Giovani dos Santos

At 34 years old, Giovani dos Santos has this physical status:

Giovani "Gio" dos Santos Ramírez (born 11 May 1989) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays for Liga MX club América and the Mexico national team.

A versatile forward, dos Santos can play as an attacking midfielder, winger and secondary striker. Dos Santos began his football career at a very young age, being recruited by Spanish club Barcelona and played for their B team until age 18.

He made his way up the ranks, eventually playing for the senior squad, making his debut in 2007.

That year, he was named by World Soccer Magazine as one of the "Top 50 Most Exciting Teen Footballers".

After playing one season, Dos Santos was transferred to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 in search for more playing time.

Though he would stay with the club until 2012, his time there was mostly spent away on loan, at Ipswich Town, Galatasaray and Racing de Santander, with varying degrees of success.

Spurs eventually sold dos Santos to Mallorca in 2012, and he was sold a year later to Villarreal.

After a three-year stint, he was sold to LA Galaxy in July 2015, who went on to buy out his contract and release him prior to the 2019 season. Dos Santos was a member of the Mexico under-17 team that won the 2005 U17 World Championship held in Peru.

He made his debut for the senior national team in a 1–0 victory over Panama on 9 September 2007, and represented El Tri at the 2010, 2014, and 2018 FIFA World Cups, along with the 2013 and 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

With Mexico, Giovani has won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2009, 2011 and 2015, scoring in the 2009 and 2011 finals and winning the MVP award in 2009.

He was also a member of Mexico's team that won the gold-medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Dos Santos is the son of former Afro-Brazilian footballer Zizinho, who played for Mexico clubs América and León in the late 1980s. His mother, Liliana Ramírez, is Mexican. Dos Santos has two brothers and two half-brothers; the elder, Éder, played for América's reserves team as a defensive midfielder before retiring in 2009, and his younger brother, Jonathan, currently plays for América. Dos Santos has appeared on the cover of the MLS custom editions of FIFA 16 and FIFA 17.

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Club career

Dos Santos, a born in Montergo, Nuevo León, joined Barcelona's academy of La Masia at the age of 13 and competed in Barcelona's Juvenil A division, where he helped his team make a comeback in the league and win the regional championship. Their success in the Youth Copa del Rey encouraged them to compete against other regional champions, including Real Madrid, one of their historic arch-rivals. Dos Santos appeared again during the tournament and helped the team win the national title of the Juvenil A category.

Dos Santos was invited on Barcelona's pre-season tour in 2006; he scored in his senior team's debut game against Danish club AGF Aarhus on Sunday. Barcelona selected Dos Santos in their 23-man squad for the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan on November 28, 2006.

Dos Santos was once more invited to Barcelona's senior squad during their pre-season tour in mid-2007. He gained dual citizenship and was included in the official first team squad on September 29, 2007. During a 3–1 home win over Athletic Bilbao on September 2nd, he made his competitive and league debut on September 2nd (at 18 years and 114 days). Thierry Henry took the lead in the 62nd minute.

During a 3–0 home victory over Lyon, Dos Santos made his UEFA Champions League debut on September 20, 2007. In the 79th minute, he came on as a replacement for Xavi.

Dos Santos scored a hat-trick against Real Murcia on May 17, 2008, allowing Barça a victory over the team's last game of the 2007–08 season. It was also the last game Dos Santos played before joining Tottenham Hotspur.

Dos Santos completed his transfer to Tottenham from Barcelona on June 18, 2008, after receiving a medical and agreed contract. Barcelona reported that the transfer fee was €6 million with an additional €5 million payable depending on the number of Tottenham players.

On their 2008-09 pre-season tour, the young Mexican was on target twice as Tottenham defeated local Spanish side UD Tavernes in an 8–0 thumping. He appeared in Spurs' other pre-season games, including the 5–1 victory over Leyton Orient and Norwich City. He also scored his second goal in Spurs' 3–0 victory over Borussia Dortmund, allowing Spurs to win by two out of two games and earn the Feyenoord Jubileum Tournament trophy. Spurs' Duncan scored his first competitive goal against Shakhtar Donetsk on February 26, 2009, on the 26th of February. He was on loan to Ipswich Town for the remainder of the season after 12 first team appearances.

