Sandro, who is working towards becoming a manager, received an unexpected return offer after meeting Harborough manager and lifelong Spurs fan Austin while mingling with the guests at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“I told the manager, ‘You know, I’m serious, I’m going to take this opportunity and enjoy it,'” Sandro said. “It’s an opportunity to be in the locker room again, to feel like a player again.” he said.

The players Sandro joins are part-time players who have made a huge impact in the world’s oldest cup competition; They went through four qualifying rounds and reached the first round, where they beat their non-league team-mates Tonbridge Angels. a draw with a former Premier League club that found themselves in League One.

A second-round trip to Reading with the amateur club is a far cry from sharing the pitch with the likes of Ronaldinho and Neymar for Brazil.

Having a midfielder who has made 17 appearances in five World Championships, captained his country once, won the Copa Libertadores title with Internacional and played for eight top-flight clubs in England, Italy, Turkey and Portugal was summed up well by Harborough. boss is “as random as anything”.

Sandro sees facing an unknown club from rural south-east Leicestershire in the FA Cup as a “dream” way to play the game he loves once again.

“It’s all about the love of football,” Sandro said. “It will be a good experience, a good moment for me to be on the field once again.”