What is it like to play against Rodrigo Bentancur? Sandro tells us...

He’s a player that our Brazil legend Sandro calls ‘the perfect midfielder’.

And he should know.

Turn the clock back over five years and Sandro found himself up against a rising Uruguay star by the name of Rodrigo Bentancur as his Genoa side travelled to Rodrigo’s Juventus. ‘Lolo’ had just turned 21 and formed a daunting midfield trio with Miralem Pjanić and Blasé Matuidi, Bosnia and France internationals respectively.

Sandro, who made 105 appearances for us between 2010-2014, was early into an 18-month spell at Genoa after a tricky time in Antalyaspor in Turkey’s Super Lig when his side travelled to Turin to face a Juve side chasing an eighth-successive title, spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo. Joining Sandro that day, a familiar face - Cuti Romero.

Genoa performed well, one of only four teams to take points off Juve at Juventus Stadium with a 1-1 draw on 20 October, 2018. Led by Massimiliano Allegri, La Vecchia Signora would clinch their eighth-successive title, but Sandro’s team hung in there at 1-0 down - Ronaldo on target - to grab a share of the spoils thanks to Daniel Bessa’s equaliser in the 68th minute.

Sandro, who played 14 times that season as Genoa narrowly escaped relegation to Serie B, completed the 90 minutes that day, alongside Cuti. So did Rodrigo - and Sandro knew he’d seen something special that day.

Speaking to the cult hero fondly nicknamed ‘The Beast’ by fans this week, we asked what he thought of Rodrigo’s performance and goal in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United on Sunday, and the memories came flooding back…

“As a midfielder, I love him and I remember, I played against him in Italy,” Sandro, a regular at our games this season, told us. “I was at Genoa, he was at Juventus. So, I know him well. I know he’s strong. I know he can play. I know he can score. He’s perfect for the midfield, perfect.

“That day, it was a good battle, some crazy tackles in the middle. Typical, really! I could feel then that he’s an intelligent guy. Like I said, he’s got everything. He’s strong, he can hold the ball, he can deliver a pass, shoot, dribble. He’s got it all. It’s great to see him back and playing so well at Spurs.”

There’s another part of football both players can relate to, as well. Rodrigo is back in action following the best part of a year out with a serious knee injury followed by an ankle injury just four matches into his return in November.

Sandro, meanwhile, was hit by a serious knee injury in January, 2013, an injury that ended his promising 2012/13 campaign and kept him out until August. Injury struck again early in his QPR career after moving across London in 2014.

He added: “Bentancur also had to come back from a major injury and, after that, another one. For him to come back like that after those setbacks says it all. I just hope he stays clear of injuries now, that the bad luck is behind him, and he continues to play now, because he will be great for this team.”