Brazilian midfielder shares his hopes for Serie A winners amongst tight title battle

This season's Serie A title race is playing out just as many predicted before the start of the campaign and it's almost impossible to call who the favourites are at this stage. 

Inter lead the way at the top of the table, but only on goal difference from second-placed Roma, with the whole top five separated by just five points. 

No team has managed to retain the league crown in the past five years, and it's a testament to the competitiveness of Italy's top flight. 

With only eleven games of the season gone, the race may come down to who can keep up the pace and who's got the best strength in depth. That's the opinion of former Serie A star Sando, who, along with spells in the Premier League with Tottenham and QPR, spent two seasons in Italy. 

Looking at the cluster at the top of the league, he exclusively told DAZN News, courtesy of 32Red online casino, that it will be about who can cope come next Spring, but did share his hope for an eventual winner. 

"It's hard to predict a winner, because it’s so close. Oh my God! Because you have four clubs, separated by two points!

"I will say that when I see those moments like this, where it’s so close, you have to see the squads, who is on the bench, because there will be injuries, there will be times that one player is not playing well. So, you have to have a strong bench.

"For you to win Serie A or to win any competition, you have to have a squad where everybody is ready.

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"Like, people are talking about Arsenal already winning the title. But, you only start to see in February, April. Those are the moments that you are going to see, because all the legs are fresh now.

"If you pick up injuries, if a player starts to drop a little bit, then you have to have top guys on the bench, and that's why you win a title. If you lose two good players, and you don't have two good players to replace them, it's gone. It's done.

"I'm happy to see Roma there fighting because I think or it's been a long time since they fought for the title!"



The midfielder spent time in Italy after his stint in England, first signing for Benevento before later having spells with Genoa and Udinese. 

Although it was relatively short and came towards the end of his career, Sando has nothing but good things to say about getting to play football in Italy. 

"I loved it, I absolutely loved it," he added. 

"Serie A for me was special because the fans in Italy, they are mad, they are crazy about football! I heard when I grew up, I heard that Italian football, they love football, but when I was there I said, wow, this is nice!

"When I went to Italy, I played at a club called Benevento, and I couldn't walk in the streets in Italy, it was intense!

"I couldn't walk because I was the captain, but it was so nice to receive all the love from the fans, but at the same time, I needed to manage my time. If I went back to my house in rush hour, then there were a lot of people in the street, and it was impossible! I really liked it, I really liked to see their passion."

Serie A resumes this weekend after a break for the internationals and sees Roma travel to Cremonese, the Milan derby and Napoli hosting Atalanta as it's headline acts - all of which you can see live on DAZN. 

How to watch Serie A on DAZN? 

DAZN brings fans closer to the action with live coverage of all 10 matches per round, delivering world-class Italian football to more fans in more ways in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Canada, and the U.S (Spanish-language only).

You can watch Serie A games via the DAZN App, available on smart TVs, phones, tablets, streaming devices, games consoles and web browsers.

If you do not have the App already then just follow these instructions....

• Download the free DAZN App from your normal App store on your TV, phone, tablet, or streaming device
• On a laptop or PC,  visit www.DAZN.com/home
• Select 'Get started' or 'log in'
• Enter your email address, or sign up via the Apple, Google or Facebook options
• You then have access to all of DAZN's free content, including the Matchroom boxing channel and FIFA+
• Then find our Serie A page and click 'buy now'