Giovani dos Santos

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Giovani dos Santos
Personal information
Full name Giovani Alex dos Santos Ramírez
Date of birth May 11, 1989 (1989-05-11) (age 19)
Place of birth    Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Playing position Attacking midfielder, Striker
Club information
Current club Tottenham Hotspur
Number –
Youth clubs
2001
2001–2005
2005–2007		 Club Monterrey
Barcelona Youth
Barcelona B
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2007–2008
2008–		 Barcelona
Tottenham Hotspur		 28 (3)
00 (0)   
National team2
2005
2007–
2007–		 Mexico U-17
Mexico U-20
Mexico		 08 (2)
06 (5)
05 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 19:42, 6 June 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 19:42, 6 June 2008 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Giovani Alex dos Santos Ramírez[2] (born 11 May 1989 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico) is a Mexican attacking midfielder or forward, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur and the Mexican national team. Dos Santos was a member of the Mexican National U-17 team that won the 2005 U-17 World Cup held in Peru.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Dos Santos is the son of a famous Brazilian football player Gerardo dos Santos, better known as "Zizinho", who played for the Mexican soccer clubs América and León in the late 1980s; Gio's mother, Liliana Ramírez is Mexican. Dos Santos has two brothers and two half-brothers, the older,Eder, currently plays for Socio Águila in the Primera División A as a defensive midfielder, and the younger Jonathan, plays for FC Barcelona, in the Juvenil A category.

Dos Santos' father is seen as the driving force behind his son's career, as he founded a school in Monterrey, named São Paulo in México, at which he coached his own, and many other, children.[citation needed] In 2001, São Paulo participated in the Dallas Cup, a prestigious youth tournament in the USA, winning the U-12 category with dos Santos as a member of the team. Zizinho decided that dos Santos was ready to begin a professional career and was able to get him a trial with Club Monterrey.

[edit] U-17 World Championship and Later Career

During the FIFA U-17 World Championship 2005, dos Santos managed to assist half of the goals of the Mexican team during the tournament, a fact that, combined with his abilities, awarded him the Adidas Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, finishing behind only the Brazilian Anderson.

After the U-17 title, dos Santos returned to Barcelona and the Juvenil A category where he helped his team to make a comeback in the league and win the regional title. This title allowed them to participate in the Youth Copa del Rey, where they faced other regional champions, among them their historic arch-rivals, Real Madrid. Dos Santos once again played a significant role during the tournament and helped the team win the national title of the Juvenil A category.

In 2006, dos Santos was invited on the pre-season tour of FC Barcelona's senior squad; during a friendly match on July 29, 2006 he scored in his senior team debut game against Danish club AGF Aarhus.[3] Hugo Sánchez, the ex-manager of the Mexican national team, called on him for the first time for exhibition games against Panama and in early September. He made his debut against Panama on September 9, 2007.[4]

[edit] U-20 World Championship

In the U-20 World Cup Qualifiers he scored twice; once against St. Kitts and Nevis in the 86th minute and the second against Jamaica in the 56th minute. He was forced to sit out the last game against Costa Rica as he had received a yellow card in the previous match. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, but Mexico still qualified, finishing top of the regional group.

During the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup Mexico was placed in Group C, where they were drawn against Gambia, Portugal, and New Zealand. On July 2, 2007, dos Santos and the rest of the Mexico team played against Gambia and won 3-0, with Giovani opening the scoring in the second half with a superb volley into the top left-hand corner from outside of the box. Dos Santos then played against Portugal, where Mexico won 2-1, scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot. As Mexico had already qualified from the group, he was rested for the game against New Zealand. In the last-sixteen Mexico played against Congo, dos Santos returned to the starting line-up and yet again opened the scoring with a goal from the penalty spot in a match that Mexico won 3-0. In the quarter finals, Mexico were eliminated by Argentina, with a close fought game ending 1-0. Dos Santos was awarded the Adidas Bronze Ball, behind Argentines Sergio Aguero and Maximiliano Moralez.

[edit] 2007-08 season

During the summer of 2007, dos Santos was once again invited to join Barcelona's senior squad on their pre-season tour. On August 29, 2007, dos Santos received dual nationality and was included in the official first team squad. He made his competitive and league debut on September 2, 2007 during a 3-1 home win against Athletic Bilbao, coming on for Thierry Henry in the 62nd minute.[5]

Dos Santos made his Champions League debut on September 19, 2007 during a 3-0 home win against Lyon. He came on as a substitute for Xavi in the 79th minute.[6]

On May 17, 2008, dos Santos scored a hat trick against Real Murcia, with a final score of 3-5, granting a victory to Barcelona on the team's last game of the 2007-08 season.

[edit] Tottenham Hotspur

On 10 June 2008, dos Santos passed a medical and agreed terms to complete his move to Tottenham Hotspur from Barcelona. The transfer fee is initially £4.7 million, with the potential to rise to £8.6 million depending on appearances.[7]

[edit] Club career statistics

(correct as of 10 June 2008)
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Barcelona 2007–08 28 3 4 5 0 0 5 1 0 38 4 4
Total 28 3 4 5 0 0 5 1 0 38 4 4
Tottenham 2008–09 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 28 3 4 5 0 0 5 1 0 38 4 4

[edit] Honours

[edit] International

Flag of Mexico Mexico

[edit] Individual

[edit] References

  1. ^ Barcelona official squad profile
  2. ^ Barcelona official squad profile
  3. ^ Goals and debuts in Denmark (0-3). FCBarcelona.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  4. ^ Mexico coach Hugo Sanchez calls Giovani Dos Santos into El Tri for first time. Yahoo.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  5. ^ Barcelona 3-1 Athletic Bilbao. soccernet.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  6. ^ Soccernet match report
  7. ^ "Tottenham complete Giovani deal", BBC Sport, 2008-06-10. Retrieved on 2008-06-11. 

[edit] External links

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