Giovani Dos Santos

Giovani Dos Santos Ramírez

U-20 World Championship

In the U-20 World Cup Qualifiers Giovani Dos Santos scored twice; once against St. Kitts and Nevis in the 86^th minute and the second against Jamaica in the 56^th minute. Giovani Dos Santos was forced to sit out the last game against Costa Rica as Giovani Dos Santos 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 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, Giovani Dos Santos was rested for the game against New Zealand. In the last-sixteen Mexico played against Republic of the 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 was eliminated by Argentina by an own goal on the second half which was the only "goal" of the game, 1-0. Dos Santos was awarded the Adidas Bronze Ball, behind Argentines Sergio Agüero and Maximiliano Moralez.

FC Barcelona

During the summer of 2007, Dos Santos was once again invited to join Barcelona's senior squad on their pre-season tour. On 29 August 2007, Dos Santos received dual nationality and was included in the official first team squad. Giovani Dos Santos made Giovani Dos Santos 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.

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

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

Tottenham Hotspur

On 10 June 2008, Dos Santos passed a medical and agreed terms to complete Giovani Dos Santos move to Tottenham Hotspur F.C. from Barcelona. The transfer fee is initially £4.7 million, with the potential to rise to £8.6 million depending on appearances. The deal also includes a sell-on clause of 20% within Dos Santos' first two years at Spurs, and 10% thereafter.

The young Mexican, under high expectations, was on target twice as Tottenham beat local Spanish side Tavernes in an 8-0 thumping on their 2008-09 pre-season tour. These were Giovani Dos Santos first goals for Tottenham. Giovani played in Tottenham's other pre-season games being a factor in 5-1 wins over Leyton Orient F.C. and Norwich City F.C.. Giovani Dos Santos 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. Since then Giovani Dos Santos has failed to impress at Tottenham having scored Giovani Dos Santos first and only competitive goal for Spurs in the Uefa Cup on the 26 February against FC Shakhtar Donetsk.

March 2009 Dos Santos signed on loan at Ipswich Town F.C. until the end of the season. Giovani Dos Santos made Giovani Dos Santos debut on 14 March 2009, coming on as a substitute against Reading F.C.. Giovani Dos Santos scored Giovani Dos Santos first league goal and the equaliser in the following game against Burnley F.C.. Giovani Dos Santos scored Giovani Dos Santos second goal against Bristol City FC on Easter Monday, a 94th minute penalty to equalise for Ipswich. Giovani Dos Santos also claimed an assist and a goal from the penalty spot in Town's 3-2 win over local rivals Norwich City FC a week later. During Giovani Dos Santos time at Ipswich Town F.C., Giovani became a fans' favourite and built up a good relationship with the club. Upon heading back to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Giovani Dos Santos stated that it was a "great experience" and that Giovani Dos Santos "loved the fans" at Ipswich Town F.C., as well as tipping the club to make a swift return to the Premier League..

International career

Giovanni Dos Santos appeared for the first time on the Mexico national football team "El Tri", (coached by Hugo Sanchez), in a game against Guatemala national football team.
Giovani Dos Santos scored Giovani Dos Santos first two goals for Mexcio on 24 June 2009 in a friendly match against Venezuela national football team, a game in which Giovani Dos Santos was also named man of the match.
Giovani Dos Santos scored Giovani Dos Santos third goal with the Mexican national football team on 19 July in the 2009 Gold Cup quarter-final game against Haiti national football team, in the 42nd minute, and also recorded two assists in the 4-0 victory. On 26 July 2009 Giovani Dos Santos helped the Mexican national team end a 10 year drought of victory against USA national football team on US soil with a 5-0 victory that helped secure Mexico's fifth CONCACAF Gold Cup. Giovani Dos Santos is now considered Mexico's star and a fan favorite. Giovani Dos Santos also received the MVP award for the best player in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.. Because of Giovani Dos Santos outstanding performance in the gold cup and Giovani Dos Santos lack of playing time with the spurs Giovani Dos Santos has been linked to possible moves to Inter Milan and Deportivo La Coruna. .

All-time club performance

International goals

Honours

International

Mexico national football team
- FIFA U-17 World Championship: 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship
- CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Individual

- 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship Silver Ball: 2005
- 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup Bronze Ball: 2007
- CONCACAF Gold Cup Most Valuable Player: 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup