Giovani dos Santos

Giovani dos Santos
Giovani Dos Santos - 001.jpg
Personal information
Full name Giovani dos Santos Ramírez
Date of birth 11 May 1989 (1989-05-11) (age 21)
Place of birth Monterrey[1], Mexico[1]
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in) [1]
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club Tottenham Hotspur
Number 17
Youth career
2002–2006 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2006–2007 Barcelona B 27 (6)
2007–2008 Barcelona 28 (3)
2008– Tottenham Hotspur 9 (0)
2009 → Ipswich Town (loan) 8 (4)
2010 → Galatasaray (loan) 14 (0)
National team‡
2005 Mexico U17 8 (2)
2007 Mexico U20 6 (5)
2007– Mexico 33 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 August 2010.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 September 2010
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is dos Santos and the second or maternal family name is Ramírez.

Giovani dos Santos Ramírez[1] (born 11 May 1989) is a Mexican footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Since joining Tottenham he has had loan spells at Ipswich Town and Galatasaray. He previously played for Barcelona.

Dos Santos was a member of the Mexican National U-17 team that won the 2005 U-17 World Cup held in Peru. He made his debut for the Mexico national team in a 1-0 victory over Panama on 9 September 2007.

Contents

Personal life

Giovani dos Santos, was born in Monterrey, Mexico.[1] He is the son of former Brazilian footballer Zizinho, who played for the Mexican football clubs Club América and Club Leon in the late 1980s. His mother, Liliana Ramírez, is a Mexican national. Dos Santos has two brothers and two half-brothers; the elder, Éder dos Santos, currently plays for Club América in the Primera División de Mexico as a defensive midfielder, and his younger brother, Jonathan dos Santos plays for FC Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga.

Club career

Barcelona

Giovani in Barcelona

Dos Santos joined Barcelona at the age of thirteen[2] and played for Barcelona's 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 Barcelona's senior squad; during a friendly match on 29 July 2006, he scored in his senior team debut game against Danish club AGF Aarhus.[3] On 28 November 2006, Barcelona included dos Santos in their 23-man squad for the Club World Cup in Japan.[4]

During the summer of 2007, dos Santos was once again invited to join Barça's senior squad on their pre-season tour. On 29 August 2007, dos Santos received dual nationality[5] and was included in the official first team squad. He made his competitive and league debut on 2 September 2007 (at 18 years and 114 days) during a 3–1 home win against Athletic Bilbao, coming on for Thierry Henry in the 62nd minute.[6]

Dos Santos made his Champions League debut on 19 September 2007 during a 3–0 home win against Olympique Lyonnais. He came on as a substitute for Xavi in the 79th minute.[7]

On 17 May 2008, dos Santos scored a hat trick against Real Murcia, with a final score of 5–3, granting a victory to Barça on the team's last game of the 2007–08 season. It was also the last game dos Santos played before joining Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 10 June 2008, dos Santos passed a medical and agreed terms to complete his move to Tottenham Hotspur from FC Barcelona. Barcelona reported that the transfer fee was 6 million Euros (£4.7 million) with an additional 5 million Euros (£3.9 million) payable depending on appearances for Tottenham.[8][9][10]

The young Mexican was on target twice as Tottenham beat local Spanish side Tavernes in an 8–0 thumping on their 2008–09 pre-season tour. Dos Santos also played in Tottenham's other pre-season games such as the 5–1 wins over Leyton Orient and Norwich City. He also scored the second goal in the 3–0 win over Borussia Dortmund to help Spurs to make it two wins out of two and take home the Feyenoord Jubileum Tournament trophy, He scored his first competitive goal for Spurs in the UEFA Cup on 26 February 2009 against Shakhtar Donetsk.[11] After 12 first team appearances he was sent on loan to Ipswich for the remainder of the season.[2]

His first game of the 2009/2010 season came against Doncaster in the Carling Cup, in which he provided an assist. However, he was substituted off due to an ankle injury early on in a Carling Cup game against Preston North End and has only managed to make a substitute appearance in a 1–0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers before being loaned out to Galatarsaray.

