Giovani dos Santos
Personal information
Full name	Giovani dos Santos Ramírez [1]
Date of birth	May 11, 1989 (1989-05-11) (age 18)
Place of birth	Monterrey, Mexico
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder Striker
Club information
Current club	Barcelona
Number	18
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2007-	FC Barcelona	2 (2)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11/27/06. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of July 12, 2007. * Appearances (Goals) Image File history File links Size of this preview: 482 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (516 × 641 pixel, file size: 251 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Mexico. ... Nickname: Motto: El Trabajo templa el Espíritu Location of Monterrey in northern Mexico Coordinates: , Country Mexico State Nuevo León Founded 20 September 1596 Government  - Mayor Adalberto Madero ( PAN) Area  - City 572 km²  (220. ... The Midfield in relation to the football positions In association football, a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders (highlighted in blue on the diagram). ... The striker (wearing the red shirt) has run past the defender (in the white shirt) and is about to take a shot at the goal, while the goalkeeper positions himself to attempt to stop the ball. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (IPA: baɾ.sÉ™), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (IPA: baɾ.sÉ™), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ...

Giovani dos Santos Ramírez (born May 11, 1989 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico) is a Mexican football striker who plays for FC Barcelona and was a member of the Mexican National U-17 Football team that won the FIFA U-17 World Championship 2005 held in Peru. Dos Santos, also known as "Gio" or "Giova", was a key piece in winning that title. is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Nickname: Motto: El Trabajo templa el Espíritu Location of Monterrey in northern Mexico Coordinates: , Country Mexico State Nuevo León Founded 20 September 1596 Government  - Mayor Adalberto Madero ( PAN) Area  - City 572 km²  (220. ... Nuevo León (Spanish for New León, after the former kingdom in Spain) is a state located in northeastern Mexico. ... Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (IPA: baɾ.sÉ™), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ... The 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship was held in the cities of Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura and Iquitos in Peru between 16 September and 2 October 2005. ...

Biography

He is the son of the Brazilian retired 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 is the Mexican Liliana Ramírez de dos Santos; he has two brothers and two half brothers, an older, Eder and a younger, Jonathan who also plays for FC Barcelona, but in the Juvenil B category. Gerardo dos Santos, also known as Zizinho, was a Brazilian footballer who played for the Mexican soccer teams América and Monterrey in the early 1990s. ... For other uses, see América Football Club (disambiguation). ... Club Léon is a football (soccer) club from León, Guanajuato, Mexico. ... Jonathan dos Santos Ramírez (born in 1990 in Mexico, DF, Mexico) is a Mexican football midfielder who plays for FC Barcelona Juvenil B. He is the son of former football player Geraldo dos Santos, who played on the Mexican soccer teams América and Monterrey in the early 1990s. ... Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (IPA: baɾ.sÉ™), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ...

His father can be recognized as the driving force behind Giovani’s career, he founded a school in Monterrey named São Paulo in México in which he coached his children among many other kids. In 2001 São Paulo participated in the Dallas Cup, a prestigious youth tournament in the USA, winning the U-12 category with Giovani as the star of the team. After that accomplishment Zizinho decided that Giovani was ready to begin a more professional formation and he managed to get him a trial with the Mexican first division team, Club Monterrey, in which he was immediately identified as a prodigy and quickly jumped the youth ranks to join their filial of professional third division. Nickname: Motto: El Trabajo templa el Espíritu Location of Monterrey in northern Mexico Coordinates: , Country Mexico State Nuevo León Founded 20 September 1596 Government  - Mayor Adalberto Madero ( PAN) Area  - City 572 km²  (220. ... Club de Fútbol Monterrey, also known as Monterrey, is a Mexican professional football club from Monterrey, Nuevo León, in the northeast of the country. ...

Months later a youth team of Club Monterrey was due to participate in a tournament in France and the officers of the club decided to send Giovani as a reinforcement. In that tournament he was scouted when a youth team of FC Barcelona played Giovani's team. After the match a representative of FC Barcelona contacted Giovani’s parents to offer a place for Giovani on FC Barcelona’s youth system, his parents accepted and moved to Spain a year later. Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (IPA: baɾ.sÉ™), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ... Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (IPA: baɾ.sÉ™), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ...

Giovani was placed in a category a couple years above his, but he didn’t struggle, in the Cadete A category he was Pichichi of the league with 28 goals. He then moved on briefly to Juvenil B and then to Juvenil A, where he won the Milk Cup Premier Category with FC Barcelona in 2005. In Spanish football, the Pichichi is the trophy awarded by Spanish sports newspaper Marca to the top goalscorer for each league season. ... The Milk Cup is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. ... Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (IPA: baɾ.sÉ™), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ...

U-17 World Championship and Later Career

During the FIFA U-17 World Championship 2005 wearing the number eight on his back Gio managed to assist on half of the goals of the Mexican team during the tournament, a fact that combined with his ability awarded him the Adidas Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, only behind the Brazilian Anderson. The 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship was held in the cities of Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura and Iquitos in Peru between 16 September and 2 October 2005. ... Adidas AG (ISIN: DE0005003404) is a major German sports apparel manufacturer, part of the Adidas Group, consisting of Reebok sportswear company, Taylormade golf company, Maxfli golf balls, and Adidas golf and is the second largest sportswear manufacturer in the world. ... For other Brazilian footballers nicknamed Anderson, see: Anderson (footballer). ...

