The man who turns over a new leaf --- Alexis Sanchez

It s a great honour for a player to play for a title-winning team. At the same time, if only being assigned a bit-part role, it could be hard to swallow. Alexsandr Hleb, Dmytro Chygrynskiy, Martin Caceres and more recently Thiago Alcantara had left Camp Nou in search of more regular playing time. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who played regularly but was not treated as the key in attack, departed to win the attention he needs.

Alexis Sanchez chose to switch to Camp Nou in 2011 after being rated as one of the most exciting youngster at Udinese. The Chilean is seldom under the spotlight and has been overshadowed by superstars like Xavi, Iniesta and Lionel Messi, but Alexis has not been discouraged by the change of circumstances and has finally lived up to potential this season.

The Tiki-Taka style advocated by former Barca player and manager Pep Guardiola places emphasis on possession, patience and involvement of midfielders in attack. The attacking force led by the false no.9 Lionel Messi has driven Barcelona near to unbeatable in the past five years.

At his best when given the license to run

Alexis is at his best with ball at feet and running directly at defenders. Under the Tiki-Taka style, Barcelona often builds up the attack slowly and Alexis often finds himself isolated up front and being forced to retreat.  Not quite at full strength due to the mismatch with the tactics, Guardiola and Vilanova had been selecting Pedro over Alexis, with the former 's speed and off-ball movement being the perfect match to the penetrating passes by the playmakers.

Recent European stumbles as well as defeats in El Clasico raised the awareness of the necessity of a plan B. Vilanova's successor Gerardo Martino adds extra dimension to Barca football by introducing pace and directness. Counter attacks that were unseen in Barcelona past few years is rediscovered this season.

Alexis has clearly benefited from the change in playing style. While Messi's injury has opened up the opportunity in striker position, under Martino's system, Alexis finds himself with a lot more support in the final third and is encouraged to be more aggressive in challenging defenders. Also possessing the technical skills to play the Tiki-Taka football, the versatility of Alexis is valued by the new manager. The renewed confidence is reflected on his scorecard, having bagged 8 goals in 10 league games, including the sensational chip shot that sealed the El Clasico victory at home. 

The El Clasico's lob

His individual show at Wembley Arena might have shocked England. For those who have seen him play at Udinese would not be too surprised by Alexis' ability. His re-emergence has come at the right moment for Chile ahead of the World Cup next Summer. Even though Chile is far from being the favourite of the tournament, an Alexis in superb condition will strongly boast their chance in qualifying for knockout round for the second successive tournament. More importantly, the young Chilean is once again enjoying his football.