across the front line of attack, which makes it harder for rivals to keep him in check.
Above all, however, he falls deeper in the pitch to exploit his passing quality, an aspect that has gone virtually unnoticed in the three seasons he has spent at Barcelona. It is this element that has led Sanchez to play a decisive role in virtually all the chances on goal that Chile are generating in Brazil.
Those who know Sanchez well acknowledge the Chilean striker’s assets.
“Alexis has put a brake on his performance level due to Barcelona’s playing style, which sometimes locks attackers in a very small area, while he needs space and prefers to have more freedom while playing,” Fabrizio Larini, sporting director for Udinese, where Sanchez shone in the three seasons prior to his arrival at the Camp Nou, warned in March 2013.
Jose Sulantay, Chile’s coach during the Canada 2007 Under-20 World Cup, recalls that he asked Sanchez to “generate play and chances.” “He is such a versatile player that he makes a difference wherever he emerges, although at Barcelona he is subjected to a philosophy that is not the one that suits him best,” Sampaoli said.
The major distance that separates the two versions of Sanchez has even prompted debate in Chile, where many believe that the striker would do well to seek a change of scene at the club-level.
