Meet Tyroane Sandows. A promising talent rising through the ranks at São Paulo, except he’s South African.

Meet Tyroane Sandows. A promising talent rising through the ranks at São Paulo, except he’s South African.

Meet Tyroane Sandows. A promising talent rising through the ranks at São Paulo, except he’s South African.
Meet Tyroane Sandows. A promising talent rising through the ranks at São Paulo, except he’s South African. São Paulo is one of the capitals of our beautiful game. This mega-city, boasting a population greater than 11 million, is home to Palmeiras,...
Meet Tyroane Sandows. A promising talent rising through the ranks at São Paulo, except he’s South African. São Paulo is one of the capitals of our beautiful game. This mega-city, boasting a population greater than 11 million, is home to Palmeiras,...

Meet Tyroane Sandows. A promising talent rising through the ranks at São Paulo, except he’s South African.

São Paulo is one of the capitals of our beautiful game. This mega-city, boasting a population greater than 11 million, is home to Palmeiras, Corinthians and São Paulo, some of the nation’s most successful and popular teams. And it really is no surprise that we’ve seen a large amount of talent emerge from this part of Brazil, the likes of 2002 World Cup winning goalkeeper Marcos, Paulinho, Roberto Carlos, Luis Fabiano and of course Kaka, amongst plenty others.

This cycle will never stop and on this note, we introduce Tyroane Sandows, an 18-year-old attacker plying his trade with the São Paulo U-20 team. Unlike those illustrious names previously mentioned, Ty – as he’s called by his teammates – is not a local lad, having arrived six years ago from a city that is well over 7200km away, Johannesburg. Yes, Ty is South African.

AFR was granted the exclusive opportunity to talk with Ty, here’s what Dominic Vieira chatted with the youth player:

AFR: How challenging was it adapting to the new environment here at São Paulo and the Brazilian culture?

Ty: I really didn't have any big problems when I came to Brazil, the only big issue was learning the language, which took me about a year to learn and speak, but other than that no major problems adapting.

Brazil is a country that’s constantly producing some of the most exciting players on the planet. Whose footpaths would you like to follow? 

I really like Lucas Moura from PSG because of his caracteristics and style as they’re similar to mine. Also he’s a footballer who came from this academy where he became a star in Brazil and is now slowly conquering Europe.

Is there a player whose game really inspired you? 

It would definitely be Cristiano Ronaldo. He is the complete player, excelling in every part of his game: tactically, technically, shoots with both legs, headers the ball very well, physically he is very strong and is the player that every coach would want.  

Has it been comfortable balancing both your football commitments with your studies? 

Sometimes it gets difficult balancing studies and soccer because of our intense routine of training. But I think its very important to finish high school and have an good education, which the club finances in my case. You never know what may happen tomorrow if you get hurt and can’t play anymore, so with a good education you always have something to fall back on.

How different is the training here compared to South Africa? 

Training is not too different because both countries emphasis on the technical side of the game, but in Brazil I would say that they also work a bit more on the tactical element. As I’m a smaller built player São Paulo also helps me improve my physical side of the game, which is also very important.

It’s really not often we hear about a South African player climbing up the youth ladder in Brazil. If you never moved, do you think that your chances of becoming a professional would have been the same? 

I think the opportunity to become pro in South Africa might of been easier because football is growing and still has some things to learn from the top countries of football. Whereas in Brazil, the development is one of the best in the world that makes the competition very tough and therefore the chances to become a pro are slimmer.

Placing both your career and studies aside, have you been able to explore much of Brazil in your free time? 

The routine is very intense so I don’t really have much time to visit and explore because of the matches and tournaments, but I really want to visit the Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro.

You’ve spent your entire adolescence in Brazil. Would you now consider yourself to be more Brazilian or more South African?

Hahaha, I don’t really consider myself more South African or more Brazilian. I think its half and half.

How strong is your connection with South Africa?  

I really have a strong connection with South Africa because my whole family lives there, including my parents, so my connection with SA is really special and of course, I miss my family and friends over there.

Both the South African and Brazilian national teams wear yellow. When the opportunity arises to play for the national team, do you know yet which you’d choose?

They’re both countries that I love and for now I would like to leave both options open and decide in the future.

As we all know, 2014 is an incredibly exciting time for football as the World Cup will be hosted in your city as well as the rest of the county. What are your predictions for the tournament?

The 2014 World Cup is going to be one of the most tough and exciting World Cups in history because so many teams have really competitive players. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Neymar, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will do in Brazil, as they’re the ones to look out for. I think that title will stay in national territory, the fans are really going to play a big part in this World Cup just like they did when Brazil won the Confederations Cup .

Keep up to date with Ty’s career as a footballer by following him on Twitter @TySandows as well as on Instagram.