His commitment has been questioned by Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp, who warned him to stay away from nightclubs and revealed that he was often late for training on a Monday.[12] However, Redknapp assured dos Santos that he is still part of his plans at Tottenham provided that he becomes more dedicated to his professional life.[13]

Ipswich Town

In March 2009, dos Santos signed on loan at Ipswich Town until the end of the season.[14] He made his debut on 14 March 2009, coming on as a substitute against Reading.[15] He scored his first league goal and the equaliser in the following game against Burnley. He scored his second goal against Bristol City on Easter Monday, a 94th minute penalty to equalise for Ipswich. He also claimed an assist and a goal from the penalty spot in Ipswich's 3–2 win over local rivals Norwich City a week later.[16] He finished his loan with four goals in eight appearances.[2]

Galatasaray

In January 2010 Dos Santos signed for Turkish club Galatasaray on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season, with an option to purchase him at the end of that period.[17] The move reunited the player with Frank Rijkaard, his former coach at Barcelona. He made his debut coming on as a 58th-minute substitute for Emre Çolak in a league game against Denizlispor on 31 January.

International career

U-17 World Championship

During the 2005 U-17 World Championship, which his team won, dos Santos assisted half of the goals of the Mexican team during the tournament, a feat that won him the Adidas Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, finishing behind only to Brazilian and Manchester United midfielder Anderson .

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 for precautionary reasons 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 2 July 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 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 round of 16, Mexico played against Congo and 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 was eliminated by Argentina by an own goal on the second-half, which was the only goal of the game in a 1–0. Dos Santos was awarded the Adidas Bronze Ball.

Mexico national team

Dos Santos earned his first selection for a Mexican national football team roster when Hugo Sanchez picked him for exhibition games against Panama and Brazil.[4] Dos Santos appeared for the first time for Mexico in a 1-0 victory over Panama on 9 September 2007.[18] The match was abandoned at half time because of heavy rain.[4] He scored his first two goals for Mexico on 24 June 2009 in a friendly match against Venezuela, a game in which he was also named Man of the Match. He scored his third goal for Mexico on 19 July in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final game against Haiti in the 42nd minute and also recorded two assists in the 4–0 victory. On 26 July 2009, he helped Mexico end a 10-year drought of victory against the United States on U.S. soil with a 5–0 victory that helped secure Mexico's fifth CONCACAF Gold Cup.[19] He was named player of the tournament. On the 5 September 2009, Dos Santos contributed to all three goals in a 3–0 win over Costa Rica in the 2010 World Cup qualification stages. He scored the first goal from outside the penalty box with his preferred left foot and assisted in the following two goals.[20].

When his brother Jonathan dos Santos was cut from Mexico's final 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup, his father Zizinho said that Dos Santos was very hurt and claimed he was unsure whether Dos Santos would play in the World Cup.[21]

In the 2010 World Cup, Dos Santos started in every game for Mexico as a right winger. He completed 138 passes without providing an assist.[22] He was nominated for the FIFA young player of the tournament award, which eventually went to Thomas Müller.[23]

Career statistics

(correct as of 29 August 2010)
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 7
Total 28 3 4 5 0 0 5 1 0 38 4 7
Tottenham Hotspur 2008–09 6 0 0 2 0 0 4 1 0 12 1 0
2009–10 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 1
2010–11 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0
Total 8 0 0 4 0 1 4 1 0 17 1 1
Ipswich Town 2008–09 8 4 1 8 0 0 0 0 0 8 4 1
Total 8 4 1 8 0 0 0 0 0 8 4 1
Galatasaray 2009–10 14 0 3 2 0 0 2 0 0 18 0 3
Total 14 0 3 2 0 0 2 0 0 18 0 3
Career total 56 9 10 11 0 1 11 2 0 79 9 12

International

As of 7 September 2010

National team Season Apps Goals
Mexico 2007–08 5 0
2008–09 14 4
2009–10 11 1
2010–11 3 0
Total 33 5

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 24 June 2009 Georgia Dome, Atlanta, United States  Venezuela 2–0 4–0 Friendly
2. 3–0
3. 19 July 2009 Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, United States  Haiti 2–0 4–0 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
4. 26 July 2009 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States  United States 0–2 0–5 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
5. 5 September 2009 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, San José, Costa Rica  Costa Rica 0–1 0–3 2010 World Cup qualification

