Alexis Sánchez facts for kids
Sánchez playing for Chile at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 19 December 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tocopilla, Chile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.69 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Udinese | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Universidad Católica | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2003 | Escuela Bernardo O'Higgins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Cobreloa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Cobreloa | 47 | (12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2011 | Udinese | 95 | (20) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | → Colo-Colo (loan) | 32 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | → River Plate (loan) | 23 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Barcelona | 88 | (39) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2018 | Arsenal | 122 | (60) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Manchester United | 32 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | → Inter Milan (loan) | 22 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Inter Milan | 57 | (12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Marseille | 35 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Inter Milan | 23 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Udinese | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Chile U15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Chile U17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Chile U20 | 12 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006– | Chile | 166 | (51) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (born 19 December 1988), often called just Alexis, is a famous Chilean professional footballer. He plays as a forward for the Serie A club Udinese and is also a key player for the Chile national team. Many people think he is one of the best Chilean players ever.
Alexis is known as "El Niño Maravilla" which means "The Wonder Child." He started his senior club career at just 15 years old with Cobreloa. Later, he joined Udinese in Italy when he was 18. He won league titles while on loan at Colo-Colo and River Plate. In 2011, he made a big move to Barcelona, becoming the most expensive Chilean player at the time. With Barcelona, he won six trophies, including a La Liga title.
He then moved to Arsenal in 2014, where he won two FA Cups and was named the PFA Fans' Player of the Year. After that, he played for Manchester United and Inter Milan, winning a Serie A title and a Coppa Italia with Inter. In 2022, he joined Marseille in France, before returning to Inter Milan in 2023 and then Udinese in 2024.
Alexis first played for the Chile national team in 2006 when he was 18. He has played in many major tournaments and is now Chile's most capped player and all-time top goalscorer. He helped Chile win their first major trophy, the 2015 Copa América, and then won it again in 2016 at the Copa América Centenario, where he was named the best player.
Contents
- Club Career: Alexis's Football Journey
- Early Days: How Alexis Started Playing Football
- Cobreloa: Kicking Off His Professional Career
- Loan Spells: Learning and Growing
- Udinese: Becoming a Star in Italy
- Barcelona: Playing with Legends
- Arsenal: A Premier League Hero
- Manchester United & Inter Milan: New Challenges
- Marseille and Returns to Inter and Udinese
- International Career: Playing for Chile
- Style of Play: What Makes Alexis Special?
- Personal Life: Off the Field
- Honours
- See Also
- Images for kids
Club Career: Alexis's Football Journey
Early Days: How Alexis Started Playing Football
Alexis Sánchez started playing football at a young age. In 1999, he had a short time with a Universidad Católica Academy. He also played for the Escuela Bernardo O'Higgins team from his hometown, Tocopilla.
Cobreloa: Kicking Off His Professional Career
Alexis grew up in Tocopilla and came through the youth system of C.D. Cobreloa. He was teammates with other future Chilean national players like Charles Aránguiz. In February 2005, when he was just 16, Alexis joined the senior team.
He played his first game on 12 February 2005 and scored his first professional goal on 18 March. He even played in the 2005 Copa Libertadores at 16, making him one of the youngest players to debut in that tournament. After a great season, Serie A club Udinese signed him in 2006.
Loan Spells: Learning and Growing
Udinese decided to loan Alexis out to help him develop. He first joined Chilean team Colo-Colo for a season. He scored his first goal for them in a derby match against Universidad de Chile. He helped Colo-Colo win their first professional title, the Torneo Clausura, in December 2006.
The next season, he scored his first goals in the 2007 Copa Libertadores with a hat-trick against Caracas. He helped Colo-Colo win another league title, the Torneo Apertura. After his time at Colo-Colo, he moved to Argentina to play for River Plate on loan from Udinese in August 2007.
Udinese: Becoming a Star in Italy
After his successful loan spells, Alexis joined Udinese in Italy in July 2008. He played his first Serie A match on 14 September. He scored his first league goal on 19 October 2008.
In the 2009–10 season, Alexis played a big part in the Coppa Italia. He helped his team beat Milan and scored his first Coppa Italia goal against Roma. On 27 February 2011, Alexis scored four goals in one game against Palermo, helping Udinese win 7–0. This broke the record for goals scored by a Chilean player in a single Serie A match.
During his time at Udinese, Alexis and his teammate Antonio Di Natale formed a strong scoring partnership. Fans on FIFA.com even voted Alexis as the world's most promising young player in 2011.
Barcelona: Playing with Legends
On 20 July 2011, Barcelona signed Alexis Sánchez. He became the first Chilean player to join the famous club. He was excited to learn from players like Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernández.
Alexis made his debut for Barcelona on 14 August 2011 against Real Madrid. He scored his first goal for Barcelona in a 5–0 win against Villarreal. He also scored his first UEFA Champions League goals in a 3–1 win against Bayer Leverkusen.
In the 2012–13 season, Alexis helped Barcelona win the La Liga title. He scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona on 5 January 2014, in a 4–0 win against Elche. He finished the 2013–14 season with a career-high 21 goals.
Arsenal: A Premier League Hero
On 10 July 2014, Alexis signed with Arsenal in England. He was given the number 17 shirt. He said he was "so happy" to join Arsenal because of its great manager and fantastic players.
He made his first appearance for Arsenal on 2 August 2014. His first competitive game was against Manchester City in the 2014 FA Community Shield, which Arsenal won 3–0. He scored his first goal for Arsenal on 27 August, helping them qualify for the Champions League group stage. His first league goal came against Leicester City.
Alexis quickly became a key player for Arsenal. He scored many important goals, including a brace against Burnley in November 2014, bringing his total to 10 goals for the season. He also scored his first FA Cup goals in January 2015.