Dos Santos was back to Tottenham at the start of the 2009–10 season, and his first game of the season came against Doncaster Rovers, in which he was a contributor. He was forced to leave early on in a League Cup match against Preston North End, but Wolverhampton Wanderers lost by a 1–0 loss.

Dos Santos' future was questioned by then Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp, who warned him not to drink heavily and revealed that he was often late for training on Mondays.

Dos Santos scored and had an assist in Tottenham's UEFA Europa League group match against Shamrock Rovers on September 29, 2011 at White Hart Lane. In the third round of the FA Cup, he scored a goal and contributed to a 3–0 victory over Cheltenham Town on January 7, 2012.

Dos Santos signed on loan at Ipswich Town until the end of the season in March 2009. On March 14, 2009, he made his debut on March 14th and came as a back-up against Reading. In the following game against Burnley, he scored his first league goal and equalizer. On Easter Monday, he scored his second goal against Bristol City, a 94th-minute penalty to equalize for Ipswich. In Ipswich's 3–2 victory over local rivals Norwich City a week later, he contributed assassination and a goal from the penalty spot. He had four goals in eight appearances and ended his loan with four goals in eight appearances.

Dos Santos signed for Galatasaray on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season, with the possibility to buy him at the end of the season. Frank Rijkaard, his former Barcelona coach, was reunited with the player after the transfer. Dos Santos made his debut in a Süper Lig game against Emre olak on January 31. He returned to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer after struggling to score for Galatasaray, and stayed there for half a season until being loaned to Racing de Santander in January.

Dos Santos joined Racing de Santander on loan until the end of the season from Tottenham. On 5 February 2011 as a replacement for Real Zaragoza, he made his debut for his new club against Real Zaragoza, drawing the game 1-1. In the 68th minute, he scored his first goal as a replacement against Villarreal in the 68th minute. In a 3–2 win league match over Hércules, Dos Santos scored a brace.

Dos Santos had told Tottenham Hotspur that he wanted to move in the summer of 2012 or else he'll leave on a free transfer until the next transfer window. Inter Milan's agent expressed disappointment with Inter Milan's Serie A team. Sevilla as well as Sevilla.

Dos Santos, the Spanish company Mallorca's top number 9, signed a four-year contract on August 31, 2012, becoming their new number 9 in Spain. He made his Mallorca debut on October 22nd, playing 60 minutes and assisting both goals in a 3–2 loss to Sevilla on October 22nd. In a 5–0 home loss to Real Madrid on October 28, he played another 60 minutes. On January 18, 2013, Dos Santos scored his first goal for Mallorca against Espanyol. Despite the fact that Mallorca finished the season in 18th position and was recalled, Dos Santos was a mainstay in the squad, with 32 appearances and finishing as the top goal scorer with six goals and seven assists in the final season.

Dos Santos completed a long-awaited transfer to Villarreal's newly promoted side on July 9, 2013 for €6 million. He finished the 2013-14 season with 11 goals and 8 assists, helping the club finish in sixth place.

The Los Angeles Galaxy, a Major League Soccer club, announced the signing of dos Santos as a Designated Player in a reported US$7 million contract on July 15.

dos Santos made his competitive debut and scored his first competitive goal for the Galaxy in a CONCACAF Champions League match against Trinidadian side Central FC on August 6th. In the 3–1 victory over Seattle Sounders FC, he made his MLS debut and scored a goal, as well as providing an assist.

Dos Santos made the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or longlist, according to a wikipedia article published on October 2, 2009.

Dos Santos was included in the roster for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game in July 2016. He came off the bench in the U.S. Open Cup quarter finals on July 21, 2016, scoring within three minutes of being brought to the pitch for the first time. For the first time in ten years, the Galaxy began a comeback with a 4–2 win over the Seattle Sounders, which then advanced to the semi-finals for the first time in ten years.

Dos Santos was one of the roster for the 2017 MLS All-Star Game in July 2017.

The LA Galaxy reported on March 1, 2019 that they had used their one-offseason buyout of a dos Santos contract, effectively releasing him from the team.

Dos Santos officially joined Mexican side Club América on July 6, 2019. He played in the Liga MX for the first time after a three-year contract with América, where he was given the number 10 shirt. Dos Santos sustained a thigh injury in his first Sper Clasico against Guadalajara on September 28th, with the defender piercing dos Santos' skin with his studs and leaving a deep gash in his right leg. He was stretched out of the field and then admitted to a nearby hospital. Club América later announced that the player had sustained a wound in the right thigh quadriceps and would require surgery, effectively leaving him out of action for up to six weeks. Club América chose not to extend its working relationship with the player and announced him on June 15, 2021.

International career

Dos Santos competed in the 2001 Danone Nations Cup in Parc des Princes, Paris, where 40 countries also competed. Mexico will finish fifth in the tournament, and Dos Santos took home the Golden Boot award for top goalscorer.

Dos Santos assisted half of Mexico's goals during the tournament, earning him the second best player of the tournament behind only Brazilian midfielder Anderson during the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, which his team won.

Dos santos scored twice in the U-20 World Cup Qualifiers; one against St. Kitts and Nevis in the 86th minute and the other against Jamaica in the 56th minute. He was forced to miss the last game against Costa Rica due to a yellow card in the previous match. The game came to a 1–1 draw, but Mexico still qualified, finishing first in the regional division.

Mexico was placed in Group C of Group C of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, where they were drawn against Gambia, Portugal, and New Zealand. Dos Santos and the rest of the Mexico team defeated Gambia 3–0 on July 2nd, 2007, with Dos Santos opening the scoring in the second half from outside of the box. He then played against Portugal, where Mexico defeated Portugal 2–1, scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot. As Mexico had already qualified from the program, he was rested for the game against New Zealand. Mexico defeated Congo and Dos Santos in the first round of 16 and yet again opened the scoring with a goal from the penalty spot in a game that Mexico lost 3–0. Mexico was defeated by Argentina by an own goal on the second half, the game's sole goal, a 1:0. The Adidas Bronze Ball was given to Dos Santos.

Dos Santos was called up in June 2012 to compete with the under-23 team at the 2012 London Olympics. He started on the bench on Sunday but later scored his first two goals against Gabon, earning Mexico a 2–0 victory. Dos Santos scored his third goal of the tournament against Senegal on August 4th, scoring a vital tie breaking goal in the 98th minute of extra time to put Mexico up by 4–2 and eventually winning by 4–2. He was in the starting lineup for the semi-final match against Japan and was in the first half of the game, but Ra'l Jiménez was forced to leave in the 46th minute due to a fracture, effectively ruled him out of the final against Brazil. Nonetheless, Dos Santos was on the bench watching Mexico defeat Brazil 2–1 at Wembley Stadium.

When Hugo Sánchez selected Dos Santos for exhibition games against Panama and Brazil, he earned his first pick in the senior team roster. In a 1–0 victory over Panama on September 9, the Dos Santos were wearing the number 10 jersey for the first time for Mexico. Heavy rain caused the game to be called off at halftime. On June 24, 2009, he scored his first two goals for Mexico in a friendly match against Venezuela, in which he was also named Man of the Match.

In the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final game against Haiti in the 42nd minute, Dos Santos scored his third goal for Mexico on July 19th in the 42nd minute, and also had two assists in the 4–0 victory. With a 5–0 win that helped Mexico end a ten-year drought of victory against the United States on American soil, he helped Mexico break a ten-year drought. He was named Player of the Tournament.

Dos Santos won by 3–0 over Costa Rica in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying stages on September 5, 2009. He scored his first goal from outside his preferred left foot and assisted in the following two goals.

When Jonathan dos Santos was cut from Mexico's final 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup, his father Zizinho said Giovani was very ill and said he was uncertain if he would play in the World Cup.

Dos Santos started for Mexico as a right winger in every game for the 2010 World Cup. He completed 138 passes without having an assist. He was named runner-up for the FIFA Young Player of the Tournament trophy, which eventually went to Thomas Müller of Germany.

After a good mid-season loan to Racing de Santander, Dos Santos was called up to participate in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. In a 5–0 victory over Cuba on June 9, 2011, he scored a brace against Cuba. He won by dribbling inside the box against goalkeeper Tim Howard and chipping the ball over Eric Lichaj in the top-left corner of the tournament in their last match against the United States, winning by 4–2 over the goalkeeper.

Dos Santos was summoned by Miguel Herrera to participate in the 2014 World Cup. He appeared in Mexico's World Cup opener against Cameroon, and on 29 June 2014, he opened the scoring in a 2–1 round of 16 defeats against the Netherlands with a left-footed long range strike.

Dos Santos was drafted in Mexico's preliminary 28-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia in May, and in June, he was eventually included in the tournament's final 23-man roster.

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