Honours

International

Mexico

Individual

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Giovani Dos Santos Ramírez FC Barcelona
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Giovani Dos Santos". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/groups_and_teams/team/mexico/giovani_dos_santos. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  3. ↑ "Goals and debuts in Denmark (0–3)". FCBarcelona.com. 29 July 2007. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/eng/noticias/noticias/n06072817.shtml. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "GIOVANI". footballdatabase.com. http://www.footballdatabase.com/index.php?page=player&Id=6507&b=true&pn=Giovani_Alex_Dos_Santos_Ram%C3%ADrez. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  5. ↑ "Dos Santos gets Spanish papers". AFP. Published by FIFA.com. 29 August 2007. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=584086.html. Retrieved 14 August 2010. 
  6. ↑ "Barcelona 3–1 Athletic Bilbao". ESPN Soccernet. 17 January 2007. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=226421&cc=5901. 
  7. ↑ "Barcelona 3–0 Lyon: Messi orchestrates win". ESPN Soccernet. 19 September 2007. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=228758&cc=5901. 
  8. ↑ Giovani transferred to Tottenham Hotspur
  9. ↑ "Galatasaray set for Giovani loan swoop". 26 January 2010. http://www.soccerway.com/news/2010/January/26/galatasaray-set-for-giovani-loan-swoop. 
  10. ↑ "Tottenham sign Giovani dos Santos from Barca". The Telegraph. 6 June 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/tottenham/2302537/Tottenham-sign-Giovani-dos-Santos-from-Barca.html. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  11. ↑ "Tottenham 1–1 S Donetsk (agg 1–3)". BBC Sport. 26 February 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7900048.stm. Retrieved 16 April 2010. 
  12. ↑ Marc Issacs (6 July 2010). "TOTTENHAM: HARRY REDKNAPP WARNS GIOVANI DOS SANTOS". Daily Star. http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/143102/Tottenham-Harry-Redknapp-warns-Giovani-dos-Santos-/Tottenham-Harry-Redknapp-warns-Giovani-dos-Santos-. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  13. ↑ "Giovani dos Santos pleads with Spurs boss Harry Redknapp for one more chance to make his mark". Daily Mail. 5 July 2010. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1292103/Giovani-dos-Santos-pleads-Spurs-boss-Harry-Redknapp-final-chance.html. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  14. ↑ "Ipswich sign Dos Santos on loan". BBC Sport. 13 March 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/i/ipswich_town/7942956.stm. Retrieved 13 March 2009. 
  15. ↑ "Reading 0–1 Ipswich". BBC Sport. 14 March 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7923128.stm. Retrieved 14 March 2009. 
  16. ↑ "Ipswich 3–2 Norwich". BBC Sport. 19 April 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7990085.stm. Retrieved 19 April 2009. 
  17. ↑ "Giovani Joins Galatasaray". Galatasaray SK. 27 January 2010. http://www.galatasaray.org/en/futbol/futbol_as/haber/909.php. Retrieved 27 January 2010. 
  18. ↑ "Dos Santos, a Mexican darling". FIFA.com. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/awards/bestyoungplayer/playertowatch=234551/index.html. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  19. ↑ Longman, Jeré (26 July 2009). "Mexico Thumps U.S. to Win Gold Cup". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/sports/soccer/27soccer.html?em. Retrieved 27 July 2009. 
  20. ↑ "Dos Santos chosen as Gold Cup MVP". concacaf.com. 26 July 2009. http://concacaf.com/view_article.aspx?id=4850. Retrieved 27 July 2009. 
  21. ↑ "World Cup 2010: Giovani Dos Santos 'considering quitting Mexico squad'". The Telegraph. 1 June 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/mexico/7793087/World-Cup-2010-Giovani-Dos-Santos-considering-quitting-Mexico-squad.html. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  22. ↑ Matt Monaghan (11 July 2010). "World Cup 2010 Special: Forget Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres, these are the stars who did the Premier League proud in South Africa". Goal.com. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2010/07/11/2013951/world-cup-2010-special-forget-wayne-rooney-and-fernando. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  23. ↑ Alex Dimond (11 July 2010). "World Cup 2010: Germany's Thomas Mueller wins young player award, beating Mexico's Giovani dos Santos and Ghana's Andre Ayew". Goal.com. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2890/world-cup-2010/2010/07/11/2021146/world-cup-2010-germanys-thomas-mueller-wins-young-player. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 

External links

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. – current squad

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