On 18 April, Alexis scored both goals in the FA Cup semi-final against Reading, sending Arsenal to the final. He was named the PFA Fans' Player of the Year in May 2015. On 30 May, he scored a fantastic long-range goal in the 2015 FA Cup Final as Arsenal beat Aston Villa 4–0. He was named Arsenal's Player of the Year for his amazing first season.
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In the 2015–16 season, Alexis scored his first hat-trick for Arsenal in a 5–2 win at Leicester. This made him the first player to score hat-tricks in the Premier League, Serie A, and La Liga. He continued his great form, scoring against Manchester United and Watford.
For the 2016–17 season, Alexis changed his squad number from 17 to 7. He had another fantastic season, scoring against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and a hat-trick against West Ham. He finished as Arsenal's top goalscorer with 24 Premier League goals and 30 goals in all competitions. He also scored the opening goal in Arsenal's 2–1 win over Chelsea in the 2017 FA Cup Final, helping Arsenal win a record 13th FA Cup.
Manchester United & Inter Milan: New Challenges
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On 22 January 2018, Alexis moved to Manchester United. He was given the famous number 7 shirt. He made his debut in a 4–0 win against Yeovil Town in the FA Cup. He scored his first goal for United on 3 February 2018 against Huddersfield Town.
On 29 August 2019, Alexis joined Inter Milan on loan. He later signed permanently with Inter on 6 August 2020. He helped Inter win the Serie A title and the Coppa Italia. On 12 January 2022, he scored a late winning goal against Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana.
Marseille and Returns to Inter and Udinese
On 9 August 2022, Alexis signed with Ligue 1 club Marseille in France. He played one season there before returning to Inter Milan on 26 August 2023. In August 2024, he made another return, this time to his former club Udinese.
International Career: Playing for Chile
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Alexis Sánchez played for Chile's youth teams before joining the senior national team. He made his international debut for the Chile national team against New Zealand on 27 April 2006, when he was 18. He also helped the Chilean under-20 team finish third at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
He scored his first goal for the senior team on 7 September 2007 against Switzerland. He played in every match during the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals.
2014 World Cup: Representing His Country
Alexis scored four goals during Chile's qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In the tournament itself, he scored Chile's first goal in a 3–1 win against Australia. In the round of 16, he scored the equalizing goal against hosts Brazil. However, Chile lost that match in a penalty shootout.
Copa América Success: Making History
Alexis was a key player for Chile when they hosted the 2015 Copa América. He scored in a 5–0 win against Bolivia, helping Chile win their group. In the final against Argentina, Alexis scored the winning penalty in a shootout, giving Chile their first major title ever!
In June 2016, Alexis helped Chile defend their Copa América title at the Copa América Centenario in the United States. He scored twice in a 4–2 win against Panama to help Chile reach the quarter-finals. He also scored one goal and assisted two others in a huge 7–0 win against Mexico.
In the final, Chile faced Argentina again. After a 0–0 draw, Chile won on penalties (4–2) to keep their title. Alexis was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player!
FIFA Confederations Cup and Beyond
In the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, Alexis became Chile's all-time top goalscorer when he scored his 38th international goal against Germany. This also made him Chile's joint most capped player. Chile reached the final but lost 1–0 to Germany.
He continued to play for Chile in the 2019 Copa América, scoring goals against Japan and Ecuador. He scored the winning penalty in the quarter-finals against Colombia, sending Chile to the semi-finals.
Style of Play: What Makes Alexis Special?
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Alexis Sánchez is known for being a very quick, creative, and hard-working player. He has a great eye for goal and is very strong on the field. He is good with both feet, which means he can play anywhere along the front of the attack. He can play as a supporting striker, a winger, or even a main striker.
He is excellent at dribbling past defenders and creating space. He can score goals himself with powerful shots or set up his teammates with clever passes. Because he can place his shots so well, he is also good at free kicks. Many experts consider him one of the best left wingers in Europe during his prime.
Personal Life: Off the Field
In March 2017, a statue was built in Alexis Sánchez's honor in his hometown of Tocopilla.
He has also worked with big brands. In October 2015, he became an ambassador for Huawei, a technology company. In February 2017, he signed a sponsorship deal with Pepsi.
Alexis has also started a wine business called Alma Soul. He bought land in Argentina, Chile, and Italy for this project. In 2024, he graduated as a football instructor and later as a football manager, showing his interest in staying in football after his playing career.
Honours
Colo-Colo
- Primera División de Chile: 2006 Clausura, 2007 Apertura
River Plate
- Argentine Primera División: 2008 Clausura
Barcelona
- La Liga: 2012–13
- Copa del Rey: 2011–12
- Supercopa de España: 2011, 2013
- UEFA Super Cup: 2011
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2011
Arsenal
- FA Cup: 2014–15, 2016–17
- FA Community Shield: 2014
Inter Milan
- Serie A: 2020–21, 2023–24
- Coppa Italia: 2021–22
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2021, 2023
Chile
- Copa América: 2015, 2016
Individual Awards
- Serie A Player of the Month: February 2011
- PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2015
- PFA Team of the Year: 2014–15 Premier League
- Arsenal Player of the Season Award: 2014–15, 2016–17
- Copa América Golden Ball: 2016
- FIFA Confederations Cup Silver Ball: 2017
- Marseille Player of the Season: 2022–23
Records
- Chile all-time top goalscorer: 51 goals
- Chile most appearances: 166 caps
See Also
In Spanish: Alexis Sánchez para niños
- List of top international men's football goal scorers by country
- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
- List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals
Images for kids
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Sánchez on loan at Colo-Colo against Audax Italiano in the 2006 Torneo Clausura final
