André Clarindo dos Santos (born 8 March 1983) is a Brazilian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who most recently played for Figueirense. Santos is a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, who can also be deployed as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. On 15 June 2009, he made his first international appearance as a substitute in a match against

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. Santos participated and helped Brazil capture the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He joined Arsenal from Fenerbahçe in August 2011.

Early life and career

André Santos spent his early career with Figueirense,

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

and

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

Corinthians

In 2008, Santos moved to

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

, with Figueirense retaining 50% economic rights for the future transfer fee. The deal was partially financed by

DIS Esporte D.I.S. Esporte e Organização de Eventos LTDA. is a private football investment fund. It was set up by Rio Grande do Sul native Delcir Sonda and Idi Sonda. They operate one of the São Paulo state supermarket chains, Sonda. DIS was the strategic ...

, to which Corinthians later sold 22.5% of the rights. along with Dentinho and Renato, for R$ 5.4 million total fee.page 23, Corinthians also sold 40% rights to Turbo Sports, for R$3.6 million and after that partnered with the investor to sign Figueirense's remain 50% rights, making Corinthians own 37.5% of the players' rights after the deal. However, Corinthians did not pay Turbo Sports for its portion of the transfer fee (from Fenerbahçe), after which the company sued Corinthians.

Fenerbahçe

On 20 July 2009, he joined Turkish club Fenerbahçe together with his teammate in

, Cristian Oliveira Baroni. They signed a 5-year contract. He scored a total of 10 goals in 52 league appearances for the football club. He scored 5 goals in 25 appearances in the Turkish Super League in the 2010–11 season, making him the top scoring left back in Turkey. On 29 August 2011, Arsenal agreed a €7m fee for the transfer of Santos. Santos later said that he was not deserting a sinking ship by leaving Fenerbahçe, insisting he loved playing for them. "I am leaving Fenerbahçe from front door", Santos told reporters at Istanbul airport on 31 August. "I love the country, Istanbul and Turkish people. I can come back here at the latter stages of my career. I was happy at Fenerbahçe but I did right thing for my career.

Arsenal

On 31 August 2011, André Santos signed for Arsenal on a long-term contract, Fenerbahçe SK announced the fee was €7 million. He made his debut for the Gunners on 13 September, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute for

Gervinho Gervais Yao Kouassi (born 27 May 1987), known as Gervinho, is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Greek Super League club Aris and the Ivory Coast national team. Gervinho began his career at ASEC Abidjan and Toumod ...

in a 1-1 draw away to

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

. On 28 September, he scored his first goal for Arsenal in the 2–1 win over

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

in the

. Santos made his return on 24 March 2012 in a 3–0 win against Aston Villa coming on as a substitute for Kieran Gibbs in the 68th minute. On 13 May, he scored the equalising goal against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

, levelling the score at 2–2. Arsenal went on to win the match 3–2 thanks to a

Laurent Koscielny Laurent Koscielny (born 10 September 1985) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Born in Tulle, Koscielny began his football career playing for a host of youth clubs before moving to Guingamp in 2003, where he q ...

winner.

On 3 November, after a dismal first-half performance against Manchester United, Santos came under even more criticism after having swapped shirts with ex-Gunner captain Robin van Persie at half-time.

Grêmio

On 10 February 2013, Santos moved to

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

after signing a one-year loan deal (with the option for Arsenal to recall him after 6 months) with Grêmio. He was contracted with the club to play in the

Libertadores ''Libertadores'' (, "Liberators") were the principal leaders of the Spanish American wars of independence from Spain and of the movement in support of Brazilian independence from Portugal. They are named that way in contrast with the ''Conquistad ...

Flamengo

Santos signed for

on a two-year contract on Thursday 18 July 2013, after his loan spell at Gremio came to an end. On 20 July 2014, Santos was attacked by a Flamengo fan following his poor performance in their 4-0 loss against

Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonat ...

. The loss meant Flamengo had accumulated 7 points in 11 games and the incident left Santos in hospital. On 15 August 2014, the fullback reached an agreement to leave the club, becoming a free agent.

FC Goa

On 29 September 2014, Santos joined

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

side

FC Goa Football Club Goa is an Indian professional football club based in Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 26 August 2014. Nicknamed as '' Gaurs'', the club plays their h ...

. Santos had a very successful season with Goa, as he led them to the semi-finals. As Goa's key player, he scored 4 goals and provided 3 assists in the tournament.

Botafogo (SP)

On 5 February 2015 Santos joined

Botafogo Futebol Clube (SP) Botafogo Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Botafogo-SP, Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto or simply Botafogo, is a Brazilian association football club in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série B, the second tier of Bra ...

and signed a contract till the end of the championship.

FC Wil

After joining Swiss side

FC Wil 1900 FC Wil (''Fussball Club Wil 1900'') is a football club based in Wil, Switzerland. They play in the ''Sportpark Bergholz'', which has a total capacity of 6,048. The club has consistently played in the Swiss second tier since regaining promotion ...

, Santos left the club after one season, he made 25 appearances and scored 9 goals in the Challenge League.

Boluspor

On 24 June 2016, Santos signed a two-year contract with Turkish club Boluspor.

International career

On 21 May 2009, he was called up for the first time to the Brazil national team for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. On 15 June 2009, he made his first international appearance as a substitute in a match against

. He then started the following four games as Brazil went on to win the competition. He was in the starting line-up in the Final against

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

but was substituted in the 66th minute of play for

Dani Alves Daniel Alves da Silva (born 6 May 1983), known simply as Dani Alves (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Liga MX club UNAM and the Brazil national team. Widely considered one of the greatest full-backs of ...

as he earlier picked a yellow card. Brazil went on to win the match 3–2. However, he was dropped for the friendlies afterwards and Dunga preferred

Michel Bastos Michel Fernandes Bastos (born 2 August 1983) is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who mainly played as a left winger. Bastos started his career at hometown club Pelotas before moving to the Netherlands, where he played for Feyenoord ...

and Gilberto on the match against

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

in February 2010. That 22-man squad against Ireland also became the backbone of

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

squad announced on 11 May. After a disappointing World Cup for the national side, Dunga was replaced by

Mano Menezes Luiz Antônio Venker de Menezes (born 11 June 1962), known as Mano Menezes, is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of Internacional. He managed the Brazil national team from July 2010 until ...

. Under Menezes, Santos regained his spot in the starting line-up. André Santos, Neymar and Ramires celebrate Neymars goal

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

Corinthians *

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de P ...

: 2009 Flamengo *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Fenerbahçe * Turkish Süper Lig:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

* Süper Kupa: 2009

International

Brazil * FIFA Confederations Cup: 2009

References

External links

bbc.co.uk

Arsenal Profile
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Andre 1983 births Living people Brazilian footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Figueirense FC players CR Flamengo footballers Clube Atlético Mineiro players Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers Arsenal F.C. players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players FC Goa players Botafogo Futebol Clube (SP) players Boluspor footballers Süper Lig players TFF First League players Premier League players Indian Super League players Swiss Challenge League players Expatriate footballers in Turkey Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in India Expatriate footballers in Switzerland 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2011 Copa América players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Brazil international footballers Association football fullbacks FC Wil players Footballers from São Paulo