Even from a young age, Alexis Sanchez’s supreme natural talent and ability to become a global superstar was evident. He was only 16 years old in February 2005 when he made his first-team debut for Cobreloa, a club based in the north of his native Chile, near to the biggest open copper mine in the world, Chuquicamata. The manager who gave him that breakthrough, Nelson Acosta, recalled in an interview with The Telegraph in 2011: "Normally in young boys, there is something missing, be it skill, or vision, or the ability to beat a man. Not in Alexis. That is very rare." Alexis inevitably caught the eye of European scouts and he was signed by Udinese in April 2006, although the Italian club immediately loaned him to another club in Chile, Colo Colo, and followed that with another temporary move to River Plate in Argentina. After winning league titles with both South American teams, he relocated to Italy and became an integral member of Udinese's squad for three seasons. A