Alessandro Santos
{{Short description|Brazilian-born Japanese footballer (born 1977)}}
{{for multi|the former Fenerbahçe midfielder|Alex (footballer, born 1977)|the former A.C. Milan and Chelsea defender|Alex (footballer, born June 1982)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
|name = Alessandro Santos
三都主 アレサンドロ
|image = Alessandro Santos 20191127.jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Santos in 2019
|fullname = Alessandro dos Santos
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1977|7|20|df=y}}
|birth_place = Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
|death_date =
|death_place =
|height = 1.78 m
|position = Midfielder
|currentclub =
|youthyears1 = 1994–1996
|youthclubs1 = Meitoku Gijuku High School
|years1 = 1997–2003
|clubs1 = Shimizu S-Pulse
|caps1 = 198
|goals1 = 56
|years2 = 2004–2009
|clubs2 = Urawa Reds
|caps2 = 100
|goals2 = 11
|years3 = 2007
|clubs3 = → Red Bull Salzburg (loan)
|caps3 = 20
|goals3 = 1
|years4 = 2009–2012
|clubs4 = Nagoya Grampus
|caps4 = 55
|goals4 = 0
|years5 = 2013
|clubs5 = Tochigi SC
|caps5 = 25
|goals5 = 2
|years6 = 2014
|clubs6 = FC Gifu
|caps6 = 18
|goals6 = 2
|years7 = 2015
|clubs7 = Maringá
|caps7 =
|goals7 =
|years8 = 2015
|clubs8 = Grêmio Maringá
|caps8 =
|goals8 =
|years9 = 2016
|clubs9 = PSTC
|caps9 =
|goals9 =
|totalcaps = 416
|totalgoals = 72
|nationalyears1 = 2002–2006
|nationalteam1 = Japan
|nationalcaps1 = 82
|nationalgoals1 = 7
|manageryears1 =
|managerclubs1 =
|medaltemplates =
{{Medal|Team|Shimizu S-Pulse}}
{{Medal|W|Emperor's Cup|2001}}
{{Medal|RU|Emperor's Cup|1998}}
{{Medal|RU|Emperor's Cup|2000}}
{{Medal|Team|Urawa Reds}}
{{Medal|RU|J.League Cup|2004}}
{{Medal|W|Emperor's Cup|2005}}
{{Medal|W|Emperor's Cup|2006}}
{{Medal|Team|Nagoya Grampus}}
{{Medal|RU|Emperor's Cup|2009}}
{{Medal|Country|{{Fb|JPN}}}}
{{Medal|Competition|AFC Asian Cup}}
{{Medal|G|2004 China|}}
}}
{{Nihongo|Alessandro Santos|三都主 アレサンドロ|Santosu Aresandoro|formerly Alessandro dos Santos; born 20 July 1977}}, often known as Alex, is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Brazil, he became a Japanese citizen and made 82 appearances for the Japan national team.
Club career
Santos was born in Maringá in Paraná and moved to Japan in 1994 at the age of sixteen. He enrolled in Meitoku Gijuku High School in Kōchi and played football for the school club. After graduating from the school, he joined the J1 League team Shimizu S-Pulse in 1997. In 1999, the club won the second place and he received the J.League Player of the Year.{{cite web | url =http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/sj20001130a1.html| title =Alex: Dreadlocks in deadlock at S-Pulse | date = 30 November 2000 | access-date = 26 December 2012 | publisher = The Japan Times}} In Asia, the club won the champions 1999–2000 Asian Cup Winners' Cup and third place 2000–01 Asian Cup Winners' Cup.
In August 2002, Santos agreed to join English Premier League club Charlton Athletic. But he was denied a work permit by the Home Office because he had not made the minimum number of national team appearances required for players from outside the European Union and returned to Shimizu for the remainder of the season.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/2215652.stm Charlton miss out on Alex], BBC, 28 August 2002 In January 2004, he left Shimizu to join the Urawa Reds. They would come in second place at J1 League for two consecutive seasons in (2004, 2005). The club won the 2006 J1 League title.
In January 2007, Santos was loaned out to Red Bull Salzburg.[http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=396901&cc=5901 Japan's Alex to join Miyamoto at Salzburg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629000058/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=396901&cc=5901 |date=29 June 2011 }}, 21 December 2006 He went back to Urawa in January 2008. He received a serious injury in a test match and had only one appearance in this season. In July 2009, he agreed to move to Nagoya Grampus.[http://www.nikkansports.com/soccer/news/p-sc-tp0-20090726-523382.html 名古屋が三都主獲り、大型補強第3弾], Nikkan sport, 26 July 2009 He made 55 appearances for the club, before joining J2 League side Tochigi SC for the 2013 season. He made 25 appearances there, scoring twice. In January 2014, he joined fellow J2 League team FC Gifu.
International career
In 2001, Santos obtained Japanese citizenship. He made his first appearance for Japan national team on 21 March 2002, against Ukraine,{{Cite web |url=http://www.jfootball-db.com/en/players/santos_alessandro.html |title=Japan National Football Team Database |access-date=15 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615135201/http://www.jfootball-db.com/en/players/santos_alessandro.html |archive-date=15 June 2018 |url-status=dead }} and he was part of Philippe Troussier's selection for the 2002 World Cup. He was the second non-Japan-born person to play for Japan in the World Cup finals. Wagner Lopes was the first who played in the 1998 World Cup. Santos became the fifth naturalized Japanese citizen to play for Japan following Daishiro Yoshimura, George Yonashiro, Ruy Ramos, and Lopes.
After Zico took over as the national team manager, Santos was used on the left side of the Japanese lineup, as a full-back in a 4-4-2 formation or a midfielder in a 3-5-2 formation. He played in all 6 matches of the 2004 Asian Cup; Japan won. In May 2006 he was selected in the Japan squad for the 2006 World Cup, providing an assist for Keiji Tamada in a group stage match against his former country Brazil. Until 1982, he played 82 games and scored 7 goals for Japan.
Others
In 2020, Alex founded the Aruko Sports Brasil, a team that currently competes in the Campeonato Paranaense.
Career statistics
=Club=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionNippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, [https://www.amazon.co.jp/J1-J3%E9%81%B8%E6%89%8B%E5%90%8D%E9%91%91-2014-NSK-MOOK/dp/4905411165 "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 2014 (NSK MOOK)"], 14 February 2014, Japan, {{ISBN|978-4905411109}} (p. 239 out of 290)Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, [https://www.amazon.co.jp/J1-J2%E9%81%B8%E6%89%8B%E5%90%8D%E9%91%91-2013-NSK-MOOK/dp/4905411106 "J1&J2選手名鑑 2013 (NSK MOOK)"], 14 February 2013, Japan, {{ISBN|978-4905411161}} (p. 209 out of 266) | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National cup !colspan="2"|League cup !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="8"|Shimizu S-Pulse
|1997 |rowspan="7"|J1 League |27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | colspan="2"|– | 32 | 4 | ||
| 1998
|26 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | 36 | 12 | ||
| 1999
|30 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | 35 | 11 | ||
| 2000
|30 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | 40 | 8 | ||
| 2001
|30 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | colspan="2"|– | 37 | 14 | ||
| 2002
|29 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 13 | |
| 2003
|26 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 8 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!198 | 56 | 26 | 7 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 253 | 70 | |
| rowspan="4"|Urawa Reds
|2004 |rowspan="3"|J1 League |27 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | 30 | 3 | ||
| 2005
|32 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | 42 | 4 | ||
| 2006
|34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | 35 | 5 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!93 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 12 | |
| rowspan="3"|Red Bull Salzburg
|rowspan="2"|Austrian Bundesliga |9 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | colspan="2"|– | colspan="2"|– | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2007/08
|11 | 1 | colspan="2"|– | colspan="2"|– | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |||
| colspan="2"|Total
!20 | 1 | colspan="2"|– | colspan="2"|– | 1 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |||
| rowspan="3"|Urawa Reds
|2008 |rowspan="2"|J1 League |1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2009
|6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | 10 | 0 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| rowspan="5"|Nagoya Grampus
|2009 |rowspan="4"|J1 League |14 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| 2010
|25 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2011
|11 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| 2012
|5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!55 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 80 | 2 | |
| Tochigi SC
|2013 |25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | colspan="2"|– | 27 | 2 | |||
| FC Gifu
|2014 |J2 League |18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|– | colspan="2"|– | 18 | 2 | |||
| colspan="3"|Career total
!416 | 72 | 51 | 10 | 36 | 4 | 14 | 3 | 517 | 89 |
=International=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/asantos-intlg.html RSSSF] | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="5"|Japan
|2002 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 15 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 22 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 17 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 19 | 2 | |
| colspan="2"|Total | 82 | 7 |
:Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Santos goal.
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Alessandro Santos | ||||||
| scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align="center"|1 | 2 May 2002 | Kobe, Japan | {{fb|HON|1949}} | align="center"|3–3 | Friendly | |
| align="center"|2 | 7 December 2003 | Saitama, Japan | {{fb|HKG}} | align="center"|1–0 | East Asian Football Championship 2003 | |
| align="center"|3 | 12 February 2004 | Tokyo, Japan | {{fb|IRQ|2004}} | align="center"|2–0 | Friendly | |
| align="center"|4 | 30 May 2004 | Manchester, England | {{fb|ISL}} | align="center"|3–2 | Friendly | |
| align="center"|5 | 29 January 2005 | Yokohama, Japan | {{fb|KAZ}} | align="center"|4–0 | Friendly | |
| align="center"|6 | rowspan="2"|9 August 2006 | rowspan="2"|Tokyo, Japan | rowspan="2"|{{fb|TRI}} | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|2–0 | rowspan="2"|Friendly | |
| align="center"|7 |
Honours
Shimizu S-Pulse
Urawa Red Diamonds
- J1 League: 2006
- Emperor's Cup: 2005, 2006
- Japanese Super Cup: 2002, 2006
Red Bull Salzburg
Nagoya Grampus
Japan
Individual
- J.League MVP: 1999
- J1 League Best Eleven: 1999
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{FIFA player|187349}}
- {{NFT player|3486}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20180615135201/http://www.jfootball-db.com/en/players/santos_alessandro.html Japan National Football Team Database]
- {{J.League player|2936}}
- [http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/050622/1/3z7v.html No divided loyalties for Alex] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313055352/http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/050622/1/3z7v.html |date=13 March 2007 }}, FIFAworldcup.com, 22 June 2005
{{Navboxes
|title= Awards for Alex
|bg= gold
|fg= navy
|list1=
{{J.League MVP}}
{{1999 J.League Team of the Year}}
}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Japan squads
| bg = #0202FF
| fg = #FFFFFF
| list1 =
{{Japan squad 2002 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Japan squad 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup}}
{{Japan squad 2004 AFC Asian Cup}}
{{Japan squad 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup}}
{{Japan squad 2006 FIFA World Cup}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Alessandro}}
Category:Brazilian emigrants to Japan
Category:Naturalized citizens of Japan
Category:Naturalised association football players
Category:Footballers from Maringá
Category:Brazilian men's footballers
Category:Japanese men's footballers
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:Japan men's international footballers
Category:Shimizu S-Pulse players
Category:Urawa Red Diamonds players
Category:Nagoya Grampus players
Category:Austrian Football Bundesliga players
Category:FC Red Bull Salzburg players
Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players
Category:2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players
Category:2004 AFC Asian Cup players
Category:2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players
Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players
Category:AFC Asian Cup–winning players
Category:Brazilian expatriate men's footballers
Category:Japanese expatriate men's footballers
Category:Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Austria
Category:Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Austria
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Austria
Category:Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan