Giovani Dos Santos
Giovani Dos Santos is an 18 year old Mexican forward who currently plays for Catalan giants FC Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga. He is the son of Brazilian footballer Gerardo Dos Santos, better known to the world as Zizinho. Giovani was born on 11 May 1989 in the city of Monterrey in the north eastern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. His elder brother Eder plays for Socio Aguila, the reserve team of Club America, one of the most popular clubs in Mexico. His younger sibling Jonathan Dos Santos is currently progressing through the Barcelona youth ranks.
Having enjoyed a fair amount of success in Mexico, Zizinho decided to open his own soccer school named Sao Paulo in Monterrey. He enrolled young Giovani into this school and taught him the tricks of the trade. As a boy Giovani did display a fair amount of talent, and was one of the star players when Sao Paulo won the prestigious Dallas Cup in the U-12 category. Zizinho realized that his son was a natural with the football, and he managed to secure a trial with local club FC Monterrey. They snapped him up immediately, and a few weeks later, the middle son of Zizinho was aboard on a flight to Europe to tour with the club's youth squad. That tour went on to change the youngster's life, as some very impressed visiting scouts quickly informed Barcelona about the prodigy. And in 2001, at the age of 13, Giovani crossed the Atlantic to move to Spain.
Giovani is considered to be the best player to come out of the Barcelona youth system since Lionel Messi. His brother could well outshadow him in the future, but that is a matter for another time. Many people at Barcelona see him as Ronaldinho's heir. He does possess many of Ronaldinho's signature traits- he can dribble beautifully, can run circles around defenders, and is a excellent long range shooter. His bursts of pace can leave most defenders panting for breath while they unsuccessfully try to catch up with him. He has one of the best left feet in the game, with a fairly competent right foot to accompany it. Apart from scoring exquisite goals, he can create them for others too.
Dos Santos burst onto the international stage with his brilliant performances for Mexico in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Peru. He was chiefly responsible for his team's excellent run during in the tournament, and was one of the reasons that Carlos Vela ended up as top scorer with five goals. He was awarded the Adidas Silver Ball for his efforts. He wore the No.8 jersey for his country in that tournament. He continued his good work as the season progressed, and was rewarded with a spot on the Barcelona team for their 2006 pre- season tour. He made his debut for the senior squad against Danish side AGF Aarhus, and managed to net a goal too.
Dos Santos scored three goals in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, a tournament in which Mexico topped their group and went out in the quarterfinals at the hands of eventual winners Argentina. He impressed in Barcelona's tour of the Far East in 2007, and was widely appreciated by the fans. He received Spanish nationality in August 2007. On September 9 2007, he made his first appearance for the Mexican senior national team in a home friendly against Panama. The game was abandoned at half time with El Tri leading 1-0.
With injuries to Eidur Gudjohnsen and Samuel Eto'o, Dos Santos made his La Liga debut for Barcelona against Athletic Bilbao. He came on as a substitute for Thierry Henry. He wears the No.17 jersey for Barcelona.
Dos Santos is regarded as one of the stars of the future, for both club and country. Given the way his career has progressed so far, do not be surprised if he turns out to be one of the legends of the game.