After the U-17 title Giovani returned to Barcelona, and went back to the Juvenil A category where he helped his team to make 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 rival Real Madrid. Giovani played once again a significant role during the tournament and helped the team win the national title of the category. Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (Catalan) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... The Copa del Rey is an annual cup competition for Spanish football teams. ... Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a Spanish sports club most widely known for its professional football team based in Madrid. ...

In the summer of 2006 Giovani dos Santos was one of the few youth players invited to the pre-season of the FC Barcelona senior squad, during a friendly match on July 29, 2006^[2] he scored in what was his debut game for FC Barcelona senior team against AGF Aarhus. Still, his debut in an official match is pending, but is expected to happen next season, as club president, Joan Laporta, has announced that Giovani dos Santos will play with the Barcelona first squad in the upcoming 2007-2008 season. ^[3] Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (IPA: baɾ.sə), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ... is the 210th day of the year (211th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Aarhus Gymnastik Forening (AGF or AGF Aarhus ) is one of the most successful and one of the oldest sport clubs in Denmark. ... Joan Laporta i Estruch (born June 29, 1962 in Barcelona, Spain) is the president of Futbol Club Barcelona since 2003. ...

Hugo Sánchez, manager of the Mexican National Team, has made public that he maintains communication with the player, and intends to call on him in the near future. Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born July 11, 1958), popularly nicknamed Pentapichichi and Hugol, is a Mexican former football striker who played for four European clubs, including Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid. ... First international  Guatemala 2-3 Mexico (Guatemala, Guatemala; 1 January 1923) Biggest win Mexico 13-0 Bahamas  (Toluca, Mexico; April 28, 1987) Biggest defeat  England 8-0 Mexico (London, England; May 10, 1961) World Cup Appearances 13 (First in 1930) Best result Quarterfinals, 1970, 1986 CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup Appearances...

U-20 World Championship

In the U-20 World Cup Qualifying round he scored twice; once against St. Kitts and Nevis in the 86^th minute and the second Against Jamaica in the 56^th minute. He had to sit out the last game versus Costa Rica due to the fact that he had received a yellow card in the previous match. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, but that didn't stop Mexico from qualifying at the top of its group (in the region).

During the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup the Mexican national was placed in Group C, where they faced the national teams of Gambia, Portugal, and New Zealand, in that order. On July 2, 2007, Giovani dos Santos and the rest of the Mexican National Team faced off against Gambia and won with a final score board of 3-0, with Giovani opening the count at the thirteen minute mark of the second half with a superb kick from the outer box, with an elevated foot, making the ball in on the left side of the goal box. He then went to play against Portugal, where his team won 2-1, with Giovani scoring the opening goal once more this time product of a penalty kick, against New Zealand he sat on the bench the whole game as a strategic decision from his coach to rest him. During the last-sixteen round Mexico played against Congo, dos Santos returned as a starter and again opened the score with a goal product of a penalty kick, on a match that would end with the Mexicans winning with a final score of 3-0. For the quarterfinals Mexico would be eliminated against Argentina 1-0 where the presence of dos Santos was in a way not as noticable as in past games. 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup final rankings. ...

Player Zinedine Zidane^[4], have expressed their interest towards the young dos Santos. In the case of Ronaldinho, since the press has always compared Giovani with him, dos Santos have publicly ^{[citation needed]}recognized that he admires the other and expressed their wish to play together in the near future. Ronaldinho has said that he admires the young dos Santos and expects great things of him. Meanwhile dos Santos is not shy to accept that his biggest idol in football, besides his own father, is Ronaldinho.^{[citation needed]} Zinedine Yazid Zidane (IPA: ; born 23 June 1972), popularly nicknamed Zizou, is famous for leading France to winning the 1998 World Cup. ...

Summer 2007

During the summer of 2007 the Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara tried to convince FC Barcelona to lend them Giovani for a year, in order to give him first division experience and the joy to play for the first time in the Primera División de México, both FC Barcelona and Giovani rejected the offer. Club Deportivo Guadalajara, also known as Guadalajara and usually referred to by its nickname Chivas (goats), is a Mexican sports club. ... Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (IPA: baɾ.sÉ™), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ... La Primera División del Futbol Mexicano (also known as La Liga) is the premier football championship established by the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación in the Mexican League System. ... Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (IPA: baɾ.sÉ™), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ...

Giovani also won the Bronze Ball at the 2007 U-20 World Cup in Canada. He started practicing with the Barcelona first team on the 22 of July. He is required to take a physical but other than that it looks like the young U-17 World Cup Champion will see action for the 2007-2008 season.

Dos Santos has enjoyed an impressive pre-season with Barcelona, scoring three goals in four games, a figure matched only by Ronaldinho. His pre-season performances earned him a man of the match award against Yokohama F. Marinos, as well as praise from Rijkaard and his fellow team-mates. Yokohama F. Marinos ) is a Japanese football team which participates in the professional J. League. ...

References

External links

• Gio2santos.com GIOVANI DOS SANTOS WEB