Alexandre Jankewitz and a career start marked by madness at Old Trafford
Alexandre Jankewitz was handed his first senior start on the very biggest stage on Tuesday night as Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl entrusted the teenage midfielder to rise to the occasion against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Having only turned 19 on Christmas Day, Alexandre Jankewitz was taking baby steps into settling down at the club, and had appeared from the bench against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup and Aston Villa in the Premier League.
However, he will right now only remembered for his performance against Manchester United, and he will live with the remorse and regret of his actions for a long time to come.
Still yet to make his senior international debut with Switzerland having progressed through the intermediate ranks, Alexandre Jankewitz had amassed less than 10 minutes of football over the course of three senior team fixtures for Southampton, but that was before he went viral with a moment of madness.
Making his very first senior team start for either club or country, Alexandre Jankewitz emerged from the tunnel at Old Trafford on Tuesday night filled with a range of heightened emotions.
It was the realisation of a dream and an ambition that began in the Swiss town of Vevey all those years ago. The nerves, the excitement, the anticipation, the humble gratitude; it was all for this moment.
Where the journey began
It was during his time in the youth ranks at Servette that Alexandre Jankewitz came to the attention of Southampton, and he arrived at the club in 2018 to continue his development in England. Representing Switzerland at U15, U16, U17, U18, U19 and currently at U21 level, his progress has been consistent and shaped by an ambition to prove himself at the highest level.
Over the course of his youth career with club and country, Alexandre Jankewitz will have witnessed players failing to complete their journey. The number of players released from professional clubs means that very few actually make it, and with each meeting and performance review, the midfielder would have naturally feared the worst.
But Alexandre Jankewitz is one of the few to make it to the professional ranks. Still a teenager, but also an adult, he is now a Premier League footballer. It is important to understand and appreciate the years of sacrifice that is required by the player and their family to even reach this point in their career, all with absolutely no guarantee of success.
“I'm delighted to sign officially for Southampton,” Alexandre Jankewitz told the club's official website when he signed his first professional contract in the summer of 2019. “It's been a great experience so far, everyone at the club has helped and supported me. Life in England is good. I want to play well and be confident enough to be patient. I hope my time will come.”
And his time did come. His time came on Tuesday night. With Southampton depleted in numbers, Ralph Hasenhüttl handed Jankewitz his first senior professional start. It would be against Manchester United and it would be at Old Trafford. However, the dream would quickly turn into a nightmare.
Inside the second minute of the match, Jankewitz was shown a straight red card by referee Mike Dean for his horrendous late challenge on Scott McTominay. The sturdy Scottish international was able to continue, and Manchester United proceeded to score nine without reply as Southampton were left embarrassed by their unforgiving opponents.
No support from Ralph Hasenhüttl
But while his manager and team mates will have unwelcome flashbacks of that night for months and years to come, Alexandre Jankewitz will have little recollection of what occurred after the opening 82 seconds. That was the extent of his first senior start in the professional game, and his spectacular failure to make the most of the opportunity presented to him.
“Everything that happened today was based on a very silly mistake in the beginning from a very young player playing the first time in the Premier League,” said Ralph Hasenhüttl in the aftermath of the 9-0 defeat, the second of his time in charge at Southampton after losing to Leicester City by the same scoreline in October 2019.
It was a brutal response from the manager, and certainly one that offered no defence, protection or support for a teenager who has played less than 10 minutes of football in his senior career. Alexandre Jankewitz was not directly involved in any of Manchester United's nine goals, but, he could also be blamed for all nine of them.
How the versatile midfielder recovers from his brief performance and moment of madness will define the rest of his career. It will take a lot for Ralph Hasenhüttl to trust him again, and he may even need to restart his career elsewhere if Southampton decide to stick by their manager for a second time after another nine-goal reverse.
There is no doubt that Alexandre Jankewitz still has a future in the professional game, but moving on from the psychological damage of his Old Trafford nightmare will be one of the biggest tests of his career. However, he has shown he has the talent and character by coming this far, and he should not be defined by this one moment of